Mera Lyari, Pakistan’s Reply To Dhurandhar, Removed From Theatres After Selling Just 22 Tickets

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Mera Lyari movie flopped at box office within days.
• Some theaters removed film due to poor ticket sales.
• Film aimed to counter negative portrayals of Lyari.
• Low budget and appeal contributed to weak performance.

Pakistan’s Mera Lyari, which was touted as a response to Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise, was released in theatres on May 8. The film aimed to present a more positive and realistic image of Lyari. However, it failed to attract audiences to cinemas and reportedly turned into a box office flop within days of its release.

Mera Lyari Fails At Box Office

According to a report by Aaj Tak, some theatres in Pakistan removed the film shortly after its release due to poor ticket sales. The report, citing Pakistani media outlets, further claimed that the film managed to sell only 22 tickets.

Following this, the film was reportedly removed from certain venues on its very first day. Several social media accounts tracking Pakistani cinema also suggested that the film’s modest budget, low-scale presentation and lack of mainstream commercial appeal may have contributed to the weak response.

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Directed by Abu Aleeha, Mera Lyari stars popular Pakistani actors including Ayesha Omar, Dananeer Mobeen, Samia Mumtaz and Trinette Lucas. Unlike Dhurandhar, a spy action thriller revolving around espionage, weapons and terrorism, Mera Lyari is a sports drama centred on women footballers.

The discussion around the film intensified after Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon backed the project during its announcement in December. As reported by Dawn, he described the film as Pakistan’s response to the “negative propaganda” spread by India. Reports also stated that the province’s information department, which functions under his ministry, was involved in the making of the film.

According to Dawn, director Abu Aleeha had earlier said that the film’s biggest strength was its realism, as it was shot in Lyari with people closely connected to the locality. He said, “80 per cent of the cast, including supporting actors, members of the local football teams and even our hero Shoaib Hassan, are actual Lyari inhabitants”.

Dhurandhar Started Conversations Around Lyari

After the release of Dhurandhar and its sequel, Lyari became a widely discussed locality and a familiar name in many Indian households. The films portrayed the Karachi neighbourhood as a hub linked to crime, drugs and terror networks. Although the franchise was neither shot nor officially released in Pakistan, piracy reportedly helped it reach audiences across the border. Reports claimed that the first instalment was being sold there for as little as Rs 16.

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Following this, several viewers argued that Lyari had been portrayed in a negative light, which they considered unfair to the locality. This eventually led to the making of Mera Lyari, which, despite the attention surrounding it, failed to perform at the box office.