'Tere Bin Laden' a satire on Osama

New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) He might be the world's most wanted terrorist, but Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is going to get a Bollywood avatar this Friday in the tongue-in-cheek satire "Tere Bin Laden".

Produced by Walkwater Media, the low-budget humorous take on the 9/11 mastermind has been directed by debutant Abhishek Sharma. It is also the launch vehicle of Pakistani singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar and newcomer Pradhuman Singh, who portrays Osama in the movie.

"Post-9/11, I wanted to react to the incident as an artist and show how the world got divided into two parts. But I could never find a subject to express myself," Abhishek told IANS.

"I thought it would be better if I tell my story in a light-hearted way rather than in a serious tone because sometimes comedy works better," he added.

Set in Pakistan, "Tere Bin Laden" tells the story of an ambitious young reporter, Ali Hasan, who is desperate to migrate to the US to pursue his dreams. His repeated attempts to migrate are rejected by visa officials post 9/11.

So Ali is stuck in Karachi, working in a shady news channel and covering trivial stories, but not ready to accept defeat. He finally sees a glimmer of hope when he bumps into Noora, a poultry farmer who looks like Osama. He then schemes to give Noora an Osama makeover. He tapes his speech, produces a fake Osama video and sells it to news channels as a scoop to make his way to America.

The promos of the film have amused the likes of Salman Khan and Karan Johar and have created a quite a buzz among audiences.

A quirky soundtrack by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, especially the song "Ullu da pattha", is growing popular by the day.

Abhishek has dared to make Osama the butt of jokes in his debut movie, but says it is not meant to be offensive.

"I don't think that it would be taken offensively by anyone. The film is a portrayal of the mad world we live in. It's not a spoof in that sense, it's more of a satire or a farce. Rather than making fun of someone, we are making fun of the situation of the world we live in. I think it is sensitive enough," Abhishek said.

However, Walkwater Media has received an anonymous letter, threatening them with dire consequences if they release the film.

As a "precautionary measure", Abhishek has also dropped the word "Laden" from the movie title for its Pakistan release.

"The word has been dropped as a precautionary measure owing to ongoing tensions in Pakistan. We have allowed the distributors to use "Tere Bin" as the title. But it's only in Pakistan, otherwise everywhere it's 'Tere Bin Laden'," he said.

And there is no release of the movie in the US as of now.

"We are releasing the film in the US, only in Phase 2. We'll first release it in India, Pakistan, UK, Australia and other NRI markets and then go to America after a gap of few months. If we release it in the NRI markets now, it will get branded as an NRI film," he added.

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Tere Bin Laden