ISLAMABAD: The four-day Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF), featuring prominent filmmakers from across the globe — including India — opens in Karachi on Thursday.
At a time when Pakistani artists are banned from working in India, most recently affecting singers Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistan has extended an olive branch with PIFF.
S.S. Rajamouli, the Indian filmmaker behind the epic “Baahubali,” tweeted his excitement over his film playing at the festival.
“‘Baahubali’ has given me opportunities to travel to a number of countries... The most exciting of them all is now, Pakistan. Thank you Pakistan International Film Festival, Karachi for the invite.”
The festival will screen 210 films from different categories, including documentaries, short films and feature films, which were selected from submissions from 93 countries.
“Baahubali” is a two-part action epic, “Baahubali: The Beginning” and “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” about the battle for the claim to an ancient kingdom between two brothers. The Telugu and Tamil language films, which were also distributed in Hindi, star Prabhas and Rana Daggubati as the warring brothers, with Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Sathyaraj in supporting roles.
Rajamouli will be joined at the event by Shobu Yarlagadda, who produced “Baahubali,” along with a number of other visitors from India. They include: Nandita Das (actor, director and producer of upcoming movie “Manto”), musician Harsh Narayan, actor Vinay Pathak, Zeenat Lakhani (writer of “Hindi Medium”), Saket Chaudhary (director of “Hindi Medium”), Nishtha Jain (maker of documentary film “Gulabi Gang”), Subhash Kapoor (prominent producer, screenplay writer and director), and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj.
Other films from India that will be screened at PIFF include the Shah Rukh Khan hit “Dear Zindagi,” “Hindi Medium,” which stars Pakistan’s Saba Qamar Zaman, and Marathi film “Sairat.”
Indian film ‘Baahubali’ to be screened at Pakistan International Film Festival
Indian film ‘Baahubali’ to be screened at Pakistan International Film Festival
Where We Are Going Today: Forn Wa Saj in Riyadh and Jeddah
If you live in this part of the world, then you know exactly what it feels like to wake up on a Friday morning with your friends or your family yearning for a good manoosha and a cup of hot karak tea. Choosing the right place, however, can be quite the task.
With so many manaeesh restaurant options on the market, it gets difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad, the classic traditional and the “modern twist” that is just trying too hard.
Forn Wa Saj, in both Riyadh and Jeddah, is somewhat in between.
They have your classic akkawi, zaater, lahmah bel ajeen and others, but they also include some wildcard house specials such as a pesto halloumi, pepperoni and even a pumpkin spread.
Their lahmah bel ajeen is a great option; it is flavorful and contains just the right amount of tanginess.
For zaatar fans, its flavor is good — perhaps the zaatar labneh would have been a better option.
For the house specials, there were some hits and misses. Esh albulbul (mixed cheese with labneh and honey) is for sure a success. The balance of sweet, creamy and slightly salty is excellent.
Both the musakhan and falafel manaeesh are pretty good but could use some minor adjustments — the musakhan is great quality chicken but you might wish for a bit less tanginess, and the falafel just need more falafel.
Overall, Forn Wa Saj is a good choice for your weekend breakfast. It may not blow you away but will leave you satisfied.
The portion sizes are pretty generous, and although the prices are a bit high, they are average among the more “modern” manaeesh restaurants.
