Favourite Film: Shakti Favourite Actor: Robert De Niro Favourite Poet: Faiz Ahmed Faiz Favourite Book: Thanda Gosht Favourite Singer: Khial Mohammad
Popular film actor-turned-director Ajab Gul’s recent visit to Peshawar was not without purpose. He was part of the campaign to help the victims of the devastating earthquake of October 8 but he also took out some time out of his crowded agenda to sit on our hot heat.
When asked about the present state of the film industry he says, “The decline of Urdu film industry has many reasons behind it. It includes directorial weaknesses, miscast, monotony of subjects and lack of modernization. People want a remarkable change both in substance and quality because they have far better understanding of the electronic and print media than they had a few years ago.”
The actor believes that the era of formula and drawing room film is over. The camera has to be moved around to catch the different expressions of the actor, not have the actors say all their lines facing the camera, which seems so artificial.
“The actors in Pakistan have been patronized. There is no effort made at all to look for new themes and treatment. There is a great need to bring about a revolutionary social change and silver screen offers the best possible choice of medium and we should exploit to the full,” says the young actor with conviction.
“The scriptwriters don’t seem to be concerned about what they write for films,” Ajab Gul adds. “It is not the Urdu film industry which is on the decline, rather it is the professionalism that is fast disappearing.”
He believes that keeping a suitable gap between two productions is needed for proper planning. “I offer my personal example. My hit flick Khoihowey Tum Kahan was in 2001, followed by another hit Kiun Tum Se Itna Piyar Hain released in 2005. The two had enough gap in between them so that I could concentrate on each.”
Both the hits flicks cost him a lot in terms of money but he earned more than his expectations. “My first film cost me Rs40 million. I spend lavishly and generously because I wanted to have quality. Yes, I got a very good return as the movie was a successful one, and of which I was very much hopeful,” he claims. Ajab says that a strong script, sleek camera work, excellent cast and high quality presentation of locations can make a film truly public friendly.
He observes, “In fact, every other news item that appears in our newspapers can be used as a raw material for a strong social theme.”
Regarding the revival of Urdu cinema, Ajab Gul says, “It is my genuine suggestion that there should be exchange of Indian and Pakistani films on reciprocal basis but we should go for co-production as well. Also our cinema needs official patronage. My favourite flick is Shakti because of the wonderful acting of Dilip Kumar,” says he.
Ajab left acting in Pashto films due to its excessive violence and vulgarity, however, Sray Stergay (Red Eyes) and Da Topak Zsaba (Gun’s language) in 1987 won him widespread fame due to his strong performance. “Urbal, Adam Khan Durkhanai, Yousaf Khan Sherbano, Khanabadosh, Deedan, Kochwaan, and Insaf are some of the best old Pashto films. Badar Munir was an excellent hero of his time but, unfortunately, his career was spoiled through sheer highhandedness of some people in the industry who wanted to malign Pakhtun culture.”
Music Director late Rafiq Shinwari and melodious singers Gulnar Begum, Kishwar Sultan, Hidayatullah and Khial Mohammad and the scriptwriters like Nisar Mohammad Khan, Murad Shinwari and Ameer Ghulam Sadiq would definitely give a hit Pashto flick. He feels that though Pashto cinema is on the move nowadays, still it needs innovation and hard work.
He suggests, “Watching movies demands a lot of time if one is busy. I must tell you that I have been an avid movie buff since college days and have still a strong penchant for it. I frequently watch Urdu, Pashto and English movies.”
Al Pacino and Robert Di Niro have impressed Ajab Gul a lot and he loves to watch their movies simply to watch their performance. “I have enjoyed Di Niro’s Mad Dog Glory a lot,” adds the man.
According to this actor, “Television plays have become too glamourized now and I don’t see things improving in the future. My role in Ranjishain Sahee on a private TV channel is psychological, which is totally different from filmi roles.”
Television script is bolder than our films, because films keep the audience glued to their seats and concentrate on the theme which they later on critically analyze, thus having a strong impact on their mind. Whereas one can easily switch off one’s TV set and forget about the play he was watching.”
Talking about what he likes to do best, Ajab says, “Acting and directing are both my passions and I am at ease doing both of them.”
Ajab listens to the tracks of Madam Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and Jageet Singh, but it is the voice of Khial Mohammad, popularly known as ‘Shahensha-e-Pashto’ ghazal, which enchants him the most.
According to Ajab Gul, “Reading is the only thing in the world which can give one a true spiritual and mental satisfaction.” “Reading,” he ascertains, “enlightens and mould one’s personality.”
Owing to his busy schedule, he gets almost no time to pick up a book and read. But the actor did read a lot in the past when he was not busy in other pursuits. Among the books that he has found interesting has been the plays Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard and Manto’s short story collection Thanda Gosht and Kushhal Khan Khattak’s sublime prose work Dastaarnama cast a magical effect on his sensitive nerves.
“I have read Allama Iqbal, Ghalib and Noon Meem Rashid’s poems but my favourite poet is Faiz Ahmed Faiz, because the freshness in his poetry is submerged in sublimity, which I think is a rare quality in a poet,” Ajab Gul maintains.
For him, Rahman Baba is the perpetual fountain of mystical inspiration whose poetry he had read by the time he was ten. “Books make us visionaries, optimistic and keen observers of what is happening around us,” concludes Ajab Gul.
Favourite Film: Shakti
