Cannes Film Festival 2018: Inaamulhaq's Nakkash poster unveiled

Amidst the dazzle of cinema “heroes” have a certain definition. Especially in India, a “hero” is measured not by his acting skills but looks, muscular body and style also. This very fact was probably in this actor’s mind who is efficient in his work but does not fit into our parameters of “hero”. This thing is so enormously known to the actor that during the shoot when a bunch of people came on the sets to know who the hero was of the film, the actor hid himself.

Here we talk about Inaamulhaq, who came into recognition with ‘Filmistaan’. Inaamulhaq has played prominent roles in a few films, be it in Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Airlift’ playing the Iraqi Major, or playing a prisoner in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Lucknow Central’, the actor has left an impact with powerpack performances. Recently the first look of Inaamulhaq's upcoming movie ‘Nakkash’ in which he will be seen playing the title role was unveiled at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Present at the event was Mr. Jean-Francois Bess, President AFPF (Association Francaise des Producteurs de Films) along with Bollywood stalwarts like Subhash Ghai, Prasoon Joshi, Divya Dutta and Huma Qureshi at the Indian Pavillion, a Government of India initiative. The evening was hosted by actor Sharad Kelkar. Films which depict Indian culture and art are encouraged at India Pavilion every year under the supervision of Ministry of information and broadcasting. This year, Inaamulhaq's 'Nakkash', was a part of the same succession.

The incidents of hiding from the mob accrued during the shoot of ‘Nakkash’, of which Inaamulhaq mentioned on his social media platform himself recently. In an emotional post to his fans Inaamulhaq wrote- “It was the first day of shooting in Banaras. The ‘Cinematic Curiosity’ of a small town, started converting into a mob. A bunch of lads from the same mob were coming close to know “Let's see who the HERO is?” As soon as I heard this, I swear to God, I went hiding myself, for an obvious reason- I didn’t want their ‘eagerness’ to turn into ‘disappointment’. I know what a 'Hero' is. I see myself in the mirror every day, so I have no misconceptions about me. But dreams have no boundary walls, hence I never stopped dreaming for a lead role in a movie. Destiny is pre-defined, we only need to help it by removing the barriers from the path… we must do that, to let it happen. ‘Happening’ is a kind of ‘growing’ in real sense. In the past six months a lot has happened which has made me grow a little. The ‘POSTER’ you are seeing is just not a poster rather a few brush strokes painted by destiny… behind which there are some colors accumulated, drop by drop like a perfume formed in a prolonged time... and what has been ‘earned’ by the outlay of these colors is called ‘Nakkash’ …It might just be another movie for all of you, but for me it’s the fragrance of that perfume which can only be felt, not described”.

Inaamulhaq also shared the poster of his film along with this post. For an actor what does it mean to see his film getting released, is also reflected in his post, He wrote- “Nakkash is an essential film for today’s time, important to be made and more importantly to be released and even more importantly for people to come and watch it on big screens. We are living in that era of ‘Cinema’, where on one side, Cinema is in every hand “digitally yours” …and on the other side, Cinema is confined in few hands only…. stuck in the delusion of 100 crore club and starlets. The rest is just a flutter of keeping the real existence of the cinema alive …. of restoration of falling walls. ‘Nakkash’ is a brick made of that desire, which contains ‘The excerpt of director Zaigham Imam’s passion’, …. The examination of producers Pawan Tiwari, Piyush Singh and Govind Goyal’s trust’ and ‘The capital of co-actors Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra and Rajesh Sharma’s friendship. …Apart from this, there is a rope of countless hopes, tied with that brick…There is no Fight… We can only try to put the bricks in the right place of the wall. The rope must not break…. The effort is on.”

Further, expressing his love for his fans he wrote, “The journey started from Banaras and has caught a little speed at Cannes …. The destination is waiting somewhere else... But between the journey and the destination there is something more significant which needs to be mentioned, and that is ‘YOUR LOVE’. It’s you, who surge my happiness by making it yours and that’s priceless. Your encouragement at every step of mine, refreshes the blood in my veins. Just saying ‘Thank You’ would be unjust. All I can say that prayers for you resides in my heart. It’s difficult to express them individually but you mean a lot for my existence… …You are …so I am…Stay the same!”

‘Nakkash’ is the story of a Muslim craftsman who uses his craft of engraving in the Hindu Temples in Banaras. The film revolves around the impact of changing religious and political scenario on his life. According to Zaigham Imam, the director of the film 'Nakkash' is not just a sensitive film but also reflects India’s art and culture in many ways. The fine colors of Hindu-Muslim relationship and their social dynamics has not yet been seen by the audience. ‘Nakkash’ will not preach but would force people to re-think and put prejudice aside.