ISLAMABAD: The preview of a documentary on Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Zia Mohiyeddin, two legendary personalities of Pakistani literature and art, was screened before a select gathering on Saturday.

The feature-length documentary Koi Aashiq Kisi Mehboob Sey (Some Lover to Some Beloved) was screened at the Nomad Culture Centre. It is titled after one of the famous poems of the legendary poet of the 20th century, and was made by young documentary maker and photographer Umar Riaz. The film’s premiere has been planned for December.

Mr Riaz, the director, cinematographer and editor of the documentary, has touched upon many hidden aspects of Mohyeddin’s life, his talent and personal idiosyncrasies, his habits, and the highlights of his career as an actor, director and based on the anecdotes and views of people close to him, including his wife Azra, ex-wives Nahid Siddiqui and Sarwar Zamani, and cousin Daud Rahbar.

The film also sheds light on the poetry and life of Faiz, his days in prison, self-exile and military rule and the descent of Pakistani society into violence, extremism and chaos during the last three decades, in the words of his daughters Salima and Moneeza Hashmi, and connects his poetry with Mr Mohiyeddin with the help of narration by Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, a renowned educationist and linguist.

Mr Riaz also includes glimpses of the life of scholar Daud Rahbar, who inspired and influenced Mr Mohiyeddin’s life.

In the documentary both Mr Rahbar and Dr Zehra explain the broader meaning of the metaphor aashiq (lover) and mehboob (beloved) in the Urdu ghazal and Faiz and Mr Mohiyeddin’s concept of love for humanity and for art.

“Although I have been listening to Zia sb since my childhood, who happened to be my father’s uncle, we started the project in December 2010 when Zia sb dedicated his annual show to Faiz on his 100th birthday. We started collecting footage about Zia sb, Faiz sb and the poetry,” he explained.

In response to a question, he said: “The biggest challenge was coordinating with Zia sb and to get him to open up as he is a very reserved, disciplined and self-effacing person. It was hours and hours to shuttle between Lahore, Karachi, the Arabian Sea, London and the US.”

The second difficult phase was to interview Mr Rahbar who was a very introverted person and was living a retired life in the United States, Mr Riaz said. “I think nobody had interviewed him before.”

Mr Riaz added that Faiz’ poetry was timeless, and quoted Dr Zehra, saying that the uniqueness of his poetry was his love and miseries for humanity.

“It’s a unique film that focuses on poetry and art. Riaz has very skilfully captured glimpses of the lives and work of the two legendary personalities of literature and art,” former ambassador Sarwar Naqvi said.

Writer and photographer Isa Daudpota told Dawn: “The mashing up of comments of Zia Mohiyeddin with Dr Arfa, as well as Salima and Moneeza about Faiz’ poetry and artist’s passion for literature and art is commendable.”

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2018