“I’ve never before spent so much time scrutinising scripts,” admits actor Imran Abbas. “There’s more competition now than ever before and everything one does can get shot down. I have to decide very carefully upon the roles that I want to take on.”

The actor is just about to jet off to India for the pre-release promotions for his movie Jaanisaar. His one-day stopover in Karachi is jam-packed with interviews, photo shoots and work meetings. Sated by our dramas and bowled over by our Fawad Khan, Bollywood has only recently developed a penchant for Pakistani actors. There’s plenty of curiosity surrounding Imran’s upcoming film, particularly because it marks Muzaffar Ali’s return to the celluloid screen. Aided by exemplary direction, the movie may just be able to raise Imran above his previous Bollywood blunders — namely, a catastrophe called Creature — and establish him as hero material.

“I don’t really know if Jaanisaar will be a commercial success,” says Imran. “But some movies aren’t made with the box office in mind. It’s a movie created with a lot of love and hard work. I was overjoyed when Muzaffar saheb took me on as his hero. I have always been a fan of Umrao Jaan and my character in Jaanisaar is a poet, like myself. It’s a movie that I have done for myself, rather than for box office accolades.”

Imran Abbas as the stately prince with his lady love, played by Pernia Qureshi — Screengrab
Imran Abbas as the stately prince with his lady love, played by Pernia Qureshi — Screengrab

Judging from the promos, Imran easily fits into his princely avatar. Long-locked, fair-skinned, dressed in regal shawls and long coats, he transitions from the moony-eyed enamored hero — a role that he is extremely familiar with — to the vigilante on horseback, fighting the war for independence. “Jaanisaar is a very artistic movie with meticulously created backdrops, beautiful music, shairi and dance. Pernia is a trained kathak dancer and she has the particularly intricate dance sequences. I have a good sense of rhythm but fortunately, I had to follow easier steps.”

Regardless of whether or not it is a commercial success, Jaanisaar is definitely a better launching pad for the actor as opposed to Creature where he was relegated to an inconsequential role. Why hadn’t Imran waited for a better offer instead of plunging into competitive Bollywood in such a lackluster way? “I think Creature was an interesting movie,” he defends. “I signed on for it at a time when there was a sudden gap in my career. I had wasted two years waiting for Boss, a movie I had signed with Akshay Kumar to release. During this time, I refused work in Pakistani dramas as well as lead roles in Aashiqui 2 and Ram Leela, movies that ended up becoming huge hits. Unfortunately for me, even Boss ended up not working out. This was when Creature was offered to me. It was an experiment and experiments sometimes work out and at other times they don’t.”


"Some movies aren’t made with the box office in mind. Jaanisar is a movie created with a lot of love and hard work. I have done this for myself, rather than for accolades."


Perhaps Imran hadn’t read Creature’s script, as he now professes to carefully do. His debut was bashed by audiences and critics alike and yet, the actor is continuing with his quest for Bollywood stardom. Why does Indian cinema hold such appeal? “I am an actor and I will work wherever the opportunity arises. India is a huge, extremely lucrative platform and why shouldn’t I accept work there? Bollywood also offers learning experiences for people from Pakistan. Everything is very organised and professional, there are people delegated to different jobs and everybody gets paid, something that is sorely missing in Pakistan,” he says. “That being said, I also plan to continue working in Pakistan. I belong here and I won’t ever forget that.”

Jaanisaar is, once again, an experimental movie, leaning more towards art than commercial cinema. Has Imran braced himself for all sorts of reviews — good and bad? “Reviews don’t matter to me, getting good work does,” he says. “And fortunately, I have never had any problems from that quarter.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine August 2nd, 2015

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