“My friends say I have the most random taste in music, one day I will be listening to a band called Senses Fail and another day I am appreciating the music of Journey,” says the newest sensation in the realm of music video direction.

Taal Karisma is a band of Napa-trained young musicians that have recently gained critical acclaim for their haunting melody Joy of Sorrow. “I heard them play at a gig and fell in love with the song,” Nefer explained when asked why she risked her directorial debut with such raw musical talent. “The music just provokes an emotion straight off the bat. I used the sun in my video as a symbol of happiness. One day the band members were telling me about how they were unable to perform as much as they wanted to because of the chaos in the country, so I wanted to make them more like the 'superheroes' that would let art prevail through any turmoil that the city was in,” she delineates.

Nefer Sehgal is a born and bred Karachiite who pursued her earlier education in the city and then went to a college in Massachusetts, US. “I have to be honest, as a kid I wasn't very focused on my studies; I was more intrigued by the idea of storytelling so a part of me always wanted to pursue film-making. However, in college I realised I could actually study the profession and since then I have been obsessed with the idea,” her honesty is refreshing and belies her age for her self-awareness.

The inevitable question now is whether she was welcomed with open arms in an industry predominantly run my men? “When I first came back from America I wasn't welcomed into the market but not because I was a woman but because I was someone who had an education in the field. Being a 'film brat' made me an outcast so in a way I did struggle; I even thought I should become a hairstylist as a backup plan. But when I met Mansoor Mujahid and Faraz Iqbal who worked with me, things changed quickly for the better. I met people in the same boat and with the same love of storytelling. And of course my family always believed in me so that helped too. In fact, it was my family that always said 'stick to it' and it certainly paid off.”

Ambition and drive in youth is a given but if it is touched with inspiration it can lead to bigger and better things. When asked about the big picture she pleasantly surprises this scribe with her answer, “In the long run when film-making is more accepted I would love to write and direct Pakistan's first fantasy film.”

Given her passion for film-making and oodles of talent, one hopes she will achieve that goal. — Saima Salman