‘Allahyar’ to take Pakistani animated films forward

Following closely on the heels of Oscar-winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s successful 3 Bahadur — Pakistan’s first animated feature — and its sequel, comes Allahyar And The Legend Of Markhor, a film that is expected to take the genre a notch higher, thanks especially to elaborate computer generated graphics and an endearing screenplay.

Helmed by Azfar Jafri, the animation tells the tale of Allahyar, a brave boy from the mountains, who must save his troubled family. The film also brings in animal characters that are a joy to watch, especially judging from the trailers that were released recently. One of the songs, Muskarai Ja, rendered by Natasha Humera Ejaz, is a reprise of the Zoheb Hassan classic, and is pleasant on the ears. The voice acting is performed by musicians Ali Noor and Arieb Azhar, and also actors like Ali Rehman Khan, Hareem Farooq, and Arshad Mehmood.

The film is due out in the first week of February. Will it do for the makers what the 3 Bahadur franchise did for Chinoy? Only time will tell.