What Will People Say (2017)

The story of Nisha, daughter of a Pakistani-Norwegian family, who is kidnapped to Pakistan by her parents when her father finds her in bed with a man.

Director:

Iram Haq

Writer:

Iram Haq

Stars:

Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Ekavali Khanna

16 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maria Mozhdah	...	Nisha
Adil Hussain	...	Mirza
Ekavali Khanna	...	Mother Najma
Rohit Saraf	...	Amir
Ali Arfan	...	Asif
Sheeba Chaddha	...	Aunt
Lalit Parimoo	...	Uncle
Jannat Zubair Rahmani	...	Salima
Isak Lie Harr	...	Daniel
Nokokure Dahl	...	Emily
Eliza Raja	...	Ameena
Farrukh Jaffar	...	Bestemor
Naeem Azam	...	Amjad
Assad Siddique	...	Abdullah
Trine Wiggen	...	Social worker

Storyline

Sixteen year-old Nisha lives a double life. At home with her family she is the perfect Pakistani daughter, but when out with her friends, she is a normal Norwegian teenager. When her father catches her in bed with her boyfriend, Nisha's two worlds brutally collide. To set an example, Nisha's parents decide to kidnap her and place her with relatives in Pakistan. Here, in a country she has never been to before, Nisha is forced to adapt to her parents' culture.

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Plot Keywords:

written by director | pakistani | pakistani immigrant | immigrant | pakistani culture | 

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Taglines:

Sent to a country she's never known... she must risk everything to break free.

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The story idea came from the Director's real life incident. She was once kidnapped to Pakistan.

User Reviews

A moving experience !

I had the chance of seeing this movie screening in Bergen, Norway in Bergen International Film Festival, on 2nd Oct 2017. I had seen the trailer before and went with a bit of expectation. The movie exceeded my expectations with much difference. The debutante Mariah Mozdah is phenomenal portraying the daughter of a Pakistani family settled in Norway. She is torn apart between to cultures, the socially progressive Norway life and also her traditional family at home. Adil Hussain portrays the role of a doting father who values the societal norms and acceptance of his community very much. All of his thoughts comes under fire when he finds his daughter's white boyfriend. He decides to send his daughter to Pakistan, to his relatives, to discipline her and teach her their culture. Both Mariah and Adil have invested a lot of efforts into their performance. And the direction by Iram Haq really forces us to question and protest all the societal norms that we fear and surrender ourselves to knowingly and unknowingly. A must watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Beta Film [Germany] Mer Film [Norway]

Country:

Norway Germany Sweden France Denmark

Language:

Urdu Norwegian

Release Date:

13 July 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

What Will People Say

Filming Locations:

Norway

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,024, 15 July 2018

Gross USA:

$44,156

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,191,131

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mer Film, Rohfilm Factory GmbH, Zentropa International Sweden

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color (DCP)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1