The film "explores what happens in the lives of those involved, including the militants, and how all of them are affected at a personal level because of the ongoing operation". It stars Shaan Shahid in the lead role, along with Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Armeena Khan, Aleeze Nasser, Ayesha Omer, Sana Bucha, and Bilal Ashraf.[1] It is the most expensive Pakistani movie to date.[4] Apart from budget and extensive cast, the film features 150 written characters. On 19 December 2014, Hassan Waqas Rana revealed that this film is a tribute to slain children of the 2014 Peshawar school attack.[5]
Plot
The film is based on an actual military operation conducted in the Piochar region of Swat district.
Soon after the release of Waar back in 2013, Hassan Rana signed two more films with ARY Films, a sequel to Waar known as Waar 2 and Delta Echo Foxtrot, later known as Yalghaar. ISPR was approached in order to get more insight into the facts and figures of the Swat Operation. Hassan Rana wanted to know how it feels to be a soldier who is fighting on the front lines of war.[3]
The movie went into production after about 3 years of extensive research. Apart from using a vast number of choppers and heavy ammunition, an artificial tunnel was dug in Karachi to replicate one found in North Waziristan.[3]
In preparation for their roles, all actors spent time with their real-life alter egos. Humayun Saeed, who plays the role of a militant, spent days with captured militants in order to prepare for his role.[3]
Yalghaar was officially released on 25 June 2017 coinciding with Eid al-Fitr holiday. It was also released in 22 countries at the same time including United States, UK, and UAE.[7]
Reception
Box office
The film collected Rs 1.75 crores on day 1,Rs 2.40 crore on day 2 and Rs 2.20 crore on day 3.[8]
Critical reception
Rafay Mahmood of The Express Tribune said that the film had its "heart in the right place", depicting "what an average soldier goes through in order to serve his country while taking care of his friends, love life and family" while "engaged on two different fronts with two different kinds of enemies — external and internal." However, he criticized the film's loose plot, describing it as an "omelette", as well as forced English dialogues, and the director's romanticism of the "posh side of the army lifestyle". He noted that if done right, the film "had the potential to wake up the sleeping giant that the Eid box-office can be."[9] Faraz Talat of Dawn praised the acting of Adnan Siddiqui, Sana Bucha and Ayub Khoso, but said the movie suffered from an incoherent storyline, in addition to weaknesses in choreography, dialogues, production, and certain aspects of character development. While noting Yalghaar's expensive production value, he concluded that the "film industry needs more than just patriotism; it needs a will to explore new artistic territory."[10]
Sana Gilani of Daily Pakistan called Yalghaar "one of the most promising movies of [the] year" and viewed all characters positively, save for the female extras and the antagonist role played by Humayun Saeed, which she described as "aloof". According to Gilani, critics appeared to miss the fact that the movie relayed true events, which made the storyline and narrative obvious.[11]
