Critically acclaimed biographical drama “Shahid” has completed eight years of it’s release. Actor Rajkummar Rao, filmmaker Hansal Mehta and writer-editor Apurva Asrani celebrated the 2013 film as it completed the milestone. The film was based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai. It also featured Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur in prominent roles.
Rao, who received the National Award for his performance in the titular role, took to Instagram and called the film a life changing experience for him. “#Shahid 8 years of this beautiful film. This is not just a film for us, it’s an emotion for all of us who were involved in making this film. Have so many people to thank starting with my friend, father, brother, director @hansalmehta sir,” he wrote.
Rao who has also been a part of many more acclaimed films like “Queen”, “Trapped” reunited with Mehta for “Citylights”, “Aligarh” (2015) and “Omerta” in 2018. The duo also worked in last year’s “Chhalaang”. For Mehta too “Shahid” was a turning point “The film that gave me my voice. Eternal gratitude to the team that made it happen. #8YearsofShahid,” the filmmaker wrote.
The film was jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra in association with Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the banner of UTV Spotboy. Asrani, who had co-written and edited the film also took to Twitter and noted how “Shahid” was instrumental in changing several lives.
“#Shahid is the true story of a man who stood alone against an oppressive system. The film was made with pure love and passion and changed many lives, including mine. Eternal gratitude to captain @mehtahansal, @RajkummarRao and our fantastic team. #8YearsOfShahid,” he tweeted.
On the work front Rao will next be seen in the family comedy “Hum Do Hamare Do”, alsong with Paresh Rawal, Ratna Pathak Shah and Kriti Sanon. Meanwhile, Mehta is awaiting the release of his next feature film “Faraaz” which is based on the 2016 Bangladesh terror attack.
