Pakistan's answer to Dhurandhar? All about film Mera Lyari, which Sindh minister called counter to 'India's propaganda'

Pakistani film, Mera Lyari, releasing in May, is being called the ‘answer to Dhurandhar’, the blockbuster Bollywood film also set in Karachi's Lyari Town.

Lyari is a borough of Karachi that most Indians were unaware of till last year. It was the hugely successful Dhurandhar franchise that brought the Pakistani town to national prominence in India. In the 2000s, Lyari was a hotbed of gang activity, which forms the backdrop for Dhurandhar as it blends fact with fiction. And while the film has been hailed in India, across the border, the reception has been mixed. Many are miffed at how the film has presented Lyari as lawless and chaotic. A new film from Pakistan, called Mera Lyari, aims to ‘correct that wrong’.

Ayesha Omar in a still from Mera Lyari.

What is Mera Lyari?

Written and directed by Abu Aleeha, Mera Lyari is a sports drama that focuses on the female football players from the historic Karachi borough. According to Dawn, it stars Ayesha Omar as a football coach who suffered a debilitating injury, ostensibly a result of domestic abuse. Having escaped Lyari, she returns to teach girls in the area how to play. The star cast also includes Dananeer Mobeen and Trinette Lucas. The film features many local footballers and residents in its supporting cast. The film is backed by Sindh's Information Department.

In December, when the film was announced, Sindh Minister of Information Sharjeel Memon had hailed it as Pakistan hitting back at “negative propaganda” pushed by India. Memon had called Dhurandhar “yet another example of negative propaganda by the Indian film industry against Pakistan,” adding that Mera Lyari will show “the true face of Lyari: peace, prosperity, and pride”.

Mera Lyari will premiere at the UK Asian Film Festival, followed by a theatrical release in Pakistan on May 8.

How Dhurandhar depicted Lyari

Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar, is a spy thriller set in Lyari. It stars Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy sent to infiltrate the gang of Rehman Baloch in Lyari in the mid-2000s. It charts how Hamza, Ranveer’s character, destroys the Baloch gang from within while also dismantling the Pakistani terror network it is affiliated with. The film shows Lyari from 2005-22, depicting it as a hotbed of gang activities and smuggling, while also showing the actual Operation Lyari that Karachi Police undertook against the gangs there in late 2009.

Dhurandhar depicts several real-life figures, including Rehman, his cousin Uzair Baloch, Karachi SP Chaudhary Aslam, and gangster Dawood Ibrahim, as well as characters based on Pakistani and Indian national figures such as Ajit Doval, Jaswant Singh, Nawaz Sharif, and Asif Ali Zardari. The two Dhurandhar films have earned over ₹3000 crore worldwide.