The Second Wave

Everyone says Pakistani cinema is dead, poisoned by cultural atrophy, stabbed by official incompetence and shot by extremists. We like to do things thoroughly, here in the land of the pure. A woman wanted to push through the rampaging mob (of intellectual zombies, policymaking twits, bearded fundamentalists etc) and puke on its corpse for good measure but couldn’t because the censor board deemed it too provocative. And that’s the sad story of Pakistani cinema today, or so we hear on talk shows and read in the papers. Poor or non-existent production values, over acting, bad dancing even worse wigs and plots so repetitive and outlandish it seems aliens landed in Lollywood some decades ago and are seeking to impose their fiendish ways upon us. It is commonly accepted that ‘respectable’ people don’t go to Pakistani cinema houses anymore, unless of course it is to watch a special screening of some Hollywood blockbuster.

But while mainstream cinema continues its prolonged, dramatic death throes (it is a Pakistani plot after all), independent filmmaking has been quietly surging ahead, complete with passionate leading lights, a refreshing absence of plump women apparently humping trees in the rain, socially relevant stories you don’t otherwise get to hear, and even an annual film festival that features entries from around the globe. As born again progressives continue to lament the havoc decades of political instability have wreaked on a developing culture, some brave souls have been quietly doing their bit to shore it up, actually producing work that is meaningful, delicate, contemporary.

As I’ve dipped my toes in the murky pool of local television and film production over the last few years, I’ve come to understand that it takes a whole different kind of insanity to be an independent filmmaker. It’s intensely collaborative, pays next to nothing and is incredibly time consuming. It takes focus, dedication and holistic creativity, qualities that tend to be ignored rather than rewarded in the local context. Most of the filmmakers whose work was screened at the third karafilm fest will probably never be household names. They have to deal with a paucity of good scripts, brave actors, accomplished cinematographers and trained lighting and sound professionals. Yet these foot soldiers of the digital revolution labour on, in love with the film in film but forced to seek refuge in high quality digital equipment to deal with the lack of resources available to them, making their shorts, dreaming of their features, pooling their resources for the betterment of all because they know that in a country where most people cannot read, film and TV are the real catalysts for progress. At a purely selfish level this is profoundly disturbing because it reinforces that old chestnut ‘where there is a will there is a way’ and makes the rest of us look like indolent cynics who actually prefer to wallow in our many miseries. And we all know that’s just not true.

The number of young people interested in film and TV production is growing exponentially. It is obvious that, fuelled in part by the private channel boom, production is the new advertising, the profession of choice for anyone who doesn’t want to be a banker, doctor or ‘in computers’. Some, like Sabiha Sumar and Farjab Nabi, have already made their mark on the international independent film circuit. Others, like Hasan Zaidi and Mehreen Jabbar, think global but act local. While this is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of the state of independent filmmaking in Pakistan, we did manage to conduct a Q&A session with some of the people who seek to upset the apple cart of our apathy.

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Hasan Zaidi is a filmmaker and a journalist. He trained in film from Dartmouth College in the US and has directed and produced a number of documentaries and music videos as well as Pakistan’s first digital feature film Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke (aka The Long Night). Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke received two awards at the 1st KaraFilm Festival in Karachi and has been shown at the Commonwealth Film Festival, at the Leeds Film Festival, in Bristol and Glasgow in the UK through the British Film Institute and in special screenings in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Hanover and Washington D.C. in the US. As a journalist, Hasan has been associated with the Herald, Geo TV and Telebiz in Pakistan as well as abroad with Channel News Asia, Star News and India Today in addition to freelancing for a number of papers and doing radio packages for BBC’s Urdu Service. He has received the All Pakistan Newspaper Society’s award for journalistic excellence three times and was nominated as a Global Leader for Tomorrow in the media by the World Economic Forum. He works under the banner of his own production company Tamarind Pictures and also helps organize the Karachi International Film Festival as a founder member of the KaraFilm Society.

Selected Filmography

2003 - “Just Talk" (Short / 10 Min)
2002 - “Out of Synch” (Short / 8 Min)
2000 - "Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke” The Long Night (Feature / 94 Min)
1998 - “Blueprint for Change” (Doc / 29 Min)
1997 - “Mast Mast" (Doc / 22 Min)
1996 - “The Simplest of Ideas” (Doc / 40 Min)


1) Who would you say you make films/documentaries for?

For anyone who likes films, appreciates good stories, enjoys the aesthetics of the moving image and is willing to accept that film can make you think.

2) Some argue there is no such thing as original and everything is a tribute to a tribute. What, if any, existing Pakistani films do you wish you’d made?

I would have to say something as deliciously camp as Rangeela’s “Aurat Raj” – where women take over the world – or a film like “Koel” which has one of the best musical scores ever!

3) If you had an unlimited budget, total creative control (and NOC’s from all levels of government of course), which Pakistani folk take/urban legend/news story would you like to bring to the big screen?

The rise and fall of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Not only because it is one of the most compelling stories of our times but also because it marked a major turning point in Pakistan’s history.

4) If filmmaking is akin to pregnancy, which trimester in the Pakistani film industry in?

I think as far as the mainstream industry is concerned, the fetus has been aborted. Now we’re just trying to save the mother.

5) Has any storyteller, verbal, visual or oral, inspired you as a filmmaker? Is there anyone to whom you owe a stylistic debt?

There are too many to list and the list keeps on increasing as one continues to read, listen and watch. You take incorporate bits that affect you often subconsciously. Just in terms of contemporary film directors alive today, the ones I always look out for are Pedro Almodovar, Martin Scorsese, the Coen Brothers, P.T. Anderson, Stephen Frears, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Quentin Tarantino, Gulzar and Ram Gopal Verma. But there are many others and many films by other directors who have at various times inspired me.

6) What private and governmental measures would help bring a varied audience back into local cinema halls?

This requires rather a complex answer since there are many factors at play in the reasons for the decline of cinema attendance in Pakistan. It has to do with the quality of films, it has to do with the structures that support (or which do NOT support) good filmmaking, it has to do with censorship, it has to do with zoning laws in cities about where cinemas are built and exist, and it has to do with cultural changes in society as a whole. I am certainly not one of those who believe that the only problem is piracy, although this can also be a smaller factor. But if I had to pick something as ‘what needs to happen first’ it would have to be a policy-level shift in government – which recognizes filmmaking and film exhibition as an important cultural activity. The current political and bureaucratic mindset views films as something to be looked down upon, as something peripheral to a healthy society, as something that is tolerated but not actively encouraged. A change in this mindset is absolutely necessary first of all. Everything else will flow from a political decision to give films the importance they deserve – from actively encouraging the opening of new cinemas (perhaps giving incentives to set up multiplexes which have changed the landscape of cinema in the West and India for example), extending facilities and banking credit lines for filmmakers and cinema owners, from un-banning Indian films (which everyone watches anyway) and making collaboration possible, from making censorship rules less arbitrary and straitjacketing and more tolerant, and from using films to project an image of more dynamic and culturally vibrant Pakistan abroad. None of this actually requires the government to put in capital or resources – that will willingly come from the private sector I believe – but it does require a vision and creating a political environment where filmmaking is an acceptable and respectable economic and social activity. Helping create sorely needed training institutes is also something that the government and private sector can collaborate in. You create the conditions for films to flourish and inevitably good films will begin to be made as well. That and the opening of more accessible theatres (in Karachi for example the main cinemas are only on one stretch of Bandar Road which is not where the majority of the population lives) will get the audiences back to cinemas.

7) Do you think more Pakistani’s are beginning to see filmmaking as a viable career option? Have you experienced any negativity associated with what you do?

Yes there are more Pakistanis willing to get into films because there is an increasing number of youth who have creative dreams, are willing to challenge the system and try something different from their parents. One can see that over three years of the KaraFilm Festival itself. But this untapped talent will not bear fruit unless certain political and social conditions (as mentioned above) are changed. If nothing is done, they will eventually get frustrated, move away from filmmaking or look to foreign lands to pursue their dreams.

When I first came back to Pakistan after studying abroad more than 12 years ago, some people did react with doubt about my intentions to be a filmmaker. But I think things have changed. Now funnily enough, people usually react with awe or envy, as if I’m terribly lucky to be in such a field. Considering that my initial intentions when I went abroad were to be a nuclear physicist, being a filmmaker is probably a more respectable profession to be these days. J

8) What is the most challenging aspect of film production? In the local context, which aspect needs the most aggressive development? (Sound, make up, cinematography, editing etc)

Every aspect of film production is challenging if you want to do the best you can. But it is doubly so in the local context where skilled professionals who take pride in their work are an altogether rare breed. If you look at the output of films and television, the most jarring technical deficiencies are in the scope of cinematography (which includes lighting) and sound. And these should definitely be focused on in any training programme. But perhaps equally or more importantly scripting (screenplay and dialogue) and acting are in dire need of help too. Then, of course, you need better labs.

9) Which, for you, is the most pleasurable part of the production process?

When it is all done! But seriously, getting a good shot or an unexpectedly great performance in the can (or on tape) is very uplifting, as is seeing it all come together in editing. Coppola says that the most important aspect of filmmaking is that it should be a pleasurable experience. I’ve never understood how that is possible during production with all the stress one deals with but I agree that in retrospect it should always be a pleasurable experience.

10) Who has the biggest role in dictating the way a story ultimately translates to screen, the producer, the director, the studio or the audience?

There are no two opinions on this as far as I’m concerned – it’s the director through and through. Of course, in reality in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood, especially for weak directors, it is often the producer or the studio. Except for the marketing departments of studios in the West, the audience matters not in the translation of the story to the screen but in the commercial success or failure of the film.

11) Ever had an epiphany while watching the screen? A celluloid moment that made you stop, think and realize ‘this is what I want to do with my life’?

Huh?!

My epiphany came when I first captured a moving image on to 16mm black and white film in film class. It was a simple shot of a friend lighting a cigarette in the darkness. Watching the dancing matchstick flame throwing light and shadows on his face I knew I was hooked.

12) Do you think an artist has a responsibility to society or to actualizing his or her own vision?

And how do you divorce an “artist’s vision” from society? Any ‘artist’ – if he or she is really one – comments on society in some way, even if it is in an intensely personal manner. The ‘responsibility’ or role of an artist, I believe, is to challenge society’s prejudices, not cater to them.

13) Which is the most challenging, romance, documentary, thrillers, tragedy, epics, comedy etc, which one have you chosen to focus on and why?

Personally I think the most challenging is romance and comedy because both require certain chemistry and timing to work, which are hard to get. I have not chosen to focus on any particular genre in particular; it depends on the story I want to make at a certain point. I’d like to be able to do all at some point or the other. But as a genre, I really enjoy film noir or dark comedy.

14) Isn’t film versus DV a bit like the whole paper versus keyboard argument?

Yes, good analogy. And with digital technology improving constantly, much of the initial debate is becoming increasingly irrelevant. The bigger problem usually is reluctance on the part of an old guard to try anything new. There was a similar uninformed debate when Steenbeck editing tables were replaced with computerized non-linear systems, when the vinyl LPs were replaced by CDs, and even when DV began replacing analog tapes in television. Of course celluloid is still visually more compelling than video because it has a much finer resolution but a lot of it also has to do with the lenses and the way it is shot. And projection systems in cinemas are still geared towards the old way because it would cost a lot to replace. But if the choice is between making a film on DV or not making a film because of the costs of celluloid, I would definitely opt for making the film. Many Hollywood films, including the latest Star Wars, are now being made on video. Directors like Steven Soderbergh and Mike Figgis have shot films on video (on the same cameras available in Pakistan) and then blown them up to 35mm for cinema projection. And even Kodak – the granddaddy of film – is now focusing more on digital video.

15) Do you think actors need special consideration on a set or should they be treated like the rest of the crew? Incidentally, how DO you treat your crew?

The best actors are comfortable with the crew on a shoot because they are good human beings as well and know that everyone is there to do a job. Inevitably of course actors do get special consideration because the nature of their work requires them to put in an emotional intensity that is not required of a crew and because their job is in front of the camera. But respect for everyone – crane operator or light boy – is a prerequisite for anyone I work with. I would not want to work with a bad human being no matter how good an actor he or she is. The crew is the team that puts a film together and so it should be treated like a team. You can have disagreements and as the captain of the team the director is there to make sure people do their job properly, but at the end of the day, one should respect people as human beings. I’ve been lucky to have always had great people on my crews and developed a good bond with them.

16) If you’ve worked with Pakistani and international crews, what significant differences have you found?

The basic difference seems to be exposure, to world cinema and theory I mean. Because of a lack of proper training institutes in Pakistan, most crew here know nothing about the theoretical foundations of what they do and why, so it is difficult for them to innovate on their own. Most cameramen here do not even draw lighting diagrams or know the work of internationally acclaimed photographers. So it makes communicating a vision more difficult. That’s why when you find someone here who actually knows his or her film aesthetics; it’s almost like a revelation.

17) What are you working on now? What can we expect to see in the near future, and where?

A script for a new feature film, which will involve international producers and technicians as well. Name and story only on a need to know basis. But briefly, it’s a romance, a social satire, and a thriller all rolled into one with lots of twists. And it will have songs. And hopefully on cinema screens all over Pakistan at the very least.


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Maheen Zia has a degree in Radio/TV Production from Drake University (USA) and is part of the Department of Visual Studies at the University of Karachi. She has worked as an editor at a production house and made documentaries and short films on social issues in addition to being on the organizing board of Pakistan’s young, international film festival - The KaraFilm Festival.

Filmography:

Doctor - short film, 2003 (co-director)
Multan: City of Living Crafts - documentary, 2003 (writer, editor, director)
The People vs. Lyari Expressway - documentary, 2002 (writer, editor, director)
Baba Snooker - short film, 2001 (director)
Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke - feature film, 2000 (editor)

Questionnaire:
1) Who would you say you make films/documentaries/videos for?

I make documentaries for public awareness. There is a message that I am concerned about conveying successfully. I have a more conservative approach to execution and think about my audience quite a bit throughout the process. Films I think I make for myself. Of course I want to share my work, but I am willing with fiction to discover my audience, rather than make with a preconceived audience in mind. The work is much more personal in that respect.


2) Some argue there is no such thing as original and everything is a tribute to a tribute. What, if any, existing Pakistani films do you wish you’d made?

Khuda ki Basti. I have read both the book and seen the TV serial and would love to have made it. I would actually love to do a film based on it. I know from reading Mushtaq Gazdar’s book on Pakistani cinema there have been many gems in filmmaking that I have not seen, so based on the little that I do know, KKB tops the list (even though it is not a film but a TV serial). Ok... so if it had to be a film, from the ones I’ve seen, it would probably be... Insaan Aur Gadha.


3) If you had an unlimited budget, total creative control (and NOC’s from all levels of government of course), which Pakistani folk take/urban legend/news story would you like to bring to the big screen?

When I was traveling through Baluchistan a few years ago I heard about a poetess by the name of Rabia from Khuzdar. She was jailed by her brothers for her transgression (in love of course) and wrote most of her poetry on the walls of her cell. To this day people attribute verses to her, though very little is actually known about her. I would like to make a film on this little known, folk Anarkali.


4) If filmmaking is akin to pregnancy, which trimester in the Pakistani film industry in?

Third trimester, ready to deliver and make a mark. I say this because of the other filmmakers I know.


5) Has any storyteller, verbal, visual or oral, inspired you as a filmmaker? Is there anyone to whom you owe a stylistic debt?

Zhang Yimou, Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorcese, Jane Campion, Satyajit Ray... the list is very long. And these are just people in film. There have been several that have inspired me with their ability to express with such refinement, whatever medium they may have used, and I owe a debt to all of them for extending the borders of my imagination.


6) What private and governmental measures would help bring a varied audience back into local cinema halls?

For local cinemas to be filled again, and with a varied audience, we need both more and better cinemas as well as a good and varied product from the industry. Nothing happens by itself. Pakistan at present does not have a national cinema that the country can be proud of. Instead there is an uncomfortable, embarrassed relationship with film which has abandoned cinema to die a slow, undignified death. We need financial incentives, producers who care about quality as well as profit and are willing to take a chance on a story, a censorship policy that does not cripple the creativity of the artist, good schools that can train film professionals... I think if the government and people in the industry really did want it to be this way, it would not be so difficult.


7) Do you think more Pakistani’s are beginning to see filmmaking as a viable career option? Have you experienced any negativity associated with what you do?

Yes, definitely. I also teach filmmaking so I know what great interest there is in this field, viable or not. (Though it is increasingly viable with so many TV channels coming into operation.) And no, I have not experienced any negativity.

Discipline and passion to my mind are the most crucial ingredients. What we suffer from most is mediocrity, and it takes courage and will to keep one from slipping into it. The rest is comparatively easy.


8) What is the most challenging aspect of film production? In the local context, which aspect needs the most aggressive development? (Sound, make up, cinematography, editing etc)

Writing.


9) Which, for you, is the most pleasurable part of the production process?

Editing.


10) Who has the biggest role in dictating the way a story ultimately translates to screen, the producer, the director, the studio or the audience?

The director. A good producer will recognize that and provide the right amount of support and pressure to make a successful film. A bad producer will interfere unnecessarily, believing him- or herself to be the real director, and what they then end up with is khichri.

11) Ever had an epiphany while watching the screen? A celluloid moment that made you stop, think and realize ‘this is what I want to do with my life’?

Several times. It was in fact in an introduction to film course where I realized that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life!


12) Do you think an artist has a responsibility to society or to actualizing his or her own vision?

Responsibility to their vision. It doesn’t have to sound so selfish, and it also requires society to recognize that an artist may have something of value to contribute to the cultural fabric. (I don’t think this absolves the filmmaker from evaluating the worth of what he or she wants to say, either.) I believe both the artist and the audience take a leap of faith together. And the final vote always lies with the audience, so they need not feel so gullible and persuaded against their will...


13) Which is the most challenging, romance, documentary, thrillers, tragedy, epics, comedy etc, which one have you chosen to focus on and why?

For me, comedy. It takes a certain kind of genius that I don’t think I have, but have tremendous respect for. I am particularly interested in romance and drama.


14) Isn’t film versus DV a bit like the whole paper versus keyboard argument?

No, or maybe yes. Nevertheless, they are qualitatively different and one will be better suited to a particular project over the other.


15) Do you think actors need special consideration on a set or should they be treated like the rest of the crew? Incidentally, how DO you treat your crew?

A competent crew should be treated with respect. Actors are not quite the same as technical crew. They are more sensitive, often times less disciplined, and their work may be considerably more difficult (emotionally), which is why they need to be treated with more care. If they were to be boxed and shipped, the box would say ‘Fragile’.


16) If you’ve worked with Pakistani and international crews, what significant differences have you found?

Better discipline and work ethic are the biggest differences I have experienced.


17) What are you working on now? What can we expect to see in the near future, and where?


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A short story, a documentary, a series and two features! Whichever I can raise the money for first....

Munizae Jehangir Jahangir holds a BA in Political Science and English and a MA in Media Studies. She recently produced and directed Search for Freedom, a feature length documentary about four Afghan women trying to survive under the Taliban. It is now being distributed by Women Make Movies ( a distribution company in NYC) and Film South Asia in Nepal. It was screened at the Peace and Justice Centre in the US and at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, as well as being a part of the third karafilm festival in Karachi in 2oo3. She is presently working for GEO as a director and producer for a talk show on social issues.

Jahangir has worked as an anchor reporter for the Pakistan National Television, been a freelance journalist for the past ten years and has also worked with film director Samina Peerzada.


1) Who would you say you make films/documentaries for?

The best documentaries are made by independent documentary filmmakers. However I would like to work with Shelly Saywell, who is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and Jean Rouch, who directed Chronicle of a Summer, and gave cinema verite a new dimension. Its innovation in art that inspires me.


2) Some argue there is no such thing as original and everything is a tribute to a tribute. What, if any, existing Pakistani films do you wish you’d made?

None, but I wish I had the chance to work on Sabiha Sumar’s ‘Khamosh Pani.’

3) If you had an unlimited budget, total creative control (and NOC’s from all levels of government of course), which Pakistani folk take/urban legend/news story would you like to bring to the big screen?

Bullah Shah and an expose’ story.


4) If filmmaking is akin to pregnancy, which trimester in the Pakistani film industry in?

Haven’t even thought of making love yet…


5) Has any storyteller, verbal, visual or oral, inspired you as a filmmaker? Is there anyone to whom you owe a stylistic debt?

Most filmmakers are storytellers and many have inspired me. Amongst the writers are Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, Garcia Marquez, Bapsi Sidhwa and Rabrindanath Tagore. Amongst the filmmakers are Jean Rouch, Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Rai, Gueseppe Torantorre, Vittorio De Sica, Guru Dutt and many more.


6) What private and governmental measures would help bring a varied audience back into local cinema halls?

a) Improved cinema halls, better sounds system and picture quality.
b) Emergence of production houses, which will encourage local filmmakers and make film processing more accessible.
c) An acceptance of culture, which includes dance, music etc, these arts need nourishment to flourish and are a vital ingredient in filmmaking.
d) A fresh, progressive attitude, which will encourage performers.
e) Lastly a democratic country that is not confused about its identity. Film does not exist in a vacuum, but is a reflection of society. Our present film industry is just a reflection of what our society is at large.


7) Do you think more Pakistani’s are beginning to see filmmaking as a viable career option? Have you experienced any negativity associated with what you do?

Of course, filmmaking is frowned upon and not taken seriously in our society, but this is a sign of a society, which is not yet fully developed. With the emergence of independent channels and the increasing demand for directors, there has been a shift in the attitude of people towards filmmaking. Now a producer at a television station is paid as much as any other professional.


8) What is the most challenging aspect of film production? In the local context, which aspect needs the most aggressive development? (Sound, make up, cinematography, editing etc)

Lighting and cinematography and sound when it comes to video production (not film production).


9) Which, for you, is the most pleasurable part of the production process?

Editing, that is when you finally conceive the film and see everything coming together, its almost like magic.


10) Who has the biggest role in dictating the way a story ultimately translates to screen, the producer, the director, the studio or the audience?

The director obviously.


11) Ever had an epiphany while watching the screen? A celluloid moment that made you stop, think and realize ’this is what I want to do with my life’?

Many times. In Cinema Paradiso, which is actually about a filmmaker who is passionate about film.


12) Do you think an artist has a responsibility to society or to actualizing his or her own vision?

Yes I do, because the society directly affects our work, we mirror society through our work and in turn try to have an impact on society.


13) Which is the most challenging, romance, documentary, thrillers, tragedy, epics, comedy etc, which one have you chosen to focus on and why?

The most challenging thing I have ever done in my life is to venture out on my own and make a documentary on Afghan women.


14) Isn’t film versus DV a bit like the whole paper versus keyboard argument?

They are completely different things; you are actually giving DV too much credit by calling it a keyboard. Film is like the best home cooked cake ever made and DV is an inedible cake mix cooked in the microwave.


15) Do you think actors need special consideration on a set or should they be treated like the rest of the crew? Incidentally, how DO you treat your crew?

Have not worked on a feature length documentary, but after doing shorter projects, I have realized that the most important person is your editor and cinematographer.


16) If you’ve worked with Pakistani and international crews, what significant differences have you found?

International ones are very punctual, much more methodical and overall more professional. However in documentaries, sometimes (not all of the time) they tend to exoticize ‘the others/ the natives.’ Most of the local crews have had no formal training and are completely depending upon experience, which may not always be enough. Often some cameramen do not even know basic principles of filmmaking. Film has its own jargon, which is essential to know.


17) What are you working on now? What can we expect to see in the near future, and where?

I am directing and producing a talk show on social issues, for GEO and it will go on air at the end of March. I have already started researching for my second documentary.

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Advertisement director, freelance writer, audiovisual media panelist for talk shows, founding member of WAR (War Against Rape), executive committee member of The KaraFilm Society, member of the national board of Film Censor for Pakistan…Mehreen Jabbar has worn a lot of caps but the one that suits her the most is that of Leader: next wave of Pakistani directors.

Her short film. “Beauty Parlor” has to date been shown in over fifteen film festivals around the world; she won the ‘Best Director” and “Best Medium-Length Film” Awards for the film “Daughters of the Late Colonel” at the First KaraFilm Festival, 2001 and was a member of the Jury for short films and documentaries at the Leeds International Film Festival, October, 2002. She also organized the First Pakistan Film Festival at the Queens Museum, New York, in 2003. Two of her tele-films have been screened at the National Film Theatre, London, and U.K for charity events.

FILMOGRAPHY (as Producer/Director)

1993 – NIVALA (Morsel) : A 40 mins tele-film adapted from the short story by Ismat Chugtai, one of the foremost writers of the sub-continent.

1995- AB TUM JA SAKTEY HO (You can leave now) : a 65 mins tele-film about three characters in one house, with the last acting appearance of Khalida Riyasath, one of the leading actresses of Pakistan Television.

1996 – FARAR (Escape): a 75 mins tele-film based on the lives of three women friends.
Crictically acclaimed in the national press.

1997 – SHAAM SEY PEHLEY (Puppet House): a 70 mins tele film about middle aged love starring two stalwarts of Pakistan Television.

1998 – PUTLI GHAR (Puppet House): A 75 mins tele-film revolving around the story of a dysfunctional coupe and their new tenants.

1998 – ABBA, AMMA AUR ALI (Father, Mother and Ali). : a 60 mins tele-film about a family.

1998 – DHOOP MEIN SAWAN (Showers in Sunshine) ; A 6 episode mini-serial about two families torn apart by tragedy.

1999 – CHAAL (Move) : a 60 mins tele film inspired by Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder

2002 - RUNG (Color) : a 13 episode series of a magazine show with interviews and live performances.


(AS DIRECTOR)

1998 – SANAM GAZIDA , 1999 – AFSOON KHAWAB, DEEDA-E-PURKHOON, LAL BAIG. Four 45mins tele-film made as part of a series for Combine Entertainment. (Awarded as part of the best series on television by the Pakistan Television Network)

1999 – CHALO PHIR SEY MUSKURAYAIN (Let’s smile again): A 70 mins telefilm made on the occasion of Pakistan Day Celebrations , produced by Evernew Entertainment.

2000 – AUR ZINDAGI BADALTI HAI (Life changes) : A 13 episodes serial of 45 mins each shot in Spain and Pakistan and one of the nominees of the “Best Serial” by the Lux Awards, organized by Lever Brothers.

2001 – KAHANIYAAN (Stories) : a 13 episode series of 45 mins each produced by Friends Entertainment.

2001 – A NEW MORNING: A 45 mins tele film.

2002 – TUMHARI BINA (Your Bina) : A 25 mins short film about a middle aged woman who chats on the internet to young men.

2002 – IT HAPPENS LIKE THIS : A 45 mins tele film.

2002 – BEYKHABRI (Clueless) A 25 short film produced for Indus Vision.

2002 – HARJAEE (The Unfaithful) A 13 episode serial of 45 mins each produced for Indus Vision.

2003 – A PAKISTANI IN NEW YORK : A 13 episode interview series about Pakistanis who live and work in New York, produced for Geo Television, Pakistan’s first 24 hour news and entertainment channel.


1) Who would you say you make films/documentaries for?

I make films because I want to tell stories. Simple as that. I don’t have a
particular audience in mind. I only hope that it reaches out and affects in
the way that I want.even if it is 2 people in a group of a 100.


2) Some argue there is no such thing as original and everything is a
tribute to a tribute. What, if any, existing Pakistani films do you wish
you’d made?

I would assume you mean that Pakistani films don’t have original stories
anymore? If that is the case, then this is a phenomenon that is happening
worldwide, in that mainstream films have generally run out of original ideas
and are pandering to what the market dictates.that is not the rule though,
because there are gems and surprises each year, that take risks and are
honest to their purpose.

I think several earlier Pakistani films of the 60’s and early 70’s were
quite radical in their themes but I don’t know if I can single out any
particular film right now.


3) If you had an unlimited budget, total creative control (and NOC’s
from all levels of government of course), which Pakistani folk take/urban
legend/news story would you like to bring to the big screen?

I would like to tell a story set in contemporary Pakistan. Take a small
story of a few characters and not have overt or conscious social
themes/propaganda and legends... that is what is needed right now.


4) If filmmaking is akin to pregnancy, which trimester in the Pakistani
film industry in?

First.


5) Has any storyteller, verbal, visual or oral, inspired you as a
filmmaker? Is there anyone to whom you owe a stylistic debt?

When I started out, I was in awe of Vittorio de sica, Wim wenders, Bergman
and Guru Dutt.... now every time i see a film that does me in, i am inspired
again and again! :)


6) What private and governmental measures would help bring a varied
audience back into local cinema halls?

Now that is a huge question. Firstly building cinema halls. Recognizing
filmmaking as a proper industry, govt. funding to filmmakers (with
discretion of course), building of local facilities, introducing filmmaking
in colleges and universities, eventually setting up film schools, etc. The
audience will only return if they have cinemas to go to and if they have
films worth seeing.


7) Do you think more Pakistani’s are beginning to see filmmaking as a
viable career option? Have you experienced any negativity associated with
what you do?

I think with the opening up of various TV channels, more people are thinking
of getting into the business. But this is not the case with feature film
making as yet. The first step of any new person entering the field will be
television still...and currently, more and more people from TV will enter
the film industry and that is where we can hope for some real change.
I personally have never faced any negativity about what I do.


8) What is the most challenging aspect of film production? In the local
context, which aspect needs the most aggressive development? (Sound, make up, cinematography, editing etc)

Script writing. Definitely. All else can be worked at, imported, and polished.
We need to reinvent our way of storytelling.


9) Which, for you, is the most pleasurable part of the production
process?

The editing. When all comes together.


10) Who has the biggest role in dictating the way a story ultimately
translates to screen, the producer, the director, the studio or the
audience?

It depends really. If one works for a big studio, they might have the final
say, based on audience responses or some executives opinions. In independent
filmmaking, it is primarily the director.


11) Ever had an epiphany while watching the screen? A celluloid moment that
made you stop, think and realize ’this is what I want to do with my life’?

All the time. It’s another thing that I don’t take it all the way!


12) Do you think an artist has a responsibility to society or to
actualizing their own vision?

Both. As a filmmaker, one has to be responsible, especially in the context
of where one is making films. Having said that, we as a nation have
constantly lived with self-censorship and that has become part of how we
think and create, and that can get very limiting sometimes.


13) Which is the most challenging, romance, documentary, thrillers,
tragedy, epics, comedy etc, which one have you chosen to focus on and why?

I have focused on what is called ’small stories’. I find the study of
people very engaging. Epics and melodrama has never moved me. I may want to
see such films but I don’t think I can make them.


14) Isn’t film versus DV a bit like the whole paper versus keyboard
argument?

Yes. But till video can exactly match the look of film, this debate will go
on


15) Do you think actors need special consideration on a set or should they
be treated like the rest of the crew? Incidentally, how DO you treat your
crew?

I treat my crew fine :). Actors need special consideration because firstly
their job is very difficult and secondly, they are the ones that you have to
collaborate with to get the vision of the film across and there is no sense
in alienating them.


16) If you’ve worked with Pakistani and international crews, what
significant differences have you found?

I haven’t worked with an international crew. I think the Pakistani crew is
extremely talented and hard working and considering the constraints they work
with, they are miracle workers. !


17) What are you working on now? What can we expect to see in the near
future, and where?

I am currently working for a new Pakistani TV channel and will make projects
for them from New York. I am also doing a TV serial for another producer, as
well as in the process of making short films for my company Savan Films
which is one of the first things you will get to see.


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