Gulabo Rani, Usman Mukhtar’s latest release, has recently become the talk of the town. The short horror film has received multiple global accolades, including four awards at the Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles. However, in an interview with Arab News, Usman Mukhtar revealed that this journey was not easy.
The director revealed that it is difficult to find a “brave” producer in Pakistan who wants to experiment with horror films, given the local industry’s preference for romantic comedies.
“There is room for every kind of genre [in Pakistan] but the problem is, we don’t get producers for such films,” said Mukhtar. “We have made a formula of romantic comedies, so everyone makes that. In between, a brave producer comes up who wants to make a good action film, but we have kept horror at a distance [for a long time]. Nobody wants to experiment with horror.”
Usman Mukhtar also revealed that he had no clue his short film would win international awards. He said, “When we were making [the movie], we had no idea we would be sending it to film festivals. Now, we have won nine awards for it.”
His wife, Zunaira Inam Khan, the co-scriptwriter of Gulabo Rani wanted to take the horror genre seriously. “Horror, as a genre, never seems to be done right in this region [sub-continent],” she told the publication.
“script built upon the incident and has taken creative liberties,” but the basic premise is genuine. “It was important to create a film that reflects what a good horror film should [look like]. Not just comedy or jump scares. To remain true to the essence of the story, we wanted to tell and just focus on real, spine-chilling horror,” further added by Khan.
“The main work of haunting is done by the living,” reads the film’s tagline. This 35-minute short film shows the life of a young boy who is housed in a dilapidated branch of an old university dorm. Over there, he encounters haunting mysteries and paranormal entities that change him forever.
The short film stars Usama Javaid Haider, Meiraj Haq, Daniyal Khaqan Afzal, Omer Abdullah Khan and Natasha Humera Ejaz. Gulabo Raniwill release on YouTube in March 2023 for viewers in Pakistan
