In an unexpected surprise, the trailer for the Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has been released online, with Mirza Gohar Rasheed replacing Uzair Jaswal to play the legendary cricket star. The film, directed by Muhammad Faraq Qaiser, and written by Qiaser Nawaz, will explore the struggles through which Shoaib Akhtar went from a small town boy to becoming one of the biggest cricket stars Pakistan has ever seen.
The cast comprises of Faran Tahir, Usman Peerzada, Adnan Shah Tipu, Rahim Pardesi, Hammad Siddique, Baatin Farouqi, Saleem Mairaj, Raheela Agha, Salman Shahid and Shafqat Cheema.
The film’s production was mired with numerous controversies, as Shoaib Akhtar had announced he had left the pre-production, citing “failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cutting ties with them,” as the reason. In his detailed Instagram post, the former cricket legend said he completed all legal protocols and revoked the rights to the story of his life.
In July, Shoaib shared a screenshot of the legal notice issued against the filmmakers behind ‘Rawalpindi Express’ warning that anyone innvolved in the production would be held responsible by authorities.
“I have issued a stay order against the filming and release of the supposed biopic being made on my life by a certain group of people. I had to do this because they had threatened in writing of continuing filming regardless of the legal termination of the agreement. Any person involved in the project should know that its completely illegal and they will be responsible for any reputational loss.”
