Hasan Minhaj Joins Rizwan Manji and Atharva Verma in Pakistani American Coming-Of-Age-Film ‘Mustache’
- Written and directed by Imran J. Khan, it follows a 13-year-old boy who sets off to navigate the social hierarchy of his new California public school with a mustache his parents will not allow him to shave off.
Indian American comedian and actor Hasan Minhaj will join Rizwan Manji, Ayana Manji, Atharva Verma, Meesha Shafi and Alicia Silverstone in “Mustache,” the feature film debut of Pakistani American writer and director Imran J. Khan. Deadline says the coming-of-age film is “largely autobiographical, and follows Ilyas (Verma), “an eccentric 13-year-old boy who sets off to navigate the social hierarchy of his new California public school with a mustache his parents will not allow him to shave off.”
Khan told Deadline that he’s “very humbled and honored to be partnering with the amazing people at MakeSay as well as the talented Christopher Storer to bring my very personal and often eccentric film to life. I can’t think of a better team to partner with to bring this film to life.”
While details of roles essayed by Minhaj and Silverstone haven’t been disclosed, Deadline notes that Manji will play Ilyas’ father Hameed, while the mother’s role will be portrayed by Shafi. Manji’s daughter Ayana will be seen as Ilyas’ school friend Yasmeen.
The film will be produced by Christina Won and Jessica Sittig of MakeSay, along with American Light and Fixture’s Christopher Storer and Tyson Bidner. Cooper Wehde and Parker Mays are co-producing.
“I am excited to be a part of a project that tells a universal coming-of-age story in ways that we haven’t seen before and from a diverse perspective,” Indo-Canadian Manji told Deadline. He said the film “is an honest representation of growing up Muslim in the 90s. I found the script special, and immediately connected to the father-son relationship that is central to the film.”
Known for his turn as Ray Butani on Pop TV’s breakout comedy series “Schitt’s Creek,” Manji has more recently been seen on series like “Peacemaker,” “Roar” and “Atypical” and in films like “Wedding Season.” He’ll next be seen in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and writer-director Thom Harp’s indie comedy, “The Donor Party.”
Earlier this month, Minhaj returned to Netflix with his latest standup special “The King’s Jester,” directed by Prashanth Venkataramanujam. Filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the special features Minhaj discussing some of his recent life events, as well as his thoughts on fertility, fatherhood, and freedom of speech. Four years in the making, it delves into Minhaj’s family, fame, and friction between the two. He addresses experiences that he hasn’t discussed before, and are more tethered to developments following his first Netflix special “Homecoming King.”
Minhaj also recently appeared on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” and in films like “The Spy Who Dumped Me.” He will be next seen in Justin Simien’s “Haunted Mansion film for Disney,” which is slated for release next August.