Geo Shaan Say (Episode 2) (24 Apr 2012)

Geo Shaan Say (Episode 2) (24 Apr 2012)

Geo Shaan Say (Episode 1) (23 Apr 2012)

Geo Shaan Say (Episode 1) (23 Apr 2012)

Wiam Dahmani on Pakistan, her love for films and much more.

Wiam Dahmani with Pakistani Actress Meera

Finding a lead actress for his upcoming Sufi-drama film Ishq Khuda has been a great headache for director Shehzad Rafique. Since the pre production stage of the movie, we have only heard about actresses joining the project and then leaving it on midway for their personal and professional reasons.

Finally with the ‘film hitting its sets’ earlier this month, the director Shehzad Rafique sort out the big actress issue by signing the sizzling Arabian actress ‘Wiam Dahmani’.

Replacing Zara Sheikh; who by the way left project citing her mother’s illness as the reason, Wiam Dahmani is not only in Pakistan these days to get her work recorded but has also quickly developed a unique love for the country and especially its food.

In a recent chit-chat with Galaxy Lollywood, the charming actress talked about ‘Pakistan, her love for films and much more’. But before moving onto the interview, let me tell you one thing, Wiam not only has a little bit command on Urdu but has also kept a great eye on the issues related to Pakistani film industry.

Q: So Wiam, let me start by asking you about the treatment you are getting these days in Pakistan. We know you are currently in some ‘Wadi’ for the shooting, tell me more about this Wadi and how’s your experience overall there?

Well, Pakistan Zabardast!! (Laughs), everything is nice and we are shooting in this beautiful village named ‘Waadi-e-Soon’, I am enjoying how cooperative, how comforting everyone is here.

Besides shooting I am actually trying to consume the environment here, being friendly with people and it’s all helping me out in portraying my character. So my experience here has been really good so far.

Q: Moving on to the real reason you are these days in Pakistan. We mainly know you as a singer mostly and that too because of your recent association with Pakistani band ‘Suroor’. How did you actually end up signing Ishq Khuda. How Shehzad (director) convinced you?

It’s always about the script, your co-stars and the team you are going to work with. When Shehzad approached me he said and he still says this sometimes during the shooting that ‘Oh my God’, you are so into Kulsoom”—‘Kulsoom’ is the name of my character in the movie by the way’—and he was like you are perfect for this role. So once I was convinced, I never looked back.

Q: Tell us what actually your role is in the film, would we be also seeing you performing on some romantic song in the film, because songs are integral part of Pakistani films and one thing is sure that with an amazing music team that Shehzad has on board, the music is going to be a blast. So should we expect something really special?

Haan.. Haan bilkul, you see music; especially in Lollywood and Bollywood stands for almost 60% success of the film. One thing that I recently discovered about Shehzad is that he is a huge music fan himself, we have got quite big names in the film, Rahat is there, and Shazia Manzoor has few songs in the movie too. I am actually performing on one of Rahat’s songs, so hopefully it will be a good treat for fans.

About the role, I am actually playing a full modern Punjabi girl named Kulsoom, it’s been quite an interesting experience for me, also in the sense that it is the first time I am playing the role of some Punjabi girl. ‘Meera ji’ is in the film, Ahsan Khan is here and then of course the superstar Shaan, so it’s all amazing being one amongst all of them.

Q: Ishq Khuda must be an important project for you also in the sense that you are making your film debut through it. How enjoyable and different you found film from singing or hosting shows or even doing television serials?

Well acting is acting and it becomes more difficult when it’s a film. Professionally speaking, I am no strange to the 35 mm cinematic camera because I already shot two of my music videos on the same scale with Indian directors. So it’s not something weird for me but ‘Bilkul’ it is different when you are doing a feature film, a film is always huge when it comes to the work level but MashaAllah ‘Shehzad sahib’ is such a professional director that his support made it all very easy.

Q: Shehzad Rafique is known for his quality work in the film industry, how is your experience so far working with him?

As a director I see him bilkul perfectionist. He just doesn’t take a shot and moves on until and unless it’s the one that he had already perceived in mind. He keeps watching the scene millions of times and he is not like, ‘Ok, let’s skip to next shot’, No! He makes sure that whatever he has captured is the best he could get. And also he is always guiding about the scenes, movements and all. For example if I am doing a romantic shot, so he says ‘Ok you remember that scene from that particular movie’ and it always helps. He is quite strict let me tell you (laughs), but in a good way because even he knows that being harsh on actors might end up in artist losing the concentration and that is never good.

Q: Ok Wiam, you have worked quite a bit with the ‘sub-continental entertainment industry’, even before Ishq Khuda. Having a completely different background, how different or difficult it was to come into a hugely different atmosphere and get adjusted in it, keeping in mind the language barriers, the cultural ones and all that. How you cope up with such factors?

Well it wasn’t really difficult for me also because I am a movie loving person, I am so crazy about movies that I have watched all kind of films, Filipino, Italian, French, English, Urdu, Tamil and literally in every language, I have even seen Salakhain, Muhabbatan Sachiyan and twenty to forty other Pakistani films from industry’s ‘golden age’, because you know when an artist is indirectly in touch with a particular culture; be it through watching films or anything, he or she gets to learn many things. Just take the ‘Misaal’ (Example) of small facial expression for word ‘Yes’, it would be different in Pakistani films, completely different in Hollywood films and so on. So films in a sense teach you many things and that’s been the reason it didn’t create much of a problem for me.

There are many actors working in Bollywood who know nothing about Urdu or Hindi but still they are hit and doing some really good work there, Katrina Kaif is one of them and also the Canadian girl in Mahesh Bhatt’s recently released film Blood Money, so it isn’t a big deal and at the end you have the best solution ‘dubbing’ (laughs), so no big deal.

Q: From whatever you talked it can easily be derived that you have done your study on Pakistan film Industry. It must have been in your knowledge that the industry is in its bad patch and good films aren’t really being produced as often as in India or Iran or any other established industry. How you see yourself making a debut in such an environment.

Let me tell you one thing, I did a lot of research on Pakistani industry before coming here. What I feel is that Pakistani people are really thirsty for entertainment. This is an upside for filmmakers here that they have a huge market that has a thirst for good films, ‘tau’ why not produce some films… ‘Kyun Nahin’.

I tell you something, I give Lollywood five years from here and Insha’Allah it will rise and you will see money here, you will prosperity and you will see it competing with other international industries. In fact I already heard about a big production film Waar, Shaan is doing a great job there then there is Ishq Khuda coming up, a completely different film, the camera, the lighting, the strong story it has, so it’s all going in the right direction.

Q: Ok now while I am in the phase of wrapping this interview up, tell me keeping in mind your experience in Pakistan, are we going to see you more involved in Pakistani entertainment industry in future, be it films, TV or even singing?

I am so happy to be in Pakistan, they have a rich culture, very simple people and I love the food here. Besides Ishq Khuda I am involved in some other projects but I seriously don’t mind, ‘Shehzad Sahab’ also asked me the same thing that ‘ Wiam, would you return and work again in Pakistan after you do a film in other industries and become hit’? And I said ‘haan Kyun Naheen’? If my co-star will be a good actor if the script would be good, then of course yes!

Interview was conducted by editor Galaxy Lollywood “Aayan Mirza”

Pictures from the on location shoot of Ishq Khuda

Veena in the remake of The Dirty Picture

After Bollywood actor Vidya Balan, it’s now Veena Malik’s turn to get dirty. The Pakistani actor has signed the South remake of the blockbuster hit, The Dirty Picture, as the female lead, reports Hindustan Times.

“I don’t mind being titled as South’s Vidya Balan,” said Malik, who is currently shooting for the film, Supermodel, with actor Ashmit Patel in Fiji and Australia. Producer Venkatappa has signed on Malik to essay the role of Silk Smitha in his film titled Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga. To be directed by Trishul and starring Venkatappa’s son Akshay in the lead, the film aims to be a more realistic take on the life of the late actor, claims Times of India.

When asked if the producer has procured the remake rights from Ekta Kapoor, he said, “There’s no question of acquiring any rights. WhenThe Dirty Picture was made, the makers claimed that the film was not about Silk Smitha, but we all know it is. Ekta did not get the rights to make a film on Silk from the late actor’s family. So why should I pay her to make a film on Silk, when we can have a better take on the subject. I want to make a better film than The Dirty Picture,” says Venkatappa.

The film, he adds, will be high on glamour and the producer claims to have approached Tamil actors Nikitha Thukral, Charmme and Pooja Gandhi for the role. “But they all refused fearing that the film would be too bold,” he says. That is when Malik was approached. “When we spoke to her, even before discussing her remuneration, Veena asked for the script. After reading it, she claimed that she was moved by the climax and immediately agreed to do the film,” says the producer.

Meanwhile, Malik admitted that she was so moved by the strong script that she couldn’t say no. “I fell in love with the role. It is a female-centric film and a powerful role to make a debut in South Indian Cinema,” said Malik, adding that her upcoming Bollywood films — Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai, Zindagi 50-50 and Mumbai 125 km — are all female-centric movies.

19 April 2012 :::: Showbiz news from Today's NewsPaper ::::

Showbiz news from

Today's NewsPaper

19 April 2012

Naseeruddin Shah: An extraordinary gentleman

There’s a legend in Lahore these days — veteran Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah on the sets of his latest movie, the Pakistani production Zinda Bhag.

I sit in an ordinary drawing room in an ordinary house in Lahore’s Gulberg area. Then actor extraordinaire Naseeruddin Shah walks in and the setting becomes, well, extraordinary.

Dressed in a dark shirt, casual trousers and black khussas, Shah looks fresh and graceful with his white hair and the black-brown moustaches he has presumably grown for the role that brought him to Lahore.

“Aap kho gaye thay?” (Did you get lost?), is the first thing he asks in a smooth voice which actually sounds richer in person than it does on screen.

He smiles and settles down into a comfy sofa as I struggle to shake off my star-struckness and reply without stammering. Luckily, the movie’s producer Mazhar Zaidi comes to my rescue. “His car broke down and he hired an auto rickshaw to get here,” explains Zaidi before I get the chance to respond.

Relieved that I didn’t have to admit that I actually ran out of fuel as I had forgot that it was a CNG holiday, I smile back and ask Shah how he is and what brought him to Lahore. As far as opening lines go, I’ve done better but at least I didn’t trip over my words. “I am here to work in Zinda Bhag, a Pakistani film on the subject of illegal immigration.

I came in February and worked on the script for a week. This time I completed my shooting which continued for around six days,” Shah calmly replies.

But given that an actor of his stature has literally hundreds of offers on his table, why choose this movie and this topic? And given that Bollywood constantly beckons him, why opt for a project by a pair of relatively unknown Pakistani filmmakers?

“Illegal immigration is a very big problem both in India and Pakistan. We have young, desperate and unemployed people using different and sometimes very dangerous illegal ways just to go abroad. One Pakistani boy even tried to go abroad while hiding in a plane’s landing gear.

While some of them do manage to reach their destination, the majority end up in a terrible position and even lose their lives.” As he continues, it seems clear that this is a topic that he feels deeply about.

“The notion that their lives will be somehow better if they manage to get to another country is just a mirage that many educated and unemployed young people are chasing,” says Shah. “All these aspects are discussed in the movie. But more than the topic of the film, it was the fact that the script is very interesting that convinced me to work in it.”

But surely there are good scripts in Bollywood as well? Certainly, the lure of Mumbai’s booming film industry inevitably draws Pakistani talent to it like moths to a flame. Why then would Naseeruddin Shah want to work in a Pakistani production? “I have become quite disillusioned with Indian films,” he replies. “Filmmakers in India have become so complacent that there aren’t any chances of making good films there.

Over there, filmmaking is a business and so long as a film makes money it’s a success. If it happens to be a good film as well, then that’s a bonus! I believe that films made today will be watched even a hundred years from now. People will watch them to get a sense of history and see what the art of filmmaking was like. The films being made in India today aren’t what one would want to watch a century later. Of course, there are some young filmmakers trying to opt for quality rather than just profits and I do support them as well.”

How different then is the picture west of the Wagah border?

“I feel there’s more creativity in Pakistan in terms of writing and ideas than there is in India,” says Shah. “The poetic and literary gatherings I have attended here are truly amazing! I also find that there’s much more awareness in the youth as well, and that’s why Zindaa Bhag is so relevant to Pakistani society and will resonate with a Pakistani audience. If all these creative people go abroad, who will live here and serve this country?” he asks.

In this movie Shah plays the role of an unscrupulous human trafficker who has his fingers in many illegal pies.

“My mother didn’t like me doing negative roles and asked me not to do them, and if she was alive today she wouldn’t have liked this role either. But I thoroughly enjoy getting into the skin of such shady characters and despite what people may think, I’m not Mirza Ghalib!” he says with a sly smile, referring to his iconic portrayal of the Urdu poet in the eponymous 1988 TV movie.

This time around however, Shah’s dialogues are all in Punjabi, and getting the delivery just right was a priority for the actor who is something of a perfectionist. This involved several sessions with the other actors so that he could get the “local texture of Punjabi” just right.

Coming back to Ghalib, it is an inescapable fact that a great many people, particularly in Pakistan, do associate him with that role, and by default, with the Urdu language itself. Ironically, while he may now have an intense affair with the Urdu language, it was not love at first sight. “My schooling and education was in English and I used to look down on Urdu literature until I got familiar with writers like Manto and Ismat Aapa, says Shah.

After that, there was no turning back. “Once I read them, I was so moved that I couldn’t help but make plays on their stories, because I do feel their stories are to be told rather than read. Surprisingly, the throbbing intensity that is a specialty of Manto’s stories isn’t there in his plays,” he says.

But Shah is less optimistic about whether meaningful theatre can really be successful in commercial terms.

“Audiences in commercial theatres want to be entertained, not lectured to,” he says. “If we’re doing experimental theatre, even an audience of 250-300 people is a big deal.” This apparent lack of interest is one of the reasons that Shah, who has a great taste for street-theatre, says he doesn’t do it anymore though he has great respect for those who still use this medium to highlight social issues. “If I do only street-theatre then people wouldn’t listen to what I say and the whole purpose would be defeated. That’s why I don’t do it,” he explains.

Of course, none of this explains how the two directors, Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi (or Meenu Farjad as they prefer to be called) managed to bag Naseeruddin Shah for this film. “While writing the character of the human trafficking ‘agent’, we really started enjoying getting into the depths and motivations of the character, and very soon, Naseeruddin Shah’s name popped into our minds,” says Meenu who is herself of Indian origin and is a trained filmmaker.

“We approached him and thankfully he really liked the character and agreed to work in this film.” As simple as that. So without the whole world learning about it, Shah signed on and even visited Lahore to get a feel for the locale and his co-actors, almost all of whom are new to the field

“When he first arrived, he had a small stint with our actors, where they all workshopped together. He wanted to remain low-profile and he was very busy. But we didn’t really hide his presence or this project on purpose, it just happened that way,” replies Farjad when asked how they managed to conceal this whole project for so long from the media.

Farjad has made a name for himself working largely on documentaries and music videos, all of which have a distinctly ‘artsy’ flavour. Does Zinda Bhag then fall into the ‘art movie’ category?

“It’s difficult to categories this film as an art or commercial film. All we can say is, this is a film. We don’t even have any ‘heroes’ in it. There are four friends whose stories are integrated and who have equal weightage in it. Even Shah Sahab’s role isn’t the central role,” explain the directorial duo.

“We were surrounded by many stories and we just set out to make a film, and by default, we made a film on this subject. It is inspired by the stories of real boys and real girls.”

The music thus plays a very important role in weaving the separate threads of these stories into a complete tapestry. “The songs aren’t just there for the sake of having music and dance numbers, they are very much a part of the story and the film,” say Meenu and Farjad. Given the flavour and style of the film, the score has also been chosen with great care, and luminaries such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Arif Lohar and Amanat Ali have lent their voices to the effort while Sahir Ali Bagga has composed the songs.

As for when we will see this effort on the screen, producer Mazhar Zaidi says they are in talks with distributors in India and Pakistan to release the film in both the countries simultaneously in 2013. “Ideally we will want to release it in the UAE, UK and internationally as well, because the subject is very relevant and we hope things will go smoothly,” he says hopefully.

Given that this is Shah’s second foray into Pakistani film, what does he feel is the way forward for Indo-Pak celluloid cooperation? “It can only really happen on individual levels and on a person to person basis. If it happens on an organisational level, we’ll probably just get tied up in the red tape. Mein yahaan aa sakta hun aur kaam kar sakta hun, yehi bohat hai (It is enough that I can come and work here). I do hope things get better and the relationship between the two countries becomes cordial,” he concludes.

Shah says he’s very optimistic about the prospects of Pakistan’s young filmmakers, but he reserves his harshest criticism for those who call themselves critics. “The opinion of a rickshaw driver is just as important as the opinion of a critic, as they both are equally capable of watching a film and forming opinions. In Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot” the two characters abuse each other constantly, throwing newer and better insults at each other until one of them calls the other a critic. Then they both go silent, suggesting that there is no greater insult!” he says with a laugh.

Like many others who have come to this city, Shah seems mesmerised by the spell cast by Lahore. Quoting Ismat Chugtai, he says, “Lahore ki hawa mein noor ghula hai,” (A sacred light is mixed in Lahore’s air). “Creativity is in the air in Lahore,” he continues. “It reminds me of the Delhi of 30-years ago. It reminds me of Delhi at its best,” he says in a tone marked with affection and reminiscence. “I loved and still love Sohan Halwa and Peshawri chappals. When I was a kid, our relatives used to bring these from Pakistan when they came to see us in India,” he adds. “I can still eat a full dabba of Sohan Halwa by myself.”

So, a word of advice to the next Pakistani filmmaker who wants to bag Naseeruddin Shah for his film: don’t skimp on the halwa!