Load Wedding is one of the most anticipated movies of this year. As unique (read quirky) as its title is, the film packs a hefty punch: it’s a love story set in a small town in Punjab, and its characters and their leanings are all deeply rooted in the culture of the province. Writer-director Nabeel Qureshi (Na Maloom Afraad 2) is clearly stepping out of his comfort zone — he has said on record that his pet genre is “con comedy”.
He tells Gulf News tabloid! that more than a social satire, Load Wedding is a character-driven movie, starring Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat in lead roles. “It’s a simple film, with a lot of soul hopefully,” he says.
Qureshi also promises that Load Wedding has “some good music, compared to my other films.”
The music is composed by Shani Arshad, who has previously worked on all of the three previous projects by the director. Mustafa is another fixture in Qureshi and producer Fizza Ali Meerza’s banner. Hayat is also reuniting with them after 2016’s blockbuster hit, Actor In Law.
Not to forget, it was the makers’ Na Maloom Afraad (2014) which she debuted in films with. Her dance song, Billi, became a rage.
Though NMA’s sequel didn’t star Hayat, it had another dance number, featuring supermodel Sadaf Kanwal in the video. But Qureshi says Load Wedding “didn’t require such a song. I don’t believe in forcing them [songs] in; they should happen organically.”
Ever since the film’s first look was revealed, the wardrobe of the characters has been a point of discussion, especially Mustafa’s gaudy jumpers and old-fashioned sneakers.
Qureshi explains that it’s “in accordance with his [Mustafa’s] character of a simpleton with no taste in fashion and clothing.”
He also reveals that he has done the wardrobe for the entire male cast of the film, while Hayat’s simple but chic shalwar-kameez dresses have been prepared by leading fashion designer Nomi Ansari. “Fizza [Ali Meerza] is also involved in all these departments. It’s a collaborative effort eventually.”
Load Wedding is also the first time Qureshi and Meerza have moved out of Karachi, which provided the backdrop for their previous films. The film’s teaser opens with a Punjabi folk melody, and the viewer is carried on a roller-coaster ride into the expansive wheat crop fields, the androon shehr (Lahore’s old neighbourhoods), and a traditional desi wedding.
Qureshi claims that “the kind of Punjab we’ve filmed, I am quite sure no one in Pakistani cinema has done before.”
Load Wedding is scheduled for release on Eid Al Adha. Its international distributors are Zee Studios Int’l.
