It might only be a couple of years since then-14-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban simply for trying to go to school, but her life is going to be made into a biopic.
Indian filmmaker Amjad Khan announced his movie plans last year, but new today is the fact that Pakistani actor Om Puri, whom you’ll recognise from East Is East and the TV adaptation of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, has said that Malala herself is going to be in the film.
‘It’s an ambitious project by a young filmmaker who thinks very clearly and knows what kind of films he wants to make. I am playing Kayani in a biopic about Malala Yousafzai,’ Om, who is set to play former Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in the film, has said. ‘I was impressed with her reaction to the incident. Malala may also make a guest appearance in the film.’
This, in itself, would be another brave move from the human rights activist. Especially since the family of Fatima Shaikh, who is set to play Malala in the film, are so worried about the Taliban’s response to it, they have requested that no images of her be released ahead of filming.
The film is to be shot in London, Pakistan, Iran and India. It will be be titled Gul Makai, the blog name Malala used when writing about women’s infringed education rights in Pakistan’s Taliban-occupied Swat Valley for the BBC. No word on when it’ll actually be released yet, though.
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Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.