Experiencing Interruptions?

The Agony

Alex, a disabled man living in isolation on his family’s balcony, is treated as a "curse" by his mother, Florence. While his younger brother, Alan, celebrates landing a new office job that promises to change their fortunes, internal family tensions and external jealousies begin to close in. As Christmas approaches, a series of events forces the brothers to confront a bitter past that defines their present.

  • Syed Asad Raza Abidi
    Director
  • Faizan Ahmed
    Writer
    Payam e Dil
  • Ameer Hamza
    Writer
    A Soldier Besides Me, Janjaal
  • Dayyan Khalid
    Producer
  • Ameed Akbar
    Key Cast
    "Alan"
  • Ali Buksh
    Key Cast
    "Alex"
  • Danish Irshad
    Key Cast
    "Harry"
  • Faizan Ahmed
    Key Cast
    "Peter"
  • Nazish Ali
    Key Cast
    "Florence"
  • Ameer Hamza
    Key Cast
    "Boss"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 22, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Pakistan
  • Country of Filming:
    Pakistan
  • Language:
    Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Indus University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Syed Asad Raza Abidi

Syed Asad Raza Abidi is an emerging filmmaker from Karachi. He is director of the short film Zawaal produced by Dayyan Khalid and written by Faizan Ahmed. It's an independent drama exploring themes of family neglect and social class. His work is centered on realistic storytelling and highlighting underrepresented perspectives within Pakistan.

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Director Statement

Zawaal is a film about what neglect does to a person over time, and what it can make them do.

Alex has lived his whole life on the margins of his own family. Disabled, disfigured, treated as a bad omen by the very mother who raised him. I wanted to sit with that invisibility...not explain it, just show it.

What drew me to this story is how ordinary the cruelty is. Nobody in this film is a monster by design. Florence's superstition, Alan's silence, Harry's envy...these are recognizable, everyday failures.

The kind that accumulate quietly until something breaks.
The ending isn't about evil winning. It's about what years of dehumanization can hollow out of a person. Alex's final choice isn't shocking to me...it's the logical conclusion of a life spent being told you don't matter.

I shot Zawaal in Karachi inside "Narain Pura" because this city has a particular texture to its suffering. The overcrowded staircases, the flickering lights, the street noise that never stops.. It's a character.

This is a film about how we discard people, and what we leave behind when we do.

Syed Asad Raza Abidi