The cast of Baaji
In Baaji, Meera plays Shameera, an aging actress trying to stay relevant. She is the old film industry personified; struggling to keep up with changing trends and to compete with pretty young things.
At the beginning of the film, we see a producer and director disagreeing over casting a diva-like Shameera. “She is a big star, our film will benefit,” the producer says. “She was a star 10 years ago,” the director responds.
Soon enough, when Shameera gets injured while filming an item song, the director replaces her with a younger actress (a cameo by Mehwish Hayat). As Hayat demonstrates her youthful energy dancing to Gangster Gurriya, Shameera dramatically limps on set. “Love me or hate me, you can never replace me,” she firmly tells the director, reassuring herself in the process.
By placing an aging star at the centre of their script, Malik and writer Irfan Ahmed Urfi, comment on the film industry’s past and present.
In Baaji by placing an aging star at the centre of their script, director Saqib Malik and writer Irfan Ahmed Urfi, comment on the film industry’s past and present.
One of the plot points in Baaji deals with Shameera being asked to do an erotically-charged stage play. As we see a performer gyrate on stage for a lecherous male audience, we are reminded of what Lollywood cinema became in the 1990s — a means for men to get their cheap thrills.
This is hardly the first time Malik is looking back at what the industry used to be. His love for cinema and cinema history is well documented. One of his most memorable works, the 2002 music video Khamaj, also depicted the film industry’s glorious past. There too, he explored themes of stardom and jealousy. In a nod to Khamaj in Baaji, a scene shows Rohail Khan (Osman Khalid Butt) playing the Fuzon track on a piano.
Raza also looks back at the industry’s past in PHL. Sheheryar (Sheheryar Munawar), an aspiring actor, takes Saaniya (Maya Khan) to an abandoned film studio. Dusty film cans are placed on an old shelf. There is a sepia-tinted Waheed Murad poster in the back and film footage litters the floor on which Sheheryar walks. A perfectly functional 35mm projector is on hold for Sheheryar to show Maya some old Pakistani films and reminisce.
It is an interesting moment because, while Sheheryar might have seen some older Pakistani films, he is essentially feeling nostalgic about a cinema culture he has never experienced firsthand. As someone who has only lived the ‘golden era of Pakistani cinema’ through other people’s accounts, I found this moment very relatable.
Looking at the past through rose-tinted glasses can be dangerous. Thankfully, Sheheryar is centered when he meets his Uncle Faisal (Nadeem Baig), who was a famous writer, but had to move out of the country.
Similarly, Superstar also looks back at cinema’s past through characters who have lived it and see it less romantically. In Superstar, Noor Malik (Mahira Khan), an aspiring actress falls in love with megastar Sameer Khan (Bilal Ahsraf). Both actors have a strong connection to a bygone era of the Pakistani film industry. Sameer’s mum Laila Khan (Marina Khan) was a famous silver screen actress before marriage. And Noor’s mentor Agha Jaan (Nadeem Baig) used to be a respected filmmaker.