Faiz's last film a mystery, says daughter

Containing a piece of priceless history, the whereabouts of the last film made by legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz remains a mystery after it was misplaced due to a political upheaval in Pakistan decades ago.

Faiz's daughter Salima Hashmi told PTI that they are still looking for the negatives of 'Dur Hain Sach Ka Gaon' (The Village of Truth is Far), made in the early eighties, in Pakistan and London. "When the final editing of the film was being done, Faiz had to run away in exile due to a volatile political situation.

After that the reels got lost. Nobody has seen the film as it was never released," she said during a visit to the city. Based on an original story by Faiz, the A J Kardar directed film had a relatively unknown star cast. Shot in the trouble-torn Baluchistan province of Pakistan, it debates on the struggle between the beliefs of the people and the ritualistic beliefs of religion.

"Against a timeless setting, it discusses how the priest can also body evil. When I look back, I think this is the time when we should see this film," Hashmi said while talking about the ongoing turmoil and human rights violations in the region. On her struggle to find her father's film, she said the reels were last sighted at the Pakistani embassy in London.

"Now all the old people have left. The embassy officials say the film is not with them. It was his last film and so its fate really broke my father's heart. It took him a lot of time to come to terms with the harsh reality," she lamented.