LAHORE: The trailer for Hareem Farooq’s upcoming film Mango Jutt has sparked criticism, including from filmmaker Ali Sajjad Shah, better known as Abu Aleeha, who previously directed the project.
Shah criticised the trailer in an Instagram story on Friday. He called it “cringe-worthy” and “trashy”.
Speaking to Images, Shah went further and said the film itself was worse.
Images contacted Farooq for a response but had not received one by the time of publication.
Filmmaker claims project was his idea
Shah said he originally developed Mango Jutt around three and a half years ago.
He claimed that he wrote the script, selected the cast and brought Farooq into the project as both an actor and co-producer.
According to Shah, filming ended around two and a half years ago. He said he completed the film’s edit four months later.
A May 2024 Instagram post by actor Shamoon Abbasi, who plays the antagonist, credited Shah as the film’s director. The post also said filming had finished.
Shah said problems emerged after the team proposed sending the film to India for further editing.
He claimed the final edit returned about a year later and described it as “very bad”.
Shah alleges major changes to the story
According to Shah, his original story relied heavily on Ayesha Jehanzeb’s character.
He claimed the Indian edit removed more than half of her scenes. He also said Maira Bangash’s role suffered similar cuts.
Shah said he objected to the changes and told the team that he did not accept them.
He also claimed that other disagreements emerged during the same period.
The filmmaker said the Punjab government later granted the production team Rs30 million. He claimed the team then asked him to shoot additional scenes to “justify the funding”.
Shah said he refused because the proposed opening scene was not feasible.
Faysal Quraishi’s changed appearance caused another issue
Shah also discussed changes to Faysal Quraishi’s appearance.
He said Quraishi had built muscle and grown a beard for the original shoot.
However, Quraishi had changed his appearance for other projects by the time the team requested additional filming.
Shah said these disagreements eventually led him to leave the project.
The film continued without him.
The filmmaker said he would not have discussed his grievances publicly if Farooq had not raised the issue first.
Farooq hints at further developments
The controversy intensified after journalist Ambreen Fatima shared a video on Thursday.
In the clip, Fatima asked Farooq why Shah’s name did not appear in the trailer credits.
Farooq laughed and responded that everyone who worked on the film would receive credit.
When Fatima pressed her for more details, Farooq said she could not say much.
She added that “a lot of things would come to light soon”.
The trailer’s release has therefore renewed questions about Shah’s departure from Mango Jutt and the changes made to the film during its production.
