THE ICON INTERVIEW: THE OTHER NADEEM
His name is Baig, Nadeem Baig, not to be confused with film star Nadeem (aka Mirza Nazeer Baig) who has been entertaining cine-goers for the last five decades. Unlike the film actor, this Nadeem Baig has not changed his name. Why should he? He has carved his own niche as the director par excellence for giving the Pakistan film industry two of its biggest hits in recent times — Jawani Phir Nahin Ani (JPNA) and Punjab Nahin Jaungi (PNJ) — and hopes to continue the golden run with his third film slated to release later this year.
“After the TV serial Azar Ki Aayegi Baraat became a hit, people started congratulating the veteran Baig sahib for handling comedy so well as a director,” he says with a chuckle as he talks about Nadeem Sr. “He used to convey all those messages to me, asking me what to say in return. It was his shift from film to TV late in his career that confused viewers. In fact, during the Los Angeles premiere of JPNA, Humayun [Saeed] had to correct the host who introduced him instead of me. When the ARY Awards were held in Dubai a couple of years back, Baig sahib handed me the trophy for Best Director and announced that the confusion should end with it.”
There are worse things than being confused for a legend, I suppose. But how come both the Nadeems haven’t yet worked together in a project? “We once worked on a project a long time back but it hasn’t materialised,” the director Nadeem says. “In fact, I first offered the role of the Maulvi sahib to Nadeem sahib in Pyaray Afzal that was later played by Firdous Jamal sahib.”
Nadeem Baig started his career as an editor for a private TV channel in Lahore as soon as he finished college and inspired many with his modern editing skills and a sharp sense of understanding films. “I used to make promos for old Pakistani films and TV dramas, most notably Dasht, for Network Television Marketing (NTM) because that excited me a lot. It was my passion for films that made me get noticed by Tajdar Alam, my boss. He made me switch to production and from there onwards I became a part of films in Pakistan. It was great to see Tajdar sahib at the premiere of PNJ where I invited him as a special guest.”
After two decades of success in television, Nadeem Baig turned his hand to directing films and promptly directed two record-breaking commercial hits — Jawani Phir Nahin Ani and Punjab Nahin Jaungi. But few recognise him in public and he is still often confused for the legendary film star Nadeem because of his name. He opens up to Icon about his work ethic, what he hopes to achieve in films and, of course, the perennial confusion with his namesake ...
For someone who has been around for nearly two decades, Nadeem believes he is still in the learning process. “You have to have the passion to make a film if you want to switch to cinema. Watching a film in a cinema is a different experience from watching a TV serial. Since my college days, I have been an ardent cine-goer, leading my friends to say that I will die in the cinema one day!”
As the discussion progresses, no one from the people around us in the crowded restaurant where we have met up for the interview seem to recognise the man behind Pakistan’s two biggest hits. That’s because unlike the youngsters of the ’90s, Nadeem has decided to stay behind the camera to pursue his love for stories.
“Achi shakl ke directors bhi to honay chahiyein na! [There should be good-looking directors as well!]” Nadeem says with a smirk when asked why he chose to stay behind the camera despite being reasonably good looking. “The story excites me more than acting. Actors are always part of the story which has to be good if you want a good film. I have seen big actors lose big time in bad films, and small actors gain big time in good films,” he says.
It was at Aaj TV that Nadeem got to meet two restless souls who would later herald the revival of the film industry in Pakistan — Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza. “Oh yes, I remember them very well since they pissed me off by joining Napa [National Academy of Performing Arts] in preference over a steady job,” Nadeem laughs remembering the duo that went on to make Na Maloom Afraad (NMA) and Actor In Law (AIL).
After NTM’s shut-down, Nadeem began working as the production head at Eveready Pictures and after that he joined another production house as a director. “Chashmaan was one of the first plays I did and it got me in touch with talented individuals such as Ahsan Khan, Farah Shah and Navid Shahzad [who later played an important role in PNJ]. Umar Sharif’s Parda Na Uthao was a great experience considering we shot on a set with three cameras instead of one,” Nadeem says.