The tales of Umro Ayyar will come alive on the big screen with a star-studded cast

In case you've been curious about why some stars have been posting about an intriguing looking box and metallic pendant on social media, the mystery has finally been solved. These items set the stage for a grand announcement that revealed director Azfar Jafri's upcoming, and seemingly ambitious, movie project.

The likes of Osman Khalid Butt, Naimal Khawar Khan, Sanam Mody and Usman Mukhtar posted about some mysterious trinkets they received recently on social media, including a small piece of paper that teased a grand reveal on November 17.

The reveal was finally made today; a video teaser was released for director Jafri's upcoming movie which is based on the iconic literary character Umro Ayyar. The teaser didn't reveal much, except for the film's star-studded cast, some striking visuals, and an alluring set of verses on "ancient lore" and "evil jinns"

Actors Usman Mukhtar, Sanam Mody, Ali Kazmi, Adnan Siddiqui and many more are starring in the upcoming project. Hollywood actor Faran Tahir — who's starred in the movies Iron Man and Star Trek — is also a prominent name amongst the listed cast members.

Directed Jafri told Images that the upcoming project is a "live action feature film". "At the moment we can't reveal much details," he said. "The film is based on a very popular character that we all grew up reading — Umro Ayyar. A character that has been forgotten by many even though it was part of our literature. I am really excited to make a film on that character. it is a very fresh take on him.

"The entire team focused on developing something all age groups can relate to. Everyone can relate to the movie and be entertained by it. It is a very different approach to how we make films here [in Pakistan]. It will be a game changer when it releases," he said.

Mukhtar, who is starring in the film, highlighted how excited the cast was about revealing the project. "Umro Ayyar is a fantasy-based novel and the film is obviously [based on] that," he said. "We are really excited to share this with the entire world. It has been a dream project, a passion project for all of us and we have been keeping this in for a year so it feels great to let it out and show the world the first look of the movie.

"In the coming months, a lot of interesting stuff will be coming out in relation to the film," Mukhtar revealed.

The character of Umro Ayyar appears in Dastan-i-Amir Hamza, a collection of stories about magic, adventure and intrigue written over a 1,000 years ago. The stories have travelled across several Muslim countries over time, becoming an integral part of their literary heritage.

The movie is set to hit cinemas in 2022.