Pakistani blockbuster hits China

As an admirer of action cinema like that of Bruce Lee, Lashari says his favorite Chinese-language film is director Zhang Yimou's 2002 martial arts epic Hero — which he first watched while attending college in the United States.

"I remember everyone was talking about the film. Someone played it in our dormitory, and all the students gathered to watch it," he recalls. "It transported us, especially the cinematography. We were used to a certain kind of Hollywood action, but Hero felt poetic in a completely different way. It had a huge impact on me."

When asked whether he hopes to collaborate with Chinese filmmakers in the future, Lashari pauses for a moment before answering carefully. "People often talk about coproductions as if they're simply about sharing resources or facilities. But a true coproduction should come from story and culture."

China and Pakistan, he observes, are both ancient civilizations shaped by long histories, trade routes, and layered traditions. Given the opportunity, he says he would like to imagine creating a fantasy epic inspired by the Silk Road — a story in which characters from both countries meet not as symbols, but as fully realized people inhabiting the same cinematic world.

Having already learned Punjabi while making The Legend of Maula Jatt, Lashari adds that he would gladly attempt to learn some Chinese for such a project. The real challenge, he believes, lies not in basic conversation, but in understanding the subtleties hidden within language itself.

"Learning basic communication is different from learning the deeper meanings. Each community, each city, each area will have slight differences. Even in China — because it's so big — if you keep moving to different areas, the culture and language start to mean something else. So, it would be interesting to learn those nuances," says the director.