Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Saawan

Saawan is a 2017 Pakistani drama film directed by Farhan Alam and produced and written by Mashood Qadri under the production banner of Kalakar Entertainments. The film is based on a true story of a disabled child, who faced difficulties in the deserts of Pakistan. The film stars Saleem Mairaj, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Niazmi, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali. A special appearance is made by Lt. Gen. S. A. A. Najmi (R). It was selected as the Pakistani entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
Length
1,059 w
Citations
28
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Saawan
Quest for Survival
ساون
Directed byFarhan Alam
Written byMashood Qadri
Produced byMashood Qadri
Asma Qadri
Starring
CinematographyFarhan Alam
Edited byAseem Sinha
Music byEmir Işılay
Production
company
Kalakar Films
Distributed byGeo Films
Release date
  • July 2017 (2017-07) (Madrid)1
CountryPakistan
LanguageUrdu

Saawan (Urdu: ساون) is a 2017 Pakistani drama film directed by Farhan Alam and produced and written by Mashood Qadri under the production banner of Kalakar Entertainments. The film is based on a true story of a disabled child, who faced difficulties in the deserts of Pakistan.2 The film stars Saleem Mairaj, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Niazmi, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali. A special appearance is made by Lt. Gen. S. A. A. Najmi (R).3 It was selected as the Pakistani entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.45

Plot

The film tells the story of a disabled child, who is up against all kinds of obstacles and cruelty.6

Cast

  • Saleem Mairaj as Child abductor
  • Syed Karam Abbas as Sawan
  • Arif Bahalim as Jishar
  • Najiba Faiz as Arzoo
  • Imran Aslam as News reporter
  • Tipu Sharif
  • Hafeez Ali
  • Sehrish Qadri as Sana
  • Sohail Malik as Sardar Ghazwaan
  • Shahid Niazmi as Zakir
  • Muhammad Abbas as Rehmat
  • Danial Yunus as Mirzaad
  • Mehek Zulfiqar
  • Syed Muhammad Ali as Humbal
  • Lt. Gen. S. A. A. Najmi (R)
  • Liam as Tripod dog

Production

The official trailer of the film was released in early March 2016.78 The film was shot in Pakistan's Northern region (Gilgit-Baltistan and Shigar) and the Balochistan province (Quetta district and Ziarat district).9

Release

The film was scheduled for release in 2017 in Pakistan as well as United Arab Emirates, United States, United Kingdom and India under the production banner of Kalakar Films.10 Rehmat K Fazli, the head of Geo Films in an Interview confirmed that film will release in late September 2017.6

Home media

Saawan was made available for streaming on Netflix.

Accolades

The film won 'Best Foreign Language Feature Film' award at the Madrid International Film Festival 2017. Saawan was also selected at the Social World Film Festival, Italy, where it was nominated for Best Film, Best Director and special prize of the critics award.11

The film won 'Best Film' and 'Best Director' with Farhan Alam at the Social World Film Festival 2017 in Naples, Italy.12131415

The film won "Best Film' and 'Best Musical Score' at the Salento International Film Festival 2017

Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Madrid International Film Festival Best Foreign Language Feature Film Saawan Won 1617
Social World Film Festival Best Film Saawan Won 18
Best Director Farhan Alam Won
Salento International Film Festival Best Film Saawan Won 19
Best Soundtrack Award Emir Işılay Won
Alexandria Film Festival Best Foreign Film Saawan Won 2021
All Lights India International Film Festival (ALIIFF) Golden Frame Award for Best Feature Film Saawan Won 2223
4th Galaxy Lollywood Awards Best Film Saawan Nominated 24a
Best Director Farhan Alam Nominated
Best Story Mashood Qadri Nominated
Best Actor in a Negative Role Saleem Mairaj Nominated
Pakistan International Film Festival Best Director Farhan Alam Nominated 25b
Best Male Debut Syed Karam Abbas Nominated
See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Pakistani movie 'Saawan' impresses all at Madrid film festival". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. Jawaid, Wajiha (25 December 2015). "Farhan Alam's 'Saawan' carries a message of hope for disabled kids". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. "Saawan Is A "quest For Survival" Against All Odds". The News International. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. "Pak Selection Committee nominates 'Saawan' for Oscar". Geo TV. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  5. Frater, Patrick (17 September 2017). "Desert Drama 'Saawan' Selected by Pakistan for Oscar Contention". Variety. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  6. Khan, Saira (20 July 2017). "Farhan Alam's 'Saawan' to release across Pakistan". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  7. Viral Videos (10 August 2016). "Saawan Full HD Trailer Top Pakistani movie 2016 YouTube". Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via YouTube.
  8. "The promo of 'Saawan' is disturbing on many levels". HIP. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. Jawad, Wajiha (3 January 2016). "Farhan Alam's 'Saawan' carries a message of hope for disabled kids". HIP. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. "Pakistani Movie Saawan Trailer Revealed". Brandsynario. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  11. Khan, Saira (17 July 2017). "'Saawan' shines bright at The Madrid International Film Festival". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. "Claudia Cardinale legge il cinema al Social World Film Festival - LUmagazine". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  13. Khan, Saira (17 July 2017). "'Saawan' shines bright at The Madrid International Film Festival". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. "Programma Social World Film Festival" (PDF) (in Italian). Città di Vico Equense. 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  15. "Saawan – Pakistani Celebrity News & Gossip". pakistan.mb4uli.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  16. "Saawan wins big at international film festivals". The News International. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  17. "Pakistani movie 'Saawan' impresses all at Madrid film festival". Geo News. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  18. "Saawan wins big at international film festivals". The News International. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  19. "Saawan scoops best foreign film award at Alexandria Film Festival". Pakistan Today. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  20. "Saawan wins best foreign film award at US festival". Geo News. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  21. "'Saawan' wins big at 11th annual Alexandria Film Festival". The Express Tribune. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  22. "Pakistan film Saawan wins Indywood's ALIIFF Golden Frame Award". International Business Times. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  23. "Pakistan's feature film Saawan bags Indywood's ALIIFF Golden Frame Award". Daily Pakistan. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  24. "Galaxy Lollywood Awards 2017 nominations". GalaxyLollywood.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  25. "PIFF 2017 nominations announced". The Express Tribune. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
External links


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).