SPOTLIGHT: AIMING FOR THE SKY

Published August 12, 2018
The cast and crew of Parwaaz Hai Junoon with the Pakistan Air Force pilots -Photo courtesy: Hum Films
The cast and crew of Parwaaz Hai Junoon with the Pakistan Air Force pilots -Photo courtesy: Hum Films

Fighter jets soar high into the air, steered by men in uniform, their faces frowning with concentration. Zig-zagging through the air, they navigate over treacherous terrains, zooming through fire and smoke as they take on the enemy. Occasionally, they’ll make a comment like “God bless the enemy!” or “I was born to fly!” And just before they fly off, they cast a sidelong besotted glance at the female pilot in the neighbouring plane. On ground, they sing, dance, flirt, fall in love and while doing so, use pilot-like lingo such as “Direct attack!” when saying “I love you” to a girl.

That’s Parwaaz Hai Junoon (PHJ) for you, Hum Films and producer Momina Duraid’s tribute to the country’s air force, foil-wrapped in song, dance, romance … the whole shebang.

It’s a formula that may work at the cinema box office but it’s facing stiff challenge from other films. PHJ is scheduled for release on Eidul Azha alongside two other mammoth productions — Load Wedding and Jawani Phir Nahin Aani 2 — and while patriotism can be a massive selling point for a movie, it needs to offer more in order to draw in the holiday crowds.

PHJ is planning to do this by falling back on a blueprint that is second nature to Duraid: romance. A young dimpled Hania Aamir plays a female fighter pilot and the trailer makes it clear that she falls in love with another pilot, played by a clean-shaven Hamza Ali Abbasi, while Ahad Raza Mir — a pilot, yet again — also carries a torch for her. The ensemble cast also includes Shaz Khan, Kubra Khan, Marina Khan, Hina Bayat, Shamoon Abbasi and Asif Raza Mir.

Parwaaz Hai Junoon, made as a tribute to the air force, posed a number of physical challenges for both cast and crew. But can the patriotic effort reap dividends in the face of two other big films releasing at the same time?

“It is a patriotic story but the patriotism isn’t in your face,” explains Momina. “It’s a movie that portrays the lives of air force pilots, how they get married, have families, fall in love while always staying true to an underlying mission that rules their lives. Ultimately, the story also includes [the military operation] Zarb-e-Azb and narrates how our soldiers valiantly fought to eradicate terrorism.”

Kubra Khan and Shaz Khan - Photo courtesy: Hum Films
Kubra Khan and Shaz Khan - Photo courtesy: Hum Films

In an effort to authentically capture the essence of life in the air force, scriptwriter Farhat Ishtiaq spent two weeks living at an air force academy. “The Pakistan Air Force had been reaching out to me for some time, asking me to create a film centered round them,” says Duraid, “but I didn’t really get round to it until Hamza accidentally mentioned in an interview that he was working on an air force-centric movie with me. Coincidentally, Farhat had sent me a script at the time that I felt could be steered in this direction. She and I talked over the phone for an entire night, coming up with the very first draft. Then, as she wrote the script, she went and lived in the air force academy, dining with the pilots, conversing with them, reading their annual periodicals.

“They have a different way of living and of talking. They’ll use phrases like ‘Right on target’ in the course of normal conversation. We have brought all that to the movie and luckily, we had access to air force bases across the country. We shot our movie on so many of them. Our combat sequences featured actual jets being flown by professional fighter pilots and all our extra characters have been played by real members of the air force. It can’t get more realistic than that.”

The making of the movie

Hania Aamir was selected to play the female lead because she had a youthful exuberance that fitted well into her character while, according to Duraid, Hamza was her immediate choice for the male lead. “People may agree or disagree with Hamza’s controversial views but his love for his country cannot be denied. I couldn’t have chosen anyone else to play the patriotic hero.”

Hamza’s first act of heroism after signing on to the movie was to shave his beard. “It was a compulsory requirement but so difficult to do,” confesses the actor. “I think that I look ridiculous without my beard but, then again, if I hadn’t shaved, I would have looked like Hania’s uncle rather than her love interest. And fortunately, I think the shaved look works well for the character that I play.

“Also, perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of my role was that I had to adopt the persona of an air force pilot,” admits Hamza. “After spending time with actual pilots, I realised that they had their own subculture with certain jokes and mannerisms. It was something that I had to master. What I did enjoy the most was sitting in F-16 and JF-17 jets. Those were experiences that are unforgettable!”

PHJ did pose a number of physical challenges for its cast and crew with shoots dispersed over far-flung areas, often in extreme temperatures. “The land-combat action scenes in Kallar Kahar were shot in extreme heat,” recalls Hamza. “There would be sand and hot air flying all around us.”

In other shoots, filming was done at temperatures as low as -22 degrees Celsius. The movie’s director Haseeb Hassan elaborates: “We had an exhausting schedule where we would constantly be ricocheting from one location to the other. If one day we were in the snowy Naltar valley, the next day we would be shooting in Kalabagh and then, the very next day, in Abbottabad. We made Islamabad our base and while we tried to limit our crew, it ultimately expanded to quite a large number of people. We would all be traveling back and forth, sometimes ending up making two trips to Nathiagali or Murree in a day.”

“It was appreciable that the actors worked hard with us. Hamza did most of his stunts himself, enduring heat, dust and some rigorous action sequences.”

The Eidul Azha conundrum

Hamza Ali Abbasi and Hania Aamir - Photo courtesy: Hum Films
Hamza Ali Abbasi and Hania Aamir - Photo courtesy: Hum Films

These efforts may just result in a commendable movie, featuring some of Pakistan’s most beautiful natural locales, a motley crew of new and veteran actors and a soundtrack that has been well-received. Nevertheless, even before its release, PHJ has its detractors from within the local film industry. Why did Hum Films decide to bring out the movie during Eidul Azha, a time at which two other local releases had already been announced from much before? With all three movies being helmed by major production houses and featuring star casts, overall profits are bound to suffer.

“It’s true that we had earlier planned to release PHJ on Eidul Azha last year,” says Duraid. “At that time, we had been the first to announce our release date while two other movies, Na Maloom Afraad 2 and Punjab Nahin Jaungi, also later chose to release simultaneously with us. Regardless, PHJ got delayed due to some technical issues and we set our sights on Eidul Fitr this year. We had to change our plans again when we found out that five other local releases were slotted for that time while two major Bollywood movies were also scheduled to release within two weeks after Eid. We postponed PHJ’s release once again and planned for Eidul Azha.

“Six local movies releasing together is quite implausible but I think three releases can be manageable,” she continues. “After Eidul Azha, we get a nearly three month-long window when no other major release is expected from within Pakistan or internationally. I think that gives all three movies enough time to make box office profits. Additionally, PHJ has been created with a commitment to the air force and they didn’t want us to delay it any further. Eidul Azha suits them because soon afterwards, the nation celebrates Air Force Day on September 7th.”

But while this may be plausible, it still means that all three Eidul Azha releases will earn less profits than they would have had they had been released separately. It also means that while all three movies may turn out to be ‘hits’, only one of them has a shot at being the ultimate success, the ‘super-hit’ if you will. Will Parwaaz Hai Junoon, spurred on by jet planes, romance and those broody men in uniform manage to blaze ahead? That’s a question for the box office, later this month.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 12th, 2018

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