Dawn Images

A far cry from the seedhi saadi Meena we saw in Janaan, Armeena Rana Khan dons a new avatar for her upcoming international project.

The Pakistani-Canadian actor speaks to Images about her British sci-fi film, The Achilles Protocol.

"This is the first time I will be seen in this avatar," she says. "It is a far cry from the regular portrayals of [women] that the Pakistani audiences are used to. I am playing the main antagonist and female lead in the film.

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"It's a science-fiction movie and naturally, the technical requirements of European cinema are very different from Pakistani projects. I have to completely step out of my Janaan and Yalghaar state of mind and immerse myself in a different way of acting so I'm studying a lot of independent English films to adjust my methodology and I'm reading a lot of sci-fi literature," she shares.

The short film stars Armeena Khan, Christopher Faith, Mark Hill and Grace Riley. It has been written and directed by Aatif Zafar.

Armeena adds, "We have high expectation because the people involved are highly skilled and capable. This is an extremely technical film designed to compete with other cutting edge work."

On the release of the film she says, "It will primarily release on the International Film Festival circuit. Then it will have a limited international release through various many different nationalities. But of course, I will fly the flag for Pakistan in this project," she says.

"Achilles Protocol is aimed at the film festival market and I know that the audience is ruthless," Armeena told Images in an earlier interview. "I have to ensure I give a competent performance. Hopefully we can take it to Cannes next year. I've previously worked in a British short film called Writhe, which went to Cannes."

While Armeena has worked in a couple of Pakistani films, including her most recent release Janaan and the earlier Bin Roye, she has also starred in quite a few international projects. "This is a continuation of my international body of work which I have maintained alongside the acting work in the Pakistani film industry."

Her future projects include upcoming Pakistani film Yalghaar and a feature film in the West.