Legendary Umro Ayyar gets film ‘revamp’ for new generation of Pakistani and global audiences

KARACHI: Umro Ayyar, one of the most famous characters from the legendary Dastan-e-Amir Hamza, is being adapted to film in a “new-age way” and getting a “revamp” for modern times, lead actor Sanam Saeed said, ahead of the Pakistani film’s release later this year.

Umro Ayyar is perhaps the best-known character after Amir Hamza from the romance Dastan-e-Amir Hamza, the Urdu version of the Persian folklore written by Ghalib Lakhnavi in 1855, a collection of stories about magic, adventure and intrigue.

Now, a film titled Umro Ayyar – A New Beginning, loosely based on the character of Umro Ayyar and his magical powers and starring Saeed, Usman Mukhtar, Adnan Siddiqui, Simi Raheal and Manzar Sehbai, aims to reimagine the tales for a new generation of Pakistani and global audiences.

“Umro Ayyar is based on an Urdu literature novel but we are not making a film on that novel, it’s a version of it, a folklore-inspired superhero film that discovers the character of Umro Ayyar in a new-age way,” Saeed, who plays the role of a member of Umro Ayyar’s posse, told Arab News on Tuesday.

“There is a bit of Umro Ayyar’s backstory, integrated with modern times, how in today’s day and age, you can incorporate Umro Ayyar,” the actor said. “It’s like a revamp.”

A lot of people, particularly the younger generation, did not know about Umro Ayyar, Saeed said, and the film aimed to “familiarize” audiences with the character.

“Today’s generation needs to be told stories from Urdu literature … We have so many characters and stories to draw inspiration from. Unless we connect with our Urdu literature, it will die.”

“We [Pakistan] haven’t had a real-life motion feature film with a superhero at the heart of it,” Saeed said. “I have never been involved in a lot of stunts and actions in front of a green screen. The film is VFX-heavy ... A stunt director and coordinator came from abroad while there were trainers who came to the set to teach us.”

Director Azfar Jafri said the filmmakers consciously opted for a “contemporary approach” in order to engage a younger audience “unfamiliar” with Umro Ayyar.

“Some western books and films incorporate elements derived from Umro Ayyar’s verse, leading our younger audience to believe that these concepts are entirely their own,” Jafri told Arab News. “We have aimed to shed light on the true source of inspiration and made the decision to create a film centered on Umro Ayyar.”