Waar

Major Mujtaba Rizvi is a former Pakistan Army officer, who took an early retirement. The plot involves a counter-terrorism operation being conducted in the northwestern tribal region of Pakistan, led by Ehtesham Khattak and coordinated by his sister, Javeria Khattak, an intelligence officer. Ehtesham and Javeria learn of a major terrorist attack that can only be countered with the help of Major Mujtaba.

Major Mujtaba's family was assassinated by Ramal, an agent in India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Major Mujtaba wants to take revenge on Ramal. Recognizing Ramal through his actions and tactics, Major Mujtaba is able to counter his attacks.

Mulla Siraj, a Taliban leader working with Ramal, is operating from a fort in the tribal area. He gives Ramal two bombs which Ramal is going to plant somewhere in Pakistan. Planned by Lax, a spy; terrorists conduct an attack on a police training center to divert the attention of the security agencies. They have been watching any suspicious activity as they have learned that a major terrorist action is imminent. One bomb is loaded in a vehicle, which Ehtesham drives away in order to dispose the bomb. He is killed when the bomb explodes. The second bomb is planted in Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad but Major Mujtaba counters this attack and saves the country from another deadly terror incident. He takes his revenge by killing Ramal.

• Shaan Shahid as Major Mujtaba Rizvi, ISI agent and a retired Pakistan Army officer
• Shamoon Abbasi as Ramal,^[8] an operative of the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)
• Meesha Shafi as Laxmi,^[8] R&AW operative
• Ali Azmat as Ejaz Khan,^[8] politician
• Hamza Ali Abbasi as SP Ehtesham Khattak,^[8] O/C Field Operations CTG
• Aisha Khan as Javeria Khattak,^[8][14] an intelligence officer, chief INTEL and COM analyst CTG and Ehtesham's sister
• Hassan Rana as Taha Ali, director CTG
• Bilal Lashari as Ali, sniper
• Kamran Lashari as Asher Azeem, DG Internal Security or Head of Security Wing
• Nadeem Abbas as Rana
• Batin Farooqi as Militant
• Uzma Khan as Mujtaba's wife
• Waseem Badami as a news anchor
• Naseer Afridi (cameo)

The title "waar" is a Hindi-Urdu language word meaning "to strike" or "attack" or "assault".^[10] Waar is primarily an English language film with some dialogue in Urdu. According to producer and writer, Hassan Rana, dubbing the film in Urdu was considered but the idea was dropped as he said it would have compromised the lead role played by Shaan Shahid. Produced by Rana (owner and CEO of Mindworks Media) and retired Pakistan Army brigadier Syed Mujtaba Tirmizi, the film is based on the topic of terrorism in Pakistan. The budget was variously said to be PKR: 170 million to PKR: 200 million.^[15][16]

Casting and crew

Initially, it was reported that Tom Delmar who has worked as a stunt director in Hollywood films would direct;^[17] later Bilal Lashari was chosen as the director while he was working with Rana on another project. It is Lashari's debut as a director, who had previously directed music videos^[18] and assisted Shoaib Mansoor in the film Khuda Kay Liye.^[19] Singers Ali Azmat and Meesha Shafi made their acting debuts with the film.^[19] Originally Azmat and Aisha Khan's roles were limited to a guest appearance but were later expanded into an extended cameo.^[20] Hamza Ali Abbasi, who intended to work as an assistant director, was later cast as an actor.^[21]

Filming

Produced by MindWorks Media, the film includes 400 visual effects.^[20] It took three years to complete Waar.^[22] Locations included Karachi (Pakistan), Rome (Italy), Istanbul (Turkey), Lahore (Pakistan), Islamabad, Swat Valley. It was reported in the media that the film was shot in collaboration with the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan Armed Forces;^[4] director Lashari denied any such collaboration saying that the confusion might have arisen as MindWorks Media worked on the documentary The Glorious Resolve with ISPR when Waar was being filmed.^[23]

The release date was changed repeatedly and finally it was released on 16 October 2013 coinciding with Eid al-Adha in Pakistan.^[24] It was initially scheduled to release on 6 September 2013.^[5]

The first theatrical trailer of the film was launched in January 2012^[25] while the second in January 2013.^[24] One of the trailers was viewed more than 500,000 times the same month.^[10] Waar was marketed as the most anticipated film in the history of Pakistani cinema.^[26] When the film did not make it to the screens for a considerable time after the release of these trailers, critics said it was another project that will get shelved.^[20] Shamoon Abbasi, the main antagonist, cited the lack of resources for filming as one of the reasons for its delay.^[14]

The film premiered on 10 October in Karachi^[27] and on 14 October 2013 in Rawalpindi/Islamabad.^[28] Waar was given an adults-only rating by the Sindh's provincial censor board for use of obscene language and violence.^[24] Waar was released in about forty five theaters across the country.^[29] The film premiered on television on 14 August 2014 on ARY Digital.^[30][31]

Though initially reported to be distributed by Warner Bros.,^[4] it was distributed by ARY Films and Mandviwalla Entertainment.^[32]

The film was released in 25 countries.^[22] Waar was released in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)^[33] cinemas on 12 December, where the movie actors graced the red carpet at Grand Cinema, Wafi City.^[34][35] It was released in cinemas across the UK on 17 January 2014.^[36] The film released in cinemas throughout Australia on 15 May 2014.^[37]

Home media

Waar has been released for streaming on Netflix.

Waar received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing film in Pakistan at the time. Rafay Mahmood for The Express Tribune gave the movie three out of five stars and commended the cinematography, editing and sound design but viewed critically the story and some performances. According to the review, Waar is a "piece of pointless propaganda (and) is going to further confuse an already puzzled nation about Pakistan's outlook on counter-terrorism. In the long run, it will prove to be a great feature for Pakistani cinema but a damaging one for intellect."^[38]

Mohammad Kamran Jawaid of Dawn gave Waar a negative review, calling the screenplay a "codswallop of instances taped together to form narrative coherency". He also criticized the use of English, stating that "catering to the international market is one thing, but relying solely on it is either ignorance or arrogance". His review labels Waar as a "'showy' enterprise" where the "story, the plot, the resolve — in fact everything — hangs on a failing thread".^[39] Salman Khalid for Daily Times talks about the message given by the movie that highlights the "Pakistani perspective on the menace of terrorism", while acclaiming the story, direction, action sequences and individual performances.^[40] Rubban Shakeel of Skotato gave Waar 3.5/5 stars, calling it one of the best action films on Pakistan.^[41] On Skotato, too, Umer Ali called Waar "A Ray of Hope."^[42]

Because of the story, Waar has been critically reviewed in India, and received wider coverage than other Pakistani films.^[43][44][45] However, Indian film director Ram Gopal Varma praised the film, saying he was "stunned beyond belief" and congratulated Lashari.^[46][47]

Waar opened on the first day of Eid al-Adha on 42 screens, the widest release ever, across Pakistan with 100% occupancy: It broke records with capacity audiences. It earned Rs. 1.14 crore (US$41,000) in its first day, breaking the previous record of Rs. 0.9 crore (US$32,000) held by Chennai Express.^[48][49] It earned Rs. 4.26 crore (US$150,000) till Friday night, breaking all previous records of Eid collections.^[50] Waar collected Rs. 9.7 crore (US$350,000) in its extended first week of nine days^[51] and added another Rs. 3.7 crore (US$130,000), thus making a total of Rs. 13 crore (US$470,000) in thirteen days.^[52] The film managed to collect Rs. 1.9 crore (US$68,000) in its 4th week but was still behind Syed Noor's 1998 Choorian, which earned Rs. 20 crore (US$720,000) and then on its 36th day of screening, it broke the record held by Choorian.^[11][53]

It had collected Rs. 20.9 crore (US$750,000) in seven weeks. In its eighth week it got an advantage from a ban on Indian films in Pakistan and collected Rs. 0.6 crore (US$21,000) to take its total to Rs. 21.5 crore (US$770,000). In its ninth week, it saw competition in the form of Dhoom 3 but still added another Rs. 0.52 crore (US$19,000). Waar continued its steady run in the following weeks and ended its run around Rs. 23 crore (US$820,000) becoming the highest grosser in Pakistan at that time, with worldwide collections of Rs. 40 crore (US$1.4 million). Its domestic box office collection was later broken by Dhoom 3 which grossed Rs. 24.5 crore (US$880,000) in Pakistan.^[54]

In 2014, an First Information Report (FIR) against Rana was registered with the Pakistani police bydirector Lashari. Lashari alleged that Rana had transferred all of the film's profits to his personal account. The court dismissed Rana's pre-arrest bail in the case.^[55]

The film's music, which took almost two years to complete, was composed by Amir Munawar^[1][56] while Qayaas and Umair Jaswal have contributed a song each. Indian musician Clinton Cerejo composes the songs "Saathi Salaam" and "Mauje Naina", which were first aired on Coke Studio India, Season 2.

Music in Waar:

• "Inquilaab" (Vocal: Umair Jaswal)
• "Saathi Salaam" (Vocals: Sawan Khan Manganiyar and Clinton Cerejo)
• "Mauje Naina" (Vocals: Bianca Gomes, Shadab Faridi and Altamash Faridi)
• "Halaak"
• "Khayal"

Waar received 16 nominations at the first ARY Film Awards ultimately winning 13 awards, the highest for the ceremony.^[57]

• Cinema of Pakistan
• Lollywood
• List of highest-grossing Pakistani films
• List of Pakistani films of 2013