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People around the world have been in lockdown these past two years and so was the Pakistani film industry — especially films that'd been shot but couldn't be released. But with the recent opening of cinemas, films are finally releasing and Ishrat Made in China is one of them. Filmed around the start of Covid, it has finally released its first teaser.

Mohib Mirza directed his first feature film that, despite saying it was made in China, was shot in Thailand. Mirza will also be starring in the film. The cast shared a teaser on December 17 which was wordless but the montage featured aerial shots of the various locations, an array of colours whizzing by and characters in motion. The film is supposed to get a theatrical release "soon" according to the teaser.

The teaser received lots of support from fellow actors, producers and friends such as Bilal Abbas Khan, Sami Khan and Shahzad Sheikh.

Ishrat Made In China is an action comedy that's said to be a spin-off of Mirza's satirical show Ishrat Baji (2006). Mirza will be playing Ishrat himself and the cast members include his costar from Bachaana Sanam Saeed, Sara Loren, Ali Kazmi and Shamoon Abbasi, Shabbir Jan, Imam Syed, Salman Saqib (Mani) and Mustafa Chaudhry.

Character posters of the cast had been released a few months after filming to introduce the cast to the audience.

Designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, better known as HSY, was to make his acting debut with this film but since the release was delayed, he was first seen in the TV show Pehli Si Mohabbat earlier this year. He is also part of the film, in fact, Mirza had designed a role especially for him.

Calling his time on set "one of most thrilling experiences" of his life, HSY said he was impressed by the "incredible professionalism on set, the mind blowing creativity, the jaw-dropping locations, the electrifying and gripping action sequences, the most gifted and talented cast and crew and for a director who believed in not just me, but in all of us and got the best out of us."

The teaser is testament to HSY's words and really shows how much work went into the shooting of this film. Right after the cast finished shooting, the world came to a grinding halt due to the coronavirus while they were still in Thailand. Travel restrictions had half of the cast stuck there for about a month before the government pulled through to get them back home.

The film has gone through a lot to get here and surely deserves to be watched if only for what the cast and crew went through to get to the cinema screens. Another reason to watch it is that the teaser looks quite promising.