SRINAGAR: Paradise is on a high after J&K-born Bollywood filmmaker Rahat Kazmi’s `The Last Coffee’ opened to rave reviews.
Starring Ankita Lokhande aka Archana of `Pavitra Rishta’ fame and young J&K-born actor Shoaib Nikash Shah, `The Last Coffee’ has been released on Zee5. Shot exclusively in Patnitop, the movie was showcased in different international film festivals before making the OTT debut.
UP educationist Raj Kushwaha has produced the film along with Rahat Kazmi. Shoaib Nikash Shah has written and directed the movie.
“I have produced the movie. Shoaib Nikash Shah directed the movie. It has been released on Zee 5. It has opened to rave reviews from critics. People liked the movie very much. The film has been extensively shot in Patnitop. Shooting started in the post-Covid era and we completed it in 20 plus days,” Rahat Kazmi told The Kashmir Monitor.
The story revolves around a couple who are getting a divorce. “On the last day of the court hearing, the husband invites his wife for `The Last Coffee’. She is reluctant but he says he will wait for her. On a snowy night, the wife comes for a coffee. The rest is history. It has an underlying message that all issues could be resolved through dialogue. A slight misunderstanding can widen the gap and ruin families,” said Rahat.
`The Last Coffee’ was nominated for best film in New York Movie Award. It was also nominated for best movie at the Film festival in Boston. The movie won an award at a film festival in Singapore.
“We did not opt for theatrical release. Our target was OTT. So we released it on Zee5. The OTT platform has 70 to 80 million subscribers,” Rahat said.
Hailing from Surankote in the Poonch district, Rahat Kazmi, 44, comes from a family of noted Sufi poet Vilayat Ali Shah Bukhari who had a tremendous influence in the area. For Kazmi, Bukhari was the first inspiration and he started writing prose and poetry when he was in eighth standard.
Films were his first love and such was his passion that he shot a movie on a small camera and screened it in the video halls of the area to test his skills. When he was in class 12th, he left for Mumbai to try his luck, but to no avail. Life changed for him when he shifted to Delhi to make a series on Bollywood personalities for ETV.
