Dawn Images

Ayesha Omar and Yasir Hussain are starring in a movie on Javed Iqbal, one of Pakistan's most infamous serial killers, who admitted to killing over 100 young boys in Lahore in 1999.

Speaking to Images, Omar said shooting for the movie has started. The film will be in two parts, and the first part is 90 minutes long.

It's based on the investigation into Javed Iqbal, how he confessed, how he was interrogated etc, she said. "I am playing the female police officer who leads the interrogation," she added, describing the film as "fiction based on true events".

"For example, there was no female officer interrogating Javed Iqbal but in his film it is a female officer. The rest of the events are based on Javed Iqbal the serial killer and are true," she said.

While Omar plays a fierce police officer, Hussain is playing the infamous Javed Iqbal. Omar said they have some excellent actors playing other characters, many of whom are theatre actors.

The screenplay was written by Abu Aleeha and is being directed by him as well. "He's a very smart, intelligent man who knows what he’s doing and knows his script," the actor described. "I was very impressed with the homework they had done," she said.

Workshops for the film are done and they're going to start filming now, said Omar, explaining that they want the movie to be ready by the end of September. "It is for Netflix," she said, adding that they will have to see, because Netflix has a lot of procedures. "The film needs to be completed, then they look at it and then they approve it," she explained.

"So InshAllah it is for Netflix, or Pakistani cinemas," said Omar. She later clarified that the filmmakers' first preference is Pakistani cinema but if that doesn't pan out due to the pandemic, the film will be pitched to OTT platforms, such as Netflix.

"I’m very excited. It's a great team that is very organised, the director knows everything, from the breakdown of scenes to schedules, so I'm quite excited," she said.

Who was Javed Iqbal?

Iqbal was found dead in his jail cell on October 9, 2001.

He made a dramatic surrender at the office of an Urdu daily on Dec 30, 1999. The surrender brought an end to the country’s biggest manhunt that was launched after Iqbal himself conveyed the details of his crime to the authorities in the last week of November 1999, through parcels filled with evidence and pictures of his victims.

Besides the parcels, the serial killer left two human skeletons in an acid-filled container at the house from where the police recovered at least nine bags carrying clothes and shoes of the victims.

The parcels also contained a personal diary and a notebook of the self-confessed killer giving each and every detail of his murder. A letter bearing confessional statement of Javed was also attached with the parcels which read: “I had sexually assaulted 100 children before killing them, and had disposed of their bodies in barrels of acid.” A similar parcel was also sent to the office of an Urdu daily.