Nusrat Has Left The Building … But When? — A Docudrama

Nusrat Has Left The Building … But When?

Nusrat Has Left The Building … But When? DVD Cover

People in Pakistan discovered the true greatness of NFAK only after his huge success in West, a truth no one can deny. This creative short-movie revolves around a usual Pakistani NFAK fan, who departs from the filmy renditions and discovers the true traditional and ecstatic Nusrat. As this trend continued..

Nusrat was no more just a great Qawwal in Pakistan…. he was the countries greatest son ever.

Description:-

This is a film made about the metamorphic career of  Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the famous sufi qawwali singer from Pakistan. The film departs from the popular version of Nusrat and goes back to his early roots in pure sufi music, before and after he exploded on the international scene. Nusrat’s metamorphosis from a genuine popular artiste to a mass produced exotica of the east, left behind many disillusioned listeners and devotees in its wake. Perhaps for the first time this film gives voice to the other side of the song.

Awards and Screenings:

International Premiere and winner of the Best Film award at Film South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1997;
European Premiere at International Film Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1998;

Also participated in:
Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Oberhausen, Germany, 1998;
Travelling Film South Asia, tour of North America, Europe and South Asia, 1998-99.

Trailer:-

Director: Farjad Nabi
Producer: Farjad Nabi

Creative Crew
Producer: Muhammad Nafees / Camera & Light: Muhammad Nafees / Sound: Tehsin Ahmad / Editor: Amir Nawaz / Animation & Artwork: Ahmad Ali Manganhar / The Protagonist: Ahmad Ali Manganhar

No Dialogue, 20 min, 1997, Pakistan

A Short Review (by Ali Halai ([email protected]) (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada))

A disillusioned Nusrat fan goes beyond the commercialised modern image of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and discovers his early music. A very well filmed low-budget movie by first time diretor Farjad Nabi left me begging for more. This is a fine example of the talent and quality of of film-makers and movies that are available in Pakistan if you look beyond the commercial mainstream of Lollywood.

I recommend this movie to anyone even vaguely interested in Nusrat and also if you just want to see good, quality work from Pakistan.

 

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