Director Hansal Mehta and producer Anubhav Sinha shared an emotional moment in London following the world premiere of their film Faraaz at the Curzon Cinema in Soho during the BFI London Film Festival recently.

Starring Zahan Kapoor and Aditya Rawal, Faraaz opened to a warm response from the audience in London last weekend.

A gripping drama based on the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka where 22 people were brutally killed, Faraaz received spontaneous applause after the show and was followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session with the cast and crew.

The film had a total of three screenings over the weekend which were packed to capacity. People even queued up in large numbers outside the cinema to get last-minute entries.

An overwhelmed Hansal said, “It's a very emotional moment for me as the hard work and the many challenges that we have faced in making this film has finally paid off. I’m truly overwhelmed by the terrific response at the BFI London Film Festival. The energy in the auditorium was infectious. The audience had some really sharp questions to ask following the screening.”

Anubhav Sinha, the film’s producer, added, “Hansal is one of the few filmmakers of today that keeps his cinema so realistic and true. Faraaz was a story that needed to be told and Hansal has done perfect justice to the catastrophic events of that night. We’re very happy that the audience is receiving it with all this love.”

Faraaz is produced by Anubhav Sinha and Bhushan Kumar in association with Sakshi Bhatt, Sahil Saigal and Mazahir Mandsaurwala. The film is jointly produced by Benaras Mediaworks and T-Series in association with Mahana Films.

T-Series managing director Bhushan Kumar said, “It’s an honour to have sold-out shows and so much buzz around the movie. It really puts back your belief in the power of storytelling.”