Only Trailer Available
Director - Muhammad Razi
Genre -
Duration - 11 minutes 17 seconds
Country - Pakistan
Language - Panjabi
Year - 2021
SYNOPSIS : Pehlwani is a form of wrestling from the Indian subcontinent. It was developed in the Mughal Empire with influences from Persian varzesh-e-bastani – a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran in the Middle ages.
The words pehlwani and kushti derive from the Persian terms pahlavani and kosht respectively. It is likely that the word derives from the Iranian word "Pehalavi" denoting to people of Iranian descent.
The story of “Shahiya Pahalwan” revolves around a pahalwan – Shah Din Butt – whose fate underwent many twists during the span of his rather unfortunate life which ended in an even unfortunate way – his murder.
Born into a professional pahalwan family in Khoe Wali village of Wazirabad district, Butt was an avid sportsman, having keen interest in pahalwani which grew up to be a passion for him.
In an early age, he started his career as an aspirant, undergoing multiple training programs at different akharas.
As he grew older, Butt developed a thing for what our society refers to as hooliganism. Receiving what he’d dub as his inspiration later in life, he gradually transformed into a goon, earning memberships of local gangs.
With the fate as twisting as his, Butt slumped deep into the falls of hooliganism, joining hoodlums and racketeers of the time. Many observers have said that Butt formed an MQM-style crime ring of his own, with the prime of his crime career being developing his influence over the famous food street in Lahore.
“There are stories, unverified through, that Shahiya Pahalwan helped boost the business of the residents of the infamous Heera Mandi, the red-light district besides Badshahi Masjid,” said one observer.
By now, Shah Din had earned enough money to realise that it’s more ill-fame than repute – which was his new adventure. With pockets filled deeply with cash, he now ventured into the film industry, having formed Shah Din Productions. His production company went on to produce historic box-office flops including Nam Gentreman, Putar Shahiye Daa and Putra Shahiye Daa – with every script revolving around his personal story, aimed at converting the notoriety into a legend that simply never was.
“We ventured into films mainly to do away with the ill-fame my father had earned in his career as a badmash,” said Goga Pahalwan, his son, adding, “notwithstanding the fact that we were only badmash (badass), not ghunday (goons).”
“People often confuse the two,” he lamented with a shaking head.
The new adventure closed sooner than Shah Din had anticipated with his production company one flop after the other.
Shah Din’s personal life was as shocking as his professional one. He had 7 sons from his marriage. 6 of them died – all unnaturally – only one survived only to see the family plummeting from the highs his father, Shah Din, had took it at.
“My relatives do not see me anymore,” said Goga, the sole survivor, with a sad smile on his face. “You know why? Because they know I’m broke now.”
Goga now runs the akhara in addition to holding religious functions including annual urs at the site which is situated right next to Badshahi Masjid’s Masti Gate entrance.
DMOFF AWARD -
Official Selection September 2021
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