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Calling the shots
An actor who doubles up as a director and has so far directed eight dramas, three documentaries and is now out to promote his tele-film, Ek Kasak Baqi Hai Abhi which goes on air from tomorrow on Hum TV thrice a week, meeting Azeem Sajjad is a pleasant surprise. This well-groomed Pathan turned to direction after a two-year post graduation in film-making from the US.
Before he can answer my questions, he is interrupted by his assistant. The video is ready. “I’m coming,” says Azeem who always seems to have something on his mind. During the hour that the interview lasts, he keeps doing one thing or the other besides talking, of course.
His office exudes energy. He sits on a black sofa against a backdrop of off-white, typing away on his laptop. How is it working under his own direction? “It’s not advisable. I, for one, would not recommend it. To transform from behind the camera into the role is not easy,” he says. In Ek Kasak Baqi Hai Abhi he plays an aggressive person who is a softie in matters of the heart. Azeem says that it has strong visuals set against the 9/11 backdrop.
Azeem Sajjad has mostly worked with Dr Dennis Isaac and finds his scripts slow-paced but up to the mark. Ek Kasak Baqi Hai Abhi will put Isaac in a different category,’ he says
Not one to give away the story, he says the theme revolves around a grandfather, Shahjehan Khan, a figurative ‘twin towers’ of ego and economy, and who is against his son’s (the late Hassam Qazi) marriage to Judi (an American). The audience is given the impression that Azeem’s character likes both Mehreen (Hassam’s daughter) and Yusra (Sophia Mirza). The families try to come together through their children and in doing so the play brings out hope and despair. “This tele-film goes out to Hassam Qazi, his last complete serial,” says Azeem. “He was a very dear friend and I can never forget him.”
On the director-actor chemistry, Azeem says that there are a lot of things a director has to take into account. He tells me of crisis management, the phenomenon of warming up actors’ moods for their roles and the complexity of calling the shots. Part of his understanding of direction comes through his nature of realizing the needs of the cast, rounded off by his study in film-making. “A director has to face a lot of things. He is like a godfather. I cannot blame an actor for showing off his new mobile on the sets. We live in an environment where such things matter a great deal. If he is mature enough he’ll understand it at the end of the day. I am also not against our actors working in Indian films but I stand by Shaan when he asked in an interview that why don’t Bollywood actors do roles in Lollywood films? Quite frankly they don’t need us,” Azeem says.He also believes in making stars. “Mehreen is a good find as she can act well. I found Sophia talented, too. This tele-film has helped her take away her sitcom image and placed her in a serious role,” he says.
Azeem Sajjad has mostly worked with Dr Dennis Isaac and finds his scripts slow-paced but up to the mark. “Ek Kasak Baqi Hai Abhi will put Isaac in a different category,” says Azeem Sajjad.
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