Private Project

Dance Kahani (Dance Story)

Dance Kahani is the story of British born and bred Pakistani Ballerina and contemporary dancer who is forced to move back to Pakistan. In order to make an escape from her sudden upside down turned life in a conservative household she turns to the streets where she comes across the city's under ground hip hop and parkour circuit. Determined to follow her dancing dream she forms her own crew to take on the competition of the year and leave Pakistan once and for all with the winnings.

The Main protagonist is played by Scottish Actor and ballerina Madeleine Hanna who flew in to Pakistan around 3 times to shoot the film in Karachi.

  • Omar Hassan
    Director
  • Omar Hassan
    Writer
  • Shahid Qureshi
    Producer
  • Shahnaz Afsar
    Producer
  • Imran Shaukat
    Producer
  • Zahir Ali
    Producer
  • Omar Hassan
    Producer
  • Madeleine Hanna
    Key Cast
  • Alamdar Khan
    Key Cast
  • Vernin U'chong
    Key Cast
  • Abdul Ghani
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 24 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 20, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    200,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Pakistan
  • Country of Filming:
    Pakistan
  • Language:
    English, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Summit Entertainment
    Country: Pakistan
    Rights: Theatrical
Director Biography - Omar Hassan

With a career based on brand marketing and advertising, Omar gave up his successful corporate career to follow his passion which was film making. Armed with very limited investment, and a small crew, he took it up as a challange to give birth to a genre which Pakistani cinema never thought was possible here...Dance and musical (based on western dance styles). He fought with every obstacle thrown in his way; from working with dancing talent who were non actors to his lead not knowing any Urdu and the majority cast not knowing English. From sabotaged sets to dislocated knees, from city wide strikes to bomb blasts and terrorist attacks happening in the city, Omar braved it all and completed the entire film shoot in record 32 days in a single spell.

However, It did take him another two years to complete the post production due to his insistance of completing all aspects of post within Pakistan including color grade and final sound mix.

Omar in the meanwhile went on to shoot a few television commercials and is currently working on his 2nd feature which is not only a big starrer but is amongst the 'high' budget features lined up for 2017

Dance Kahani was released all across Pakistan on 5th of August 2016 and recieved very positive reviews from audiences and critics alike.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Dance Kahani is in no way mean't to be a standard for Dance Films in Pakistan...it is just the first step in showcasing to our audiences and other film makers that there is more to our society and our youth than just serious family issues or terrorism based drama.

Dance Kahani actually showcases a side of our society which is pursuing their dreams of walking hand in hand with the rest of the world despite the aura of extremism surrounding them.

The intent is not to make the film a box office success but rather to make these kids on the street believe that there is hope and that dreams can come true...even in Pakistan.

And this is exactly why I chose to go ahead with a cast which was unknown and comprised of kids directly off the streets...kids who could dance but had never stepped in front of the camera...Dance Kahani made their dreams come true by giving them the opportunity to become stars...to show the world that they can dance...and dance they did...and they made me proud!"