The immensely talented Indian writer-director Alankrita Shrivastava is all set for her next directorial venture. Her next project is reportedly (via Variety) going to be a film based on the life and death of the deceased Pakistani model, actress, and social media celebrity Fouzia Azeem, who was well known by her stage name Qandeel Baloch.
The film will ostensibly be based on Pakistani journalist Sanam Maher’s 2018 book ‘The Sensational Life & Death of Qandeel Baloch’, whose rights have been acquired by Alankrita Shrivastava, and the film’s producers Vikas Sharma and Sunny Khanna.
Qandeel Baloch had first bagged limelight after her popular audition for the music-based reality show Pakistani Idol. The charming woman later became a sensation on the internet and was described as Pakistan’s first social media star. She gained widespread fame through her videos, photos, and outspoken remarks on various social media platforms which touched upon some controversial subjects. While international media compared her to Kim Kardashian, she was regarded by many as the Pakistani counterpart of Poonam Pandey.
Then, in the year 2016, when she was just 26 years old, Qandeel Baloch sadly became a victim of honor killing as she was strangled to death while she was asleep in Multan, purportedly by her own brother.
Alankrita Shrivastava, who will be helming the film on Late Qandeel Baloch, is fresh off the heels after directing the segment ‘My Beautiful Wrinkles’ in Amazon Prime Video’s anthology series ‘Modern Love: Mumbai’. Previously, she has also directed the female-centric Netflix series ‘Bombay Begums’, Prime Video’s show ‘Made in Heaven’, and the comedy-drama movie ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’, amongst others.