Huey Tum Ajnabi

BBC Urdu quoted the director as saying that the film revolves around two lovers, Zeenat and Nizam, who meet at Dhaka University^[a] while a war is raging in former East Pakistan in the beginning of the 1970s. They have to face the fundamentalists and ultra-nationalists, and have to choose between their love or the nation they belong to.^[6]

Kamran Shahid, a journalist by profession, revealed that after he was inspired with the book Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War by Sarmila Bose, he began writing the script in 2014. After two years of pre-production, he took self-responsibility to direct the film as well, marking his debut in this field despite being a novice. The director called its genres to be romantic movie more than a political one, based on before and after the 1971 war, so he characterized only three political figures in the film; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Indira Gandhi.^[9][11][7]

Zulfiqar and Khan appeared as lead pair in the film Huey Tum Ajnabi.

In November 2016, Dawn Images reported that Sadia Khan and Mikaal Zulfiqar have signed for the lead roles in a film split between East and West Pakistan. Other actors involved were named to be Alyy Khan and Shamoon Abbasi. The project was under the working title The Trial and initially intended to be released in March 2017.^[12][13][14] An earlier report in March had also suggested the involvement of actress Resham.^[15] Later, in November 2018, Vogue India reported Ayesha Omar being a part of this film as well.^[16]

Principal photography started in late-2016 and took place in Karachi and Lahore.^[7] Though the film was self-financed, they received logistical supports by the Inter-Services Public Relations as well.^[9]

After being wrapped up, the film went into the post-production phase in 2019.^[17][18] They had another intention of releasing it either on the festive holiday in 2020, or at the fiftieth anniversary of the Fall of Dhaka in 2021. But the plans ware scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of the nationwide cinemas. Ishtiaq Ahmed served as the cinematographer, Sreejesh Nair as the sound designer, Scott Newman as the VFX artist, Rizwan AQ as the film editor, Baqir Abbas as the film score composer, and the director's father Shahid Hameed as the film producer.^{[1][7][19][c]} The musical instruments, color grading techniques, and wardrobe stylings were also inspired from that era to depict the proper period.^[20][21]

Reportedly, the film soundtrack consists of 11 songs by various artists.^[9][7] The title track is performed by Baqir Abbas with Ali Zafar, with lyrics by Abass Tabish, which is said to be inspired by Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poetry "Hum Kay Thehray Ajnabi".^[22][23] Other tracks include "Ranjhy Bina" by Abida Parveen, "Sunri Pawan" by Maria Meer, "Naina" by Naveed Nashad and Beena, "Teri Or" by Asim Azhar, rendition of "Mere Rashke Qamar" by Saima Jahan, a rendition of "Tajdar-e-Haram", etc.^{[9][7][24][c]}

In September 2019, Huey Tum Ajnabi was revealed to be the title.^[18] The film trailer was launched in February 2023.^[11] It was released on 22 April 2023, with another film Money Back Guarantee, and collected Rs. 2 crore during the Eid al-Fitr holidays.^[4] It is produced by the Shahid Films and distributed by the Mandviwalla Entertainment.^[25][26]

In November 2024, the project was revamped and released as a 36-episode TV series by Pakistan Television Corporation,^[c][d] following the similar format as was of 2015 film Bin Roye and its subsequent TV series.^[27]

In a review for PakistaniCinema.net, Azadar Kazmi wrote that the shift between the "romantic track and the historical drama" is "bizarre", however, praised the VFX and war scenes.^[24] Nida Usman Chaudhry wrote in The Friday Times that the "technique of inserting song after song" is a "distraction", however, praised the VFX, cinematography and film score in some areas.^[28] Omair Alavi compared it with the other local releases depicting the same period, including Jo Bichar Gaye (2022), Khaab Toot Jaatay Hain (2021), and Khel Khel Mein (2021), and called this as the weaker project in his review in VOA Urdu.^[5]

Mohammad Kamran Jawaid of Dawn called the film's "tone and style" of being decades older from the VHS timeline, and despite he noted some issues, he called it "still manages to hold the stylistic flair of a big-screen movie".^[1] Fizza Abbas of Dawn Images rated the film 2 out 5, noting "some limitations in storytelling but brilliance in CGI".^[29] Hamid Mir of Geo News wrote that the film is good from the aspect of production, but the depiction of historical events is misheld.^[30] Hurmat Majid of Youlin Magazine said that despite "commendable performances" and "stunning cinematography", it falls short of becoming a "well-made film".^[31]

• List of Pakistani films of 2023