Gohar Rasheed unveiled as Shoaib Akhtar in ‘Rawalpindi Express’

It has been revealed that Gohar Rasheed will play the role of Shoaib Akhtar in Rawalpindi Express – A Shoaib Akhtar Biopic as the teaser was released.

He will be replacing Umair Jaswal, who was the original choice, but he walked away from the project due to creative differences.

Following the legal disputes the film faced, a teaser has finally been released after a number of changes were made to the original script.

The fast-paced teaser showcased Akhtar’s childhood struggles, various battles and a rise to success.

The teaser comes after Shoaib Akhtar announced he obtained a stay order against the filmmakers, which prohibits the filming and release of the film until the lawsuit’s final decision.

Akhtar said at the time: “I have secured a stay order against the filming and release of the supposed biopic being made on my life by a certain group of people.”

He also warned that anyone involved in the project should be aware of the illegality of their actions and the potential reputational loss they may face.

Shoaib Akhtar previously distanced himself from the “dream project” and legally revoked all rights to his life’s story.

In a statement, he said: “Very sadly, I would like to inform all of you that after careful consideration for months, I have decided to disassociate myself from the film Rawalpindi Express and its makers by terminating the agreement through my management and legal team.

“Definitely, it was a dream project and I tried a lot to prevent [this] and stay in the boat but unfortunately, things were not going well.

“Failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cutting ties with them.

“I have left the project after complying [with] all legal protocols of revoking the rights to the story of my life.”

Meanwhile, producer and managing director of Q Film Productions, Kafeel Anwar, spoke about the time and effort that was put into making the biopic.

He said: “Completing the production of this film was not an easy task.

“When you are producing a film about a legend as big as Shoaib Akhtar, the margin for error is zero.”

“We were fortunate to build a dedicated team in Pakistan that worked tirelessly to bring it to completion. Shoaib Akhtar is a larger-than-life personality with a worldwide fan base, so we had to ensure that we got it right.”

The biopic has been filmed in over 40 locations over a period of 68 days.

The ensemble cast features the likes of Faran Tahir, Saleem Mairaj, Salman Shahid, Shafqat Cheema and Usman Peerzada.

Watch the Rawalpindi Express Teaser