Iram Haq's What Will People Say (Hva Vil Folk Sii) has been selected as Norway's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards. Featuring Adil Hussain and Norwegian-Pakistani actress Maria Mozdah in the lead roles, the film has been co-produced by the countries of Norway, Germany, Sweden, and France.
Haq, a second generation Norwegian, focusses on the strained relationship between a conservative honour-bound father and his rebellious daughter in the film. Hussain's performance as the conservative and tough disciplinarian, Mirza, won critical acclaim.
What Will People Say review: Intense look at honour and identity clashes
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and won four major awards at Norway's national awards competition. These included a Best Supporting Actor gong for Hussain. The film also won Best Director and Best Screenplay for Haq.
Revolving around the story of a 16-year-old Nisha (played by Maria Mozhdah), the film captures the struggle of a rebellious girl in a very conservative immigrant family. The film is director Haq's second selection to the Oscars, after her debut feature, I Am Yours was also sent as the official entry to the 2013 Academy awards.
Hussain will be seen in Tabrez Noorani's Love Sonia, and is also part of the big-budget sci-fi 2.0 alongside Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar scheduled to be released later this year.