KARACHI: Action romcom “Ishrat Made in China,” set to release across Pakistan today, Thursday, has been subtitled in Arabic and there are plans to release it in the Middle East, stars of the film have said, praising Saudi Arabia for a liberalizing reform drive that has already opened the door to concerts, comedy shows and women drivers over the past three years.
Saudi Arabia began screening feature-length films in 2018 after a 35-year-old ban on cinemas was lifted in the kingdom. The Red Sea International Film Festival, featuring 27 movies from Saudi filmmakers, launched in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, last year.
Cinemas were banned in the early 1980s as Saudi society turned toward a particularly conservative form of religion that discouraged public entertainment and public mixing between men and women. But reforms led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have eased many of those restrictions, as the government tries to broaden the economy and lessen its dependence on oil.
Pakistan has also moved to strengthen its cultural ties with the kingdom through the bilateral exchange of films and television plays. Popular Pakistani drama “Dhoop Kinare” was dubbed in Arabic and aired in Saudi Arabia in 2020 and work on dubbing another two classics is also underway, according to the information ministry.
“I’m very excited that ‘Ishrat made in China’ will also definitely have, if not dubbed, it will have Arab subtitles, which will hopefully run in Africa and Arab countries,” actor Sanam Saeed told Arab News in an exclusive interview this week, “so that it doesn’t limit the audience to only Urdu speaking people, but it will also open up doors to the Arabic speaking communities.”
Saeed, who plays a lead role in the new film, said she hoped Islamabad and Riyadh would collaborate more on “films and cultural aspects.”
“We can explore all kinds of avenues in Saudi Arabia,” the actor said. “Between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the relationship that they’ve already had, always had, it can go further in a really different, motivating, inspiring way.”
When asked when “Ishrat Made in China” would be released in the Middle East, actor Mohib Mirza, who made his directorial debut with the film, said the Arabic subtitling of the film was already complete.
“We are working on it. And most probably, of course, the Middle East is the prime market for films so it will be released [there] for sure.”
“If the Saudi market is open to cinemas now, they can only educate their nation by doing that,” the actor said. “I think it’s a great, great time for Saudis to really experience the cinema world and to educate their audience.”
Stars of new Pakistani action romcom ‘hopeful’ of Middle East release
https://arab.news/ju3s9
Stars of new Pakistani action romcom ‘hopeful’ of Middle East release
- Lead actors of “Ishrat Made in China” praise Saudi Arabia for liberalizing its entertainment industry
- Director and actor of newly released movie describes Arab world as ‘prime market’ for films
Pakistan to begin first phase of Hajj 2026 trainings from today
- Training programs to be held in phases across Pakistan till February, says religion ministry
- Saudi Arabia allocated Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has said that it will begin the first phase of mandatory Hajj 2026 training for pilgrims intending to perform the pilgrimage from today, Thursday.
The one-day Hajj training programs will be held in phases across the country at the tehsil level until February. The ministry directed intending pilgrims to bring their original identity cards and the computerized receipt of their Hajj application to attend the training sessions.
“Pilgrims should attend the one-day training program according to their scheduled date,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) said in a statement.
The ministry said training schedules are being shared through the government’s Pak Hajj 2026 mobile application as well as via SMS. It added that details of the schedule are also available on its website.
According to the ministry, training programs will be held in Abbottabad on Jan. 2; Ghotki, Thatta and Kotli on Jan. 3; and Tando Muhammad Khan and Khairpur on Jan. 4.
Hajj training sessions will be held in Rawalakot, Badin and Naushahro Feroze on Jan. 5, while pilgrims in Fateh Jang, Dadu and Tharparkar will receive the training on Jan. 6.
The ministry said training programs will be conducted in Umerkot and Larkana on Jan. 7, followed by sessions in Mirpurkhas, Shahdadkot and Mansehra on Jan. 8.
Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has previously said these trainings will be conducted by experienced trainers and scholars using multimedia.
It said the training has been made mandatory to ensure that intending pilgrims are fully aware of Hajj rituals and administrative procedures.
Saudi Arabia has allocated Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2026, of which around 118,000 seats have been reserved under the government scheme, while the remainder will be allocated to private tour operators.
Under Pakistan’s Hajj scheme, the estimated cost of the government package ranges from Rs1,150,000 to Rs1,250,000 ($4,049.93 to $4,236), subject to final agreements with service providers.
