KARACHI: The trailer for upcoming Pakistani film Jeewan Hathi, directed by Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur, was launched at Cinepax Cinema on Friday evening. The cast, director and writer of the project Fasih Bari Khan were present on the occasion and answered questions put to them both by media persons and, for some reason, producer of the film Mazhar Zaidi.

Answering the question on why the focus of the story was on the media, Nabi said the film was a ‘black comedy’ and was about the madness surrounding the rat race of ‘ratings’ in the media. He said it had a TV game show and its host at the centre, and all of the characters in the movie were khiskay huay (crazy) which, as the story progressed, became crazier. He said they had created a world which the audience would be able to recognise.

Responding to the question on Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah playing a role in the film while Pakistani artists were no longer allowed to work in India, Zaidi said a Pakistani film Actor-in-Law had Indian actor Om Puri and the movie was doing well. Apart from that, he said, theirs was a Pakistani film which was going to be released on Nov 4, so by that time no one knew what would happen.

Then Nabi asked Fasih Bari Khan about how he was able to write the story for Jeewan Hathi. Khan said he himself had been associated with the media. He said there was a time when TV shows had a certain mayaar (standard); but since the ratings’ phenomenon started, it seemed we could do anything to get the ratings. He said we could also show the positive side to the media. However, it was important to show its negative aspects so that we could learn.

Actress Samia Mumtaz said doing a comedic part felt like she had come out of a cage (of doing serious characters).

Actor Fawad Khan, who also teaches at the National Academy of Performing Arts, acknowledged the fact that rehearsals were held before getting in front of the camera, which helped him do his role properly.

Actress Kiran Tabeer, who has been paired with Fawad in the story, said the film also had a romantic angle to it.

Actor Adnan Jaffer said his pairing with Samia Mumtaz provided a ‘comparison’ of two couples in the film.

Actress Hina Dilpazeer, who arrived late for the press conference, said she got excited to know that Fasih Bari Khan was writing the script for the film and was even more excited to know that Farjad and Meenu were directing it. She said the film carried an important message and all those who aspired to make movies should watch it.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016