Crusader Malala Yousufzai

Malala Yousufzai

A Bangladeshi student has been chosen to play the on-screen role of Malala Yousufzai who became a global symbol of the fight against the Taliban after being shot at and grievously wounded on October 9 last year, Indian newspaper “The Times of India” reported today.

Noted Indian filmmaker Amjad Khan, who was making a film on the 14-year-old Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, has finally chosen Fatima Sheikh, a Dhaka-based girl based for the coveted role. The actor's identity had been kept a secret for the last 40 days when Khan did her screen test, the daily said .

Malala used the pseudonym 'Gul Makai' while writing her diary on Taliban days in Pakistan's Swat valley.

“There were two reasons for all this secrecy. One was that her parents were extremely reluctant to let her do this role, let alone expose her to the danger it involved and second was the work permit to shoot in India”, The Times of India quoted Amjad as saying adding it was only ten days ago that Fatima got the work permit and the film was ready to roll.

The shoot of the proposed film will be held in India and Pakistan, Amjad said.

He said it took a lot of time to persuade the Bangladeshi girl's parents to let her do the role of Malala on screen. “Even now, the parents are insisting on not revealing the girl's face till the second schedule of the film's shoot is over.”

Taliban gunmen had sprayed bullets on Malala when she was on her way back home in Swat valley on October 9 last year. Critically wounded, she was flown to the UK for treatment.

Amjad said he was also excited about getting permission to shoot the film in Islamabad and Karachi.

“It took me three months, and finally, the Pakistan government gave me the permission to shoot,” said Amjad.

“I will be shooting what the Taliban activity is all about, how they train youngsters, all this is what I will shoot – I will keep Fatima on the sets so that she gets accustomed to all of us. She is just a kid, actually, she is still studying, so I need to make her comfortable first,” said Amjad.