“Pakistan’s first partly-animated film, Jalaibee, has been shot on the same state-of-the art ARRI A lexa HD camera used for Hollywood blockbusters such as Gravity, Ironman 3 and Skyfall,” says producer Eman Bente Syed while speaking exclusively to Images on Sunday.

The big-budget film boasts a young, star-studded cast and will simultaneously be launched in cinemas worldwide. Incidentally this is the time when the World Cup cricket matches will be at fever-pitch.

Since the film is part-animated, won’t it take away from the story?

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Jalaibee is sweet, twisted and most definitely NOT a rom-com!

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Eman Bente Syed: All the background stories projecting the past are animated along with the action scenes. We did this as a stylistic choice to make it different and exciting. It doesn’t take away from the film as the animation and normal acting are interwoven. Jalaibee is the first film in Pakistan which has animation in it, and the inspiration has come from a Hollywood film, that embodies Tarantino’s style. The characters are exaggerated and larger than life, the story has a lot of wit and humour and the execution of the film has a grand touch. The villains, for example, wear black as all the characters are exaggerated stereotypes.

What is the film about?

EBS: The film is about Billo and Bhagga, two small-time gangsters who get caught in a deal gone wrong. There is a parallel story of Ali whose gangster father has been killed by an all-powerful mafia lord, and Ali along with his brother plot to kill the ‘King’ in revenge. Billo and Bhagga unwittingly get involved in their story. The plot revolves arounds a gangster caper, very stylised and one that does not focus on a love story.

What about the cast?

EBS: We have Wiqar Ali Khan, Danish Taimur, Ali Safina, Zhalay Sarhadi, Sabeeka Imam, Sajid Hasan, Uzair Jaswal and Adnan Jaffer. The film has been shot in Pakistan. Outside shots were done in Islamabad, indoor scenes in Karachi and the main song is shot in Lahore.

Why call it Jalaibee?

Because the story is all sweet and twisted with three main storylines all intertwined. The creative process has been very exciting and also exasperating. The storyline was done by Yasir Jaswal in 2012 who is also the director and he convinced me to come on board. We got the script in order in September 2013 and completed the film last October. The cast loved the name and their characters. Except for Sajid Hasan and Sabeeka, this is a debut film for everyone.

Moreover, it started off as a low-budget film but along the way it became an expensive one. We put in more effort and money in the first part and as it looked good we got a lot of sponsors. So we were comfortable in every way where finances were concerned.

Even the trailer teaser was good and got a major channel sponsor. I am optimistic the film will be a hit as it has all the right ingredients, commercially.

Q. Is this your first film?

A. This is my first film as a producer but I have done ads in the past and have produced TV news reports and music videos. I have worked with Jami in films and corporate videos. Then I started a production company in 2009. Sajid Hasan is my uncle so I suppose I was interested in this field somewhat and my parents, especially my mother, encouraged me. I have written five scripts for films but I think unlike the West we don’t pay much attention to scripts as it would take longer for the film to complete. In terms of expertise, equipment, we are fine, where we lack is the discipline to put things together.

Q. When is the film being released?

A. On March 20, as it is a long weekend and the distributors wanted it to premiere then, but they forgot that World Cup cricket would be at its height with semi-finals and finals! No major releases are expected at this time, so that’s going to help us. It is also the first film in Pakistan to be released internationally at the same time in the UK, UAE, US and Australia.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 15th, 2015

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