Horror as a genre hasn’t been played with much when it comes to Pakistani Cinema. But then given the resurrection of our cinema and the number of films that have released in the last few years it would not be wrong to say that in this period of experimentation the focus hasn’t been on any one genre as such. We have had biopics, comedies, social dramas among others genres and a Pakistani identity is still being formed. Interestingly even then we have had some three-four horror films hitting cinemas in the past and now the latest offering in this genre is the found footage horror film Aksbandh.
The film narrates the story of six friends who go on a trip to shoot a found footage film where things take a nasty turn for them and well they end up being part of a found footage film themself!
Talking about the story there is nothing novel and the script has clearly drawn inspiration from quite a few sources including ‘Blair Witch Project’ ,’The River ( Television Show)’ among others. Nonetheless the idea of having a Pakistani version of the same and to have a found footage film be set in Pakistan is exciting. Moreover the team deserves a pat on the back for trying something new.
Here I would like to mention that one of the staples of the found footage genre is the fact that it does not give closure at the end and unlike a horror film all loose ends arent tied up. In horror films the climax narrates the story of the supernatural entity and explains why the the entire action took place. But since a found footage film is supposed to be talking reality there is no such scene and this can put off some local viewers who want closure. I believe the 24 hour ban on the film was probably because of the same reason as the censor board felt the film was pointless. So be wary of the fact that there will not be an explanation of why it all happened.
Moving on, the actors are all very believable in the roles they are playing and the chemistry between the group shows and adds to the authenticity which was needed given the genre. Ayaz Samoo and Danial Afzal are the stars as among the lot these two gentlemen gave the best performance. They very effortlessly cruised through the film and made sure you loved/hated their character. This should not take away from Bilal, Saud and Mahrukh who also gave an applaud worthy performance.However I did feel that Shehzeen Rahat could have done the role better and at times her acting came across as forced.
Talking about the direction, since the film was a found footage film almost every rule of camera work gets a waiver. But the director did make sure that he used his camerawork effectively with all the shakiness , the angles etc. Moreover the director has used sound to his advantage in the film, which is something very rarely seen in our Pakistani films who have terrible background scores. Lastly, the film genuinely has its moments where you do get the scares and no I am not talking about the lazy jump scares but true authentic fear where the fear stays with you for more than the few seconds unlike the fear that a jump scare elicits.
All in all this is one great attempt at the genre and deserves a watch.
Pakistan’s first attempt at found footage released in cinemas on May 20 and from the very first day itself the response was not that great. Its a known fact that horror has a niche audience and is not everyone’s cup of tea. Moreover, add to this the fact that the film does not have many known faces except for Ayaz Samoo and you get an explanation for the lukewarm response.
The film made about 12 lakhs in its first week and is now in its second week two and if things go smoothly it should end its run at about 20 lakhs, which though is a disappointment.
Mah e Mir
The eagerly awaited Fahad Musatafa-Iman Ali starrer released all over cinemas on 6 May 2016 and given the artistic nature of the film and its niche genre it was never expected that the film would make a strong impact at the box office.
It opened with 0.30 crore , which is not that great a number given that the film had huge names attached to it. A film like Maalik, which hardly had any stars attached to it opened with 0.40 crore. Sadly the film failed to see any major growth and collected 1.1 crore in its first weekend.It completely crashed on Monday and owing to the negative word of mouth ended its first week with 1.45 crore.
The second weekend added 0.25 crore and with the release of Bollywood films ‘Azhar’ ‘1920 London’ the shows for the film decrease and second week ended with 0.38 crore.
This last week ( 3rd week for the film) another Pakistani film ‘Aksbandh’ released and ‘Mah e Mir’ was left with even lesser shows.The film ended the week with 0.28 crore. However its interesting to note that the film still has decent number of shows in cinemas all over Pakistan and is about to end its fourth week. Looks like it will end its run at about 2.35 crore.
Hardly three years into the entertainment industry and he makes his film debut, opposite someone who is undoubtedly Pakistan’s biggest female star today; Mahira Khan, and in a film directed by one of the best Pakistan has to offer in terms of direction, Asim Raza. Has there ever been a leap as expidicious as his?
Acting debut with TV serial ‘Merey Dard Ko Zuban Miley,’ and from thereon to touching television heights with the super hit ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’ and then ‘Aasmanon Pay Likha,’ he has said his good-byes to TV now and will be exploring himself on the big screen with his debut film, ‘Ho Mann Jahaan,’ coming on 1st January 2016. Sheheryar Munawar everyone! We interviewed him ahead of his debut film release, and he shares with us pretty generously.
So here you go.
Aayan Mirza: Acting debut in 2012, and now Ho Mann Jahaan. In a country where there are still not many films being made. You have been quite choosy with your projects and the journey says that they were all mostly right calls. A new actor usually doesn’t behave that way. Even Amir Khan did multiple films at the start of his career. What made you a sensible actor that way?
Sheheryar Munawar: You mentioned 2012, I also graduated that year from IBA, and before that I was modelling, hosting and all that stuff, something that was getting me by, or pay the certain amount of my college fee. I always wanted to be behind the camera though, learn the direction and I would say I was always creatively more inclined to it than acting, but when I did dramas, I realised unfortunately that it is not going to teach me anything about direction, unfortunately that’s how the state of affairs were of the drama industry. Even acting wise I thought I was struggling, so rather than just doing work, minting money, and just getting by things I did not want to get into the mediocrity of, what I did was that I started working with Asim.
I have been working with him for two and a half-three years now, as an assistant director earlier and now as a producer MashaAllah, and now I have made my directorial debut with the new Sprite commercial as well, the one where everyone is jumping and all. So while I was doing that, I started working on my craft as an actor as well. But the choosiness that you talked about, it’s just that I am generally a very choosy, picky person, it’s something in my nature, something that makes me do less work and be satisfied with it, rather than doing more work and regret it later.
Aayan Mirza: In Ho Mann Jahaan you play Arhaan. Arhaan in the equation of three and then his separate part with Soniya Jehaan’s character, how would you define your role in the film. What should all those people who will be watching the film because of you expect from your character?
Sheheryar Munawar: (Laughs) well, all those waiting for the film because of me should go to cinemas with their friends and families on 1st of January and discover the actual answer to it for themselves. But seriously, what one should expect from Arhaan is that first of all he is a complete 180 degree from what I have been doing earlier, and Arhaan is completely different from my own personality as well, as an individual, the way I have been brought up, the society that I have grown up in, so I had to work really hard on it from the pronunciation of certain words to his walk, clothes, eating habits, and all. I had to learn playing guitar and riding bike which involved three-four months of rehearsals.
So what one should expect from Arhaan is that he is just like any other guy my age right now, because of his ambition, things he wants to do a lot in life, he feels that he has to become a rockstar in life, and I am not saying rockstar in terms of rockstar, but whatever he wants to do, he wants to be best at it. But in that ambition of his, he is in so much hurry that he wants to achieve everything very quickly in life, making him commit some mistakes in those hurries. He has this quick sense of humour, and a bit of arrogance as well, but that’s just there to hide the insecurities inside, like we all do in our lives. So not a complete white or black character, he is pretty grey, which makes him quite real to life. Watching it I think out of 10 boys my age, eight of them would be able to relate to him. Basically a journey from being a boy to getting into being a man.
Aayan Mirza:Acting teaches you vague things. If you are doing an action film, by the end of it you would probably come out knowing self defense, or knowing how to hold a gun. What did Arhaan’s character teach you? We saw you playing a guitar in the film? Do you really know how to play a guitar?
Yeah that’s true, that’s the interesting part about being an actor at times, you get to learn new things every now and then. For Ho Mann Jahaan, basically for three months I took guitar lessons and learnt that, not to the point of becoming Slash I would say of course, but I at least I knew how to play the songs that I had to perform in the film and that was very important because I think that authenticity only comes when you actually feel like a musician. I wouldn’t feel like a musician unless I would pick up that guitar and when the director would call ‘Action!’ I used to feel that I would play such an amazing tune that everyone would go crazy, so you get that confidence and you start feeling as if you are a musician.
Similarly, I didn’t know how to ride a bike, I learnt that because it was demand of the character, in fact in some particular scenes there were some stunts required by my character that I performed myself. I got so inspired by it thatI just bought a bike for my own self, a classic 1962 triumph. And for my next project InshaAllah, I am training really hardcore everyday, taking mixed martial arts classes which is quite an interesting experience.
Aayan Mirza:You are a Bachelors in Finance from IBA, and then there is a fact that you were raised in the same society and went on to become an actor. Two contrasting careers. How much can you relate to the character specifically and the story in general?
Sheheryar Munawar: Basically our message in the name of the film was also that ‘jahaan aapka dil ho, waheen aapka jahaan ho.‘ So the idea is that do what your heart tells you to do and it has a very obvious rationale, just look at how many bankers are here in our country, too many to count, right? But how many make it to the top or are considered the best, hardly 2% of them, the reason being that those 2% have their heart in there, into what they do. Same goes for every other profession. That’s the message we are giving out. So I believe it was very relate-able since in real life I chose to do something which was completely different from what I studied, but fortunately enough my parents have been very supportive and told me that ‘listen, you have to live your life, you have to think about your financial stability, you have to think about being independent at a certain point, so if it makes sense to you, if you are happy doing it, then it doesn’t bother us.’
Aayan Mirza: Putting money into something isn’t of course easy, and putting a lot of it in a Pakistani film, where returns are never really certain combined with the factor that you were also acting in the film, how difficult or easy would you say was it to make that decision and then juggle between the two acts?
Sheheryar Munawar: See, a producer not necessarily puts his own money, he gets finances and that’s scarier. I just turned 27 this year which means if I lose my own money, I won’t mind because this is the time I can take risks in life. But when you have to answer back to a lot of other people as well, then you are actually scared. But we worked on it in a methodological way, and my degree in Finance really helped me there. We analyzed the market, the potential, screens coming up, the screen situation by the time we release the film, the market strength and a complete feasibility which I’ll be honest wasn’t really very positive. But we saw the growth in the industry and that was motivation enough. Also from your first, making money isn’t the biggest goal. You are just trying to cement yourself in the industry and then you go from there. And now we have started a company MashaAllah the idea of which is to explore a business opportunity in the industry and develop it, so if God willing, next year we will do another film, and the year after that we will do three more, so we want to be serious content generators.
About juggling between production and acting, it was very difficult. The good thing however was that as an actor because of the homework I had the luxury to do and because I wasn’t doing dramas and wasn’t jumping from one shoot to another, I had time to work as an actor on my craft and with the three month homework I had come into my character. Also when you have a director like Asim, you don’t have to worry about anything else. You do your homework and then you let Asim takeover and that’s what I did. Being the producer on the other hand was really difficult because everything from scripting to pre-production to art direction to selecting actors to music, we have been working 14 to 16 hours everyday for about year and a half now and in between that I also did commercials, as I just told you about my directorial debut. So I guess it’s been really interesting, but I am really grateful to God that I got the chance to do everything I wanted to do.
Aayan Mirza: Asim being your director in the film, and you being his producer, and then him also being your partner in crime as far as the production goes. How interesting was it to be his boss at times and then him being yours?
(Laughs). Asim has got twenty to twenty-two years of experience in the industry and is surely one of the most respected individuals here, and even the corporate clients of his haven’t ever been able to play boss with him. So no one is Asim’s boss. But I guess we have a mutual respect for work and we have a level of trust where we share ideas and argue it out sometimes. We realised that we are like-minded in a lot of ways so a lot of times he would let me take calls and then these other times he would be the one calling shots. So working with him was a lot of fun.
Aayan Mirza: Looking back at the entire Ho Mann Jahaan journey, what do you recall as your favourite most moment from the time. Any particular moment or scene that just stuck with you?
Sheheryar Munawar: The thing is that as an actor I was just acting but as a producer I was married to this project for like a year and a half, working for at least fourteen hours everyday. So if you ask me about one particular day, I wouldn’t be so sure because then with that approach you can’t get up the next day and go to work. We celebrated almost everything, from celebrating the first scene written to the completion of script and then celebrating the shoot to celebrating the culmination of Chitral spell, and then the release of the BTS video, so we literally celebrated each and every feat that we had accomplished along the way. And that’s the only way we could work and get that kind of output out.
Aayan Mirza: You were actually supposed to do debut with Hamza Ali Abbasi’s Kambakht, what happened with that film, and is it really coming out any time soon?
I think Hamza Ali Abbasi has become a politician now, and a social activist maybe. So his activity sometimes goes left, sometimes right and I don’t know where he actually stands but he is a very good friend of mine. Honestly, I feel it’s a very dated content right now, it was an interesting script but now it’s very dated, old content. Our production values have become better and I don’t think Hamza is planning to take it out any time soon and I would not let him take out either. And I would go on record to saying that if he wants to take it out right now I would not have anything to do with it.
Aayan Mirza: As an actor with your debut film done, in a very budding film industry. What else do you have on your plate? Also any plans to return to television?
Sheheryar Munawar: MashaAllah I have got few scripts for films that I am working with and that’s actually what I want to do in the coming years as an actor. I would want to do one or at max just two films a year, and between that if I can get time I would want to be doing my production and my direction work, and that’s all what I want to do for the coming years. So suffice to say I don’t plan to leave the industry but I simply want to be doing more than just acting.
Short questions:
Hamza Ali Abbasi or Adeel Hussain, as co-actor?
Adeel Hussain
2. Mahira Khan or Sanam Saeed, as co-actor?
Mahira Khan
3. Your pick, and one pick only from the music album of Ho Mann Jahaan.
Umm, Baarish…actually no, I have been saying Baarish but lately I have really got to liking Mann Key Jahaan again. It’s one of the songs that just grows on you.
4. Zindagi Gulzar Hai or Ho Mann Jahaan?
Ho Mann Jahaan any day, any time, anywhere, a hundred years from now. I think Fawad [Khan] would give you the same answer, he has done this small role in the film but if you would ask him the same question he will give you the same answer.
5. Had I not been an actor, I would have been?
A director but I am also that… but had I not been an actor, director or producer then I would be travelling the world doing nothing, just trying to make living and travel the world, I would probably be a street urchin or a street hawker trying to make living but travel the world nonetheless, and I guess I am getting to do that as an actor or producer because everyday there is a different life.
6. This one famous character I think I would have aced at had I played it?
I think Hugh Grant’s character in Notting Hill.
7. Favourite film?
I have a lot of favourites, from all kinds of genres, I really like Closer of Julia Roberts and Jude Law. Then I really like Birdman as well, also a big fan of Martin Scorsese, so all his films, Wolf of Wall Street was amazing, back from the days his Raging Bull and then Taxi Driver, and then the Guy Ritchie movies, big fan of him.
8. Favourite actress?
This is a tough one, but I have got two, one is Julia Roberts and then the other one would be Penelope Cruz.
9. Meera or Mathira?
Meera any day.
10. This one director I would love to work with?
Martin Scorsese.
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That’s it from this one guys, we hope you enjoyed it.
I got a chance to catch-up with the team of Mah e Mir on their trip to Lahore for the film’s promotions this week and I had a quick chat with the very beautiful and very intelligent Sanam Saeed.
She is the true embodiment of “beauty with brain”, as you will also believe in it after reading this short interview with the lady.
Without further ado, here is the interview we had with the Bachaana girl.
Iman: Name one actor or actress you would really like to work with?
Sanam: Saba Qamar, Nauman Ijaz and Amina Sheikh. (Well, it was not one name!)
Iman: Do you think actors are a narcissistic breed?
Sanam: They have to be, they have to have ego to be stars.
Iman: What is your biggest insecurity as an actor?
Sanam: I think I am too limited by the constraints, culture and society to completely let go and be open with my performance.
Iman: When a film is offered to you what are the aspects you look for before giving the final nod?
Sanam: Definitely, script, director and cast.
Iman: How is your role in Mah e Mir different from something you have done before?
Sanam: Mah i Mir’s script is entirely different and its more poetic. Urdu in the film is very difficult and chaste. As compared to the other films, Mah e Mir is slightly more negative, and slightly more mature film. My character is of a mature poetess who is slightly seductive, slightly confident and slightly conniving.
Iman: Who in this industry is someone you get along with so well that if needing something you would call them at 4 a.m?
Sanam: Sarwat Gillani and Mehreen Jabbar.
Iman: What is the craziest thing a fan has done for you?
Sanam: Uhh.. I actually haven’t had any weird or crazy experiences. All my fans treat me with respect and admiration. Sometimes, they buy me a coffee or send a gift to me. That’s all.
Iman: Who do you think is your competition?
Sanam: Obviously, we’re all each others competitors because we’re all in that age bracket and it’s a tricky age bracket. Whenever the good role is being offered, everyone would be interested in playing it. So, intrinsically we’re all each others competitors, but we’re all colleagues and that’s just the business.
Iman: If given a chance would you trade your profession for something else?
Sanam: No. Never.
Iman: Has being married affected the roles that you have been given?
Sanam: No, not at all.
Iman: While you seem to come across as a calm and collected person, what conditions make you lose patience while shooting a film?
Sanam: Inefficiency and time waste for no reason.
Iman: If one day you woke up and you were one of the following person. What would you do? Mahira Khan?
Sanam: I would be very happy. Would feel fortunate and lucky.
Iman: Shaan Shahid?
Sanam: Ahhh, I would be over the moon!
Iman: Sohai Ali Abro?
Sanam: Sohai, I would be so happy that I could dance like that.
Iman: Your husband?
Sanam: If I woke up and I was my husband? (laughs) I think I’d… well that’s a strange question. I think I would be the coolest person in the world because I would be a bit of me and a bit of him and I think that would be a good combination.
Iman: If you had to choose one film from Bachaana, Mah e Mir and Dobara Phir Se. Which one would you choose?
Sanam:Bachaana is my favorite.
Iman: Lastly, anything you would like to say to your fans?
Sanam: Just come watch Mah e Mir. It would be a very different interesting experience, and slightly like a learning experience as there is a lot of subtext in this script and its very thought provoking. Right now all types of films are being made, so, this is just another one of the good films with a good team and a lot of effort put in it. So, definitely come watch it.
There are not many names in Pakistan who can be can be called superstars in the truest sense. For being a superstar means to have a certain charisma, to have that power, that influence to make people go crazy for just one look. They might be rare in Pakistan but they surely do exist and today Galaxy Lollywood Editor Momin Ali Munshi will be reintroducing one such superstar who is without doubt one of the biggest names in the Film/TV business these days. With his next film , the eagerly awaited ‘Bin Roye’ releasing today, he is surely the man of the hour. Yes we are talking about the supremely talented and good looking actor Humayun Saaed.
In this interview we trace out his journey from when he debuted in ‘Lollywood’, move to what he is doing today and then lastly discuss what the future holds for this promising actor. Here we present Humayun Saeed like never before…
(The interviewer has broken down the interview in different sections and each section focuses on a specific period in this journey of chronologising his film career.)
Section 1 Film Debut-Main Hoon Shahid Afridi
Q1) In this new wave of Pakistani cinema we are seeing lots of TV actors with no prior film experience moving to the silver screen. However you are among the few who in the past have already had a chance to work in films. What difference do you feel/see when you compare the days of “Inteha” with the days of “Bin Roye”?
The biggest difference that I feel is that we have a varied audience to cater to now thanks to the many multiplexes which have been built in the past couple of years. Back then, we only had single screens so many middle class and upper middle class families used to hesitate going to cinemas. I mean, even I used to avoid going to cinemas with my family. However now we have a new class of audience to cater to who are used to seeing international cinema which is why we have to make movies accordingly.
Q2) You made a smashing film debut with “Inteha” and then did another film “No Paisa No Problem” but then you did not appear in films for about seven years when you made your comeback with “Main Ek Din Laut Kay Aaon Gaa”. Why the break?
I took a break simply because there was no option for me. There were no scripts worth taking up being offered to me. Frankly, I did Main Ek Din Laut Ke Aonga out of desperation because it was being directed by Javed Fazil, who was a much respected director of television. Besides that, you can see for yourself that there were no noteworthy films made during that time besides maybe 2 or 3 maximum.
Q2b) Reportedly you were to be a part of the blockbuster film “Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua” but then things didn’t work out? What went wrong? And do you regret missing out on the film?
Yes I was offered the film, and I rejected it. The reason was that I was shooting No Paisa No Problem at that point, and I was very exhausted because of it. I was not enjoying what I was doing at all and I could tell the film wasn’t going to turn out well. I was so over movies at that point that I said no to Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua. I did not realize it was going to turn out to be so nice though. However, I have no regrets. Even if I would have done that, I wouldn’t have gotten another opportunity to do a nice movie for years after that. After No Paisa No ProblemI had decided that I will produce my own movie, which I did with Main Hoon Shahid Afridi.
Q3) You did a Bollwood film “Jashan”. At the risk of sounding a bit rude I’ll just ask why? You were/are ruling the Pakistani media why settle for something like Jashan?
Firstly, Mahesh Bhatt is a very good friend. He came up to me and said that he has written a character which he envisions me playing. I heard the script and liked the character. I felt I could do it. It was appreciated by critics. I agree the film was on a smaller scale, and lacked a star cast. But I did it simply because I liked it.
Q4) You then made a rocking comeback with “Main Hoon Shahid Afridi” and the film won everyone’s hearts, including us at Galaxy Lollywood. However lots of people felt that the film was too Bollywood in its treatment. What do you have to say about that?
I don’t agree with this at all. I am very open to admitting my mistakes. If you say the item number was a mistake, I would totally agree with you. It was forced in the narrative. But I don’t think there was any Bollywood treatment in the movie itself.
Section 2 Post Main Hoon Shahid Afridi
Q1) You are the busiest actor this year with three huge productions lined up for this year itself (Bin Roye, JPNA, Yalghaar). How does that feel?
I am quite excited. All three movies are very different from each other, and so are my roles. Over the years, I have become very picky about my work so I don’t sign anything just for the sake of it. It must be something that excites me, an element which you will see once you watch these movies.
Q2) What’s next for Humayun? What does 2016 have in store for us Humayun fans? What’s the update on your film Arth 2 and Maalik? Are they happening?
Maalik is being worked on currently. The storyline and name will be changed, so we are still working on it. Arth 2 is being made by Shaan, and he needs to get back to me. I still haven’t heard from him regarding this. For 2016, I am planning some projects on my own. I will make announcements at the right time.
Q3) A few months back the trailer of “Gidh” featuring you and Mona Liza came out. But then you were replaced and Shaan came on board? What went wrong? There were rumors about a fall out between you and Shamoon?
There are absolutely no issues between Shamoon and myself. I had some reservations with the script, that’s the main reason I walked out of the project. I was demanding a lot of changes, which did not suit Shamoon and it’s fair enough as his father wrote the story so he did not want to change it. Shamoon was also interested in bringing me on-board as a producer, but I made it clear that I will only come on-board if the storyline is changed. I left the project on good terms, and he brought Shaan on-board. That’s about it.
Section 3 Bin Roye
Q1) The Bin Roye trailer and songs have been really well received and it has become the most eagerly anticipated movie of the year. Do you think it will live up to the expectations?
I am confident that it will live up to expectations. Bin Roye is the perfect package; a great team (HUM Films), superb cast who are not just stars but also fit their respective roles like a glove, an amazing story by Farhat Ishtiaq, and brilliant music which has already caught on with the audience. It’s safe to say audiences will love this movie.
Q2) There will also be a television show after the film releases. I asked this in the Lahore Press Conference too but didn’t get a clear answer as to whether the TV show will be a continuation, reboot or what?
It is neither a continuation nor a reboot. I’d call it an adaptation for TV. Since TV serials give you the margin to tell a story in detail, unlike a film which needs the narrative to be crisp, we have shot some scenes more extensively than the ones you will see in the movie. Besides that, there are some scenes that aren’t a part of the movie altogether. It’s an interesting concept that’s being tried out in Pakistan for the first time. Internationally, sometimes some TV series get their finales in the form of a movie. Let’s see how our audience reacts to this.
Q3) How was the experience of working on this film? Any memorable incident?
The experience was very memorable. We worked with a lot of passion. The entire team felt like a family, so we never got bored. We were always having fun. This is one shoot that I will always remember.
Section 4 Rapid Fire
Q) Lets do some quick options. You may chose whatever criteria in selecting your option.
TV or Films Both, I’m sorry I simply cannot choose one. Bin Roye or Jawani Phir Nahin Ani Again, both for different reasons. Bin Roye is a special project which I have worked on for almost 2 years. Jawani Phir Nahin Aani is of course my home production so I have been involved in every aspect. Actor or Producer Actor Shaan shahid or Shamoon Abassi Shaan Shahid Mahira Khan or Mehwish Hayat Let’s just say Mahira Khan for Eid-ul-Fitr, Mehwish Hayat for Eid-ul-Azha Hollywood or Bollywood Hollywood Box-office success or Critical acclaim Box-office success
In one word, he is a ‘perfectionist,’ in more than one, he has given Pakistan some of the classiest most television commercials and some music videos that definitely left their mark on us in the sea of many.
You remember those earlier Mobilink ads with Shaan Shahid, the ones that reintroduced the superstar in an entirely new persona. Or the more recent ones for Olpers or Lawrencepur, featuring Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam and Adeel Hussain? It was all Asim Raza, yes, all him. From the music video of Fakhir’s Mahi Ve to Omore’s Dark Temptation, he did it. He is the man who even made beauty cream ads look good on our television screens.
With his directorial debut feature film, Ho Mann Jahaan, now almost ready and coming on cinema screens in January 2016, we sit at the office of his production company, The Vision Factory, and talk to him about various things close to his heart.
AM: Let’s begin it with the very beginnings of Ho Mann Jahaan. The year, the idea of it, where did it all begin? How did you know that story of Ho Mann Jahaan was really THE story for your debut film?
AR: Frankly speaking, even till today, no one knows and neither do I that what is the perfect story for anybody’s debut film. My experience and my personal belief, however, says that when you start any job, you should start with what you know best and believe in. So the seed was there, I would say for last 20 some years, and getting into ad filmmaking was also about to get into some sort of line or a branch of filmmaking, but you can say it took a more serious shape in last couple of years when I realised I have been thinking about it and want to do it, but do it right. Right because I feel there is a responsibility on each and every one of us whenever we are addressing the nation at this scale, any wrong thing, or a message wrongly delivered, can affect a lot of innocent minds. So, obviously there had to be a stepping stone, and my first film is my stepping stone, to say what I believe in, something that the story of Ho Mann Jahaan is, coming directly from my heart.
AM: Now that we know about the beginnings of Ho Mann Jahaan, let’s talk about your own beginnings in this field. A lot of the directors at one point of their life have remained aspiring actors, others gravitate towards it in a more natural way. Picking up your family camera, going outside and bringing back an amazing picture of a bee or flower. When did you realise you were meant to be for this craft?
AR: Honestly, I always wanted to be a feature filmmaker, and when I was young, probably fourteen or fifteen, or even younger, I used to find the idea of it very fascinating, the idea of putting you into a dark room for two or three hours where you have no choice but to listen to or watch what is being shown to you. It’s such an impactful exercise that no parent or grandparent can give you a lesson as strongly as that. Not to mention that it is an aesthetic medium and I wanted to get into arts and was always interested in it, in saying my stories too.
PHOTO BY: Roshan Mirza
Even when I studied architecture, I did it out of the whole societal pressure as it is still considered in our country that you are only respected if you are a doctor, engineer or a pilot. I knew that it would be a bit tough for my family to understand that I want to be a filmmaker, or director. But in the process I was lucky that my family was understanding enough to let me work freelance on advertising jobs, which got me started, and once it did start, you can say I hit a fluke, and then one after another and it just went on and on like that.
AM. So Asim, people of your fraternity, or ex fraternity if that suits you more now, are quite daring. This I have to give to you guys. Bilal Lashari, Asad-ul-Haq, Jami. I mean bad films, good films, doesn’t matter. They all took the risk. Is it too much money in ads and music videos? Or the cushion of strong financers that some of them had. Or is it something in those thirty second TVCs that makes you all very natural risk takers?
AR: No it is still pretty much my fraternity, but coming to your question, I think it’s purely because every ad filmmaker, or the ad filmmakers that I am familiar with, regard feature filmmaking as their first love, and the reason why they are doing ad filmmaking is because feature filmmaking is not so commercially viable in our country, even today. So obviously, we all work because we all have to earn some money and take something back to feed our families, we all look for opportunities where we can barter, can give some and take some and ad filmmaking is the closest form of filmmaking where you can be creative and do filmmaking and at the same time get good money out of it.
The reason why everyone in this line is trying to take that leap and get into feature filmmaking is purely because they all would love to be feature filmmakers, and the moment they feel that now I can afford to take that risk, they do it. But like you said, it is a daring job, putting your own money isn’t easy in today’s world, by the end of the day it is a very hard earned money, but it’s that desire, or passion in us which forces us to even be willing to put our own money, experiment and see if we can make ourselves heard. So passion it is, and I think every ad filmmaker is inside a feature filmmaker and that’s why it happens in this line of business.
AM: Coming back to the film, I was listening to Sheryar at the film’s trailer launch and he said Adeel and I were offered each other’s roles, but we requested the director and we had them swapped. Now the original idea of giving Adeel Hussain the other role and Sheryar the other was yours, you must have had a vision for the film. So tell me, who among the two disappointed you the most or now that film is done, you think they made the right call after all?
AR: Yes, I guess everyone picked on this, and very rightfully so. I answered it that day as well, but I will explain it a little further. See, for me it is very important that a character that you are doing fits you like a glove, or you fit into that character like a glove, that is how I would like them to portray my character. I don’t like it when your actor can’t do justice with his character. So when I was initially casting for the characters of Nadir and Arhaan, I thought of Shehryar and Adeel in a certain way, but when I saw that they were being more passionate about the other character, and the reason for that being that their heart was in that other character more than this one, then what I did is that I went back to my story board and tried to see how much margin do I have to make Nadir look like Adeel and Arhaan look like Shehryar, so you see I modified my character. That’s always been my approach when faced with similar situations.
The story around them was there as it is, two friends, one from the upper class household, one from the lower middle class and they both go to same college, they both have the same passion, so how does it make the difference, by giving them characteristics. I go back and I just change it around. I will change around how he’ll talk, how he’ll walk, how he’ll eat, what his habits are, what his likes and dislikes are, so that persona can be changed around, and it’s not such a big deal, but it should be changed around. I am not a stubborn director that way, maybe it’s a little more work for me to keep looking into my characterisation but as long as it’s good for the film, and as long as I know this man would do justice, no harm.
AM: We’ll come back to the film again after this next question, but tell me this, what sort of a director are you? Do you believe in making the films with happy endings, or you have this socio-political inclination too. Would you say we should expect…maybe a spy-thriller from you some day?
AR: For sure you can’t expect a spy thriller from me because I don’t think I have the knack for it, not because I don’t think they are good films but because we all have a forte and that’s just not mine. I don’t really think I am in a position where I can preach because I myself need to learn a lot before that. But at the same time my desire is to make a good combination of entertainment with some sort of substance in it. Some sort of sole in it. So these two words, ‘sole’ and ‘substance’ are a given for me. I just feel that when you get out of the cinema hall at the end of the film, you should be able to take something back home, something positive, that’s all I want to do right now. I don’t think I can do more than that.
AM: Now the very important question. Why specifically Mahira for your film? And I need an answer other than ‘she fit the character.’ Would you say you would have gone the Shoaib Mansoor way had Mahira never been explored at acting before? Would you have still chosen her?
AR: Mahira and I go a long way, I have known her for years. Much before she did the film for Shoaib sahab she actually did her first TVC with me. I always felt Mahira, since she has been doing acting and working in dramas, has been portrayed in a certain cliched way, she has been only getting characters of a certain kind, she is doing well with them because she is a very good actor and does justice to whatever she is given, but she was only doing that sort of personification. But because I know Mahira personally and know her very well, I knew that this character in my film suited her the most, in terms of her characteristics and her personality.
But honestly, there was one more thing as well, as humans we all tend to have our favourites, and I have mine too, Mahira being one of them. She is just like a little sister to me and we have a very strong bond, so if that bond is there, and I also believe that this is a character which is very close to her, combining it with the fact that nobody has seen her in that character, then there was no other reason for me to look anywhere else.
AM: So now that we have talked about Mahira, Let’s talk about Fawad Khan. In the BTS video you said, ‘I am making my debut film and there is no Fawad in it, not possible.’ Why did you say that? You did go the Shoaib Mansoor way this time, bringing him back in a Pakistani film after so many years, but why doesn’t he have a meatier role in the film? Did you offer him one?
AR: As I just confessed, like everyone, I have my favourites too, not because of any other reason but that I believe in their capabilities, and believe in the fact that they know their craft well, not that I am saying other people don’t. If you know that there is a dear friend, and he can do the job that you want done, and also have a mental frequency that matches wonderfully with yours, why would you look outside?
About why I didn’t offer him a more meatier role. It was surely not that I didn’t want to give him one, but it was just that first, Fawad was committed with his other assignments in India at that time, and when I was starting this film I was a very small producer and director, who was working with a small budget and small possibilities, so I needed actors who, without any distractions, could give me all the required dates, who could promise their availability and time because I didn’t have the money to keep people flying in and out, I simply couldn’t afford that luxury. Otherwise, my first ever narrative which was called Behadd; a telefilm, had Fawad in it. So it’s not that I did not start with Fawad, I did, and I would always have started with him. With Ho Mann Jahaan, it was just that if I call Fawad my friend, I must think of his benefit as well, and I did not want to force him to let go off an Indian assignment because we all know, not matter what we say, whenever one of our actor goes to India he becomes big for us, it happened with Ali Zafar and it happened with everyone else.
AM: Now this question, I am sure, people also want to know about it, but more than that it’s something I need to get answer of for my own knowledge. What is the Ho Mann Jahaan budget, where does it stand now? Is there a figure you can go public with. The sole purpose of asking this question is to know where Pakistan film industry currently stands today, in what available resources are you guys creating the wonders that you are?
AR: I would really like to answer your query, but as far as the Ho Mann Jahaan budget is concerned, I am actually not supposed to reveal a figure yet, for I am under a contract. For that other question, it’s very simple, our closest or most direct competition right now is Bollywood, making their average films on a roughly eighty to hundred crore budget. They can afford it because they have thousands of screens to get returns on their investment. We, in Pakistan, are currently sitting with roughly around fifty screens, now in those fifty screens we don’t get to show on all fifty screens when we bring a film, because there are Indian films showing, Hollywood films, and then our own films too, old ones and new ones. So out of those fifty, fifty five screens, you get to, at the most, grab roughly 20 screens, that’s if you are big enough to take the attention of the exhibitor.
It’s simple mathematics from there on, a film producer, like all investors, wants some profit on his investment. With twenty, twenty five screens, however, it becomes extremely hard for the producer investing on an average five to six crores on the film, to recover that money, unless the film gets at least 6-8 weeks to show in a number of screens, that’s when he breakevens. So you invested the money in a film for a year, and after a year you get the same amount back, no profit, makes you think, doesn’t it?
But it’s a catch 22, if you don’t increase the budget, then you are no competition, you increase it then there is that risk factor. It’s a simple choice between a character on screen wearing a Cotton Kurta and other brocade. The viewer just wants the gloss, he doesn’t care if you had two rupees and the other guy ten thousand. This leaves us, the filmmakers, in an extremely mad crux. To combat that we bring sponsors, which is again tasteless at times, I agree, and I too have also tried my best to keep a tasteful balance, but at the same time, we need money from somewhere, in order to bring you something which is glossy enough for you to feel proud of. So it’s either that or the fact that If I have a decent sofa, or a decent lamp in my room, I will take this tomorrow at the risk that it might just crack or break, just to give you something decent enough, only because I cannot afford to buy a new one for you and for the film, so that’s how we are all making the two ends meet.
AM: I am sure being a music video director you have developed quite an ear for music. The recently released film music says a lot about it. So up to the time, yet such easy to digest tracks. Apart from that great upbeat Asrar song, even the Qawwali was kept on the mellow side. What was the approach behind it. Would the movie also be this light hearted, easy to digest, watch-enjoy-and go home with a smile type?
AR: I was reading this review the other day and they were saying that the music was nice but it was soft, you see the thing is that the film music, or rather film soundtrack is a lot different from just another song. A musician can make any kind of song and release it but when you are making a song for a film you have to understand that it has to cater to the situation that it is going to erupt on. My film is surely not a tentalising venture where everything is going to be so larger than life that it will make you forget Dabangg. Neither do I have resources nor the mind to create those sort of masterpieces, I create real, light drama, and that’s the reason I am calling my film a coming of age story. When songs come in my film, I want them to be as believable or as in perspective as it can possibly be, I don’t want them to go so out of this world, so larger than life that they don’t gel with the film, and so the music could only go to a limit in being loud because the film is not loud.
PHOTO BY: Roshan Mirza
AM: Now that we are nearing the end, tell me, the Ho Mann Jahaan phase is soon going to end for you. You know after the local, international release and all. But I would really like to know what else you are cooking? Any scripts readings and business meetings these days? And as I asked in one of the earlier questions, what should we expect from Asim Raza post-Ho Mann Jahaan.
AR: Frankly speaking, Ho Mann Jahaan are the sort of films that I can do, and that is exactly why, right now, I haven’t planned anything for myself, I wanted to wait until Ho Mann Jahaan comes out, I wanted to see how people react to it, if I feel people are connecting to Ho Mann Jahaan and they are enjoying it or responding to it, then I’ll try to make more films like that, but if I feel they are not connecting with it, then I probably would take a back seat, and would feel that maybe what I was doing earlier would be a better option for me, which is ad filmmaking. So no script readings or anything until January. I have requested everyone to not send any of those things right now, I want to know whether this nation is happy with what I have done.
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So that’s all folks, hope you enjoyed the interview. There are more coming in the Ho Mann Jahaan series.
