Khuda Kay Liye

Plot

Brothers Mansoor and Sarmad are two successful singers from Lahore. Sarmad is eventually influenced by an Islamic activist Maulana Tahiri, as he begins to practice a more conservative Islamic way of living and gives up his music career as it is considered "haram" by the Islamic activist. In London, Maryam (Mary), a Westernised British Pakistani girl, falls in love with Dave from the British community. However, this displeases her hypocritical father despite himself being in a live-in relationship with a British woman.

Meanwhile, Mary's father plans to take her to Pakistan to meet Sarmad and Mansoor. During the visit, she is deceived by her father and taken across the border to Afghanistan under the guise of attending a relative's wedding. In Afghanistan, she is forcefully married off to her cousin Sarmad and abandoned in their household. In an escape attempt, Mary tries to run from the village but gets caught by Sarmad. He eventually rapes her, as advised by the maulana, as a sort of punishment so that Mary would not escape again. As a result, Mary becomes pregnant and has Sarmad's baby, thus lowering her chances of escape.

Simultaneously, Mansoor goes to a musical school in Chicago, where he meets fellow music student Janie. They fall in love, and Janie stops drinking alcohol for him. They eventually marry. However, shortly after 9/11, Mansoor gets arrested by the FBI due to his Islamic background and is detained and tortured for a year in Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Sarmad's father rescues Mary under the protection of the British government. A devastated Mary takes her father and husband to court in Pakistan for justice. Wali (Naseeruddin Shah), a Maulana, then explains to the court how Islam is being misused in the name of war and hatred, bringing the religion forward believably and peacefully. Traumatised by all the suffering he has seen and caused, Sarmad withdraws the case. He also realises the damage he inflicted in the name of religion. Mary is now free and returns to the village where she was a prisoner to educate the girls. Meanwhile, Mansoor is still in FBI custody after a year of torment; the last torture session having inflicted permanent brain damage. After a failed rehab attempt, he is deported and reunited with his family in Pakistan, where he begins to recover.

Cast

• Shaan as Mansoor
• Fawad Khan as Sarmad
• Iman Ali as Maryam (Mary)
• Naseeruddin Shah as Maulana Wali (Special Appearance)
• Naeem Tahir as Mansoor's & Sarmad's Father
• Rasheed Naz as Maulana Tahirih
• Hameed Sheikh as Sher Shah
• Sonia Rehman as Khala
• Humayun Kazmi as Mary's Father
• Austin Marie Sayre as Janie
• Najiba Faiz as Gul Bano
• Seemi Raheel as Mansoor's & Sarmad's Mother

Production

Development

Shoaib Mansoor, the film's director, developed the idea after the misconceptions about Pakistan in the Pakistani diaspora and India. Mansoor stated that the film would clear the irrelevant thinking of Indians towards the Pakistani community.

Filming

Principal photography of the film took place in Lahore, where most of the parts were filmed. Besides, the film was also shot at Chicago, London and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Box office

Khuda Kay Liye is one of Pakistan's highest-grossing films, with a domestic gross of PKR 11.1 million and a worldwide gross of PKR 210 million.

Other media

Sony bought the film's distribution, satellite, music, and media rights. The film was distributed by Geo Films and Percept Picture Company in Asia and the Middle East. Sony Distribution distributed the film in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The television premiere of the film occurred on Geo TV. Later, SET India premiered the film in other regions. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the DVD of the movie worldwide.

Streaming

The film has been available on Lionsgate since 2020.

Music

The music of the film was released on July 7, 2007. The soundtrack album of the film was composed and produced by Rohail Hyatt. All songs were written by Shoaib Mansoor with an exception of "Mahi Way" and "Bandeya".

Accolades

References

References

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5. Gentleman, Amelia. (2008-04-16). "Now Playing in India: A Rare View of Pakistan". The New York Times.
6. "Khuda Kay Liye thaws 43 years of India-Pakistan screen chill". Hindustan Times (newspaper).
7. "KHUDA KAY LIYE (2007) - BFI".
8. "Khuda Kay Liye: Complete cast and crew details".
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10. (21 July 2015). "▼ 10 PAKISTANI FILMS THAT INDIAN'S MUST WATCH". The Ghaziabad Live.
11. (20 July 2007). "Khuda Ke Liye (2007)". Boxofficemojo.com.
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