The trailer of Hansal Mehta’s Faraaz was released on Monday afternoon. The hostage drama, set in Bangladesh, marks the debut of Zahaan Kapoor, the grandson of Shashi Kapoor and son of Kunaal Kapoor. The trailer was met with praise from fans upon its release.

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The film is described as “the story of a braveheart who chose humanity over himself”. Zahaan plays the titular character with Paresh Rawal’s son Aditya Rawal also appearing in a pivotal role. The film is based on the 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan café in Dhaka.

The trailer opens with people eating at the café when a group of armed terrorists storm the establishment and take everyone hostage. As the police and armed forces try to make sense of the situation, the terrorists begin indiscriminately killing everyone inside. We are then introduced to Faraaz Hussain, whom the terrorists call ‘Bangladesh ka shehzada’. The trailer shows an ideological tussle between Faraaz and his captors.

The captors want the world to know the ‘real meaning of Islam’ but Faraaz wants them to try and be human first. A throwaway line about people becoming ‘Islam ke thekedraar (guardians of Islam)’ was noted by a number of fans. Reacting to the trailer, one fan wrote, “This looks so good. Can’t wait!”

In an earlier interaction with news agency ANI, Mehta had said of the film, “To me, Faraaz is a story of our polarised times. Through the one event that rocked Dhaka -- the 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan cafe -- I've tried to explore the broader theme of violence and what really drives young, vulnerable minds towards it. Designed as a nail biting thriller that plays out over one tense night, my attempt with Faraaz has also been to shine a light on the immense courage and humanity that it takes to stand up against violence. Because standing up against bigotry and the carnage it triggers is the only way to defeat it.”

Faraaz is set to be released in theatres on February 3. It premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2022.