Muzaffar Ali kindles a love saga

Talks directing and acting in film after earning Jaanisaars for ‘Umrao Jaan’


Ians July 28, 2015
Ali lauded Imran Abbas for ‘having the guts to say yes’ to him for playing the lead in Jaanisaar, which also marks the debut of stylist Pernia Qureshi. PHOTO: FILE

MUMBAI: Director Muzaffar Ali, who is gearing up for the release of his comeback film, the Imran Abass-starrer Jaanisaar, said actors these days are unsure about working with independent filmmakers, as they’re more inclined towards big-budgeted films and mainstream cinema.

At a media interaction for Jaanisaar, Ali spoke about the prevailing mindset of actors. “There are several actors in India, who, whenever they feel something positive is going to happen in their lives, get inclined towards multi-starrer, big-banner and studio films,” he said. “And they think a hundred times before working with independent filmmakers, eventually getting into the dilemma of which one to go for,” he added.

Read: I'm playing my dream role in Jaanisaar: Imran Abbas

The filmmaker, who has garnered a host of ‘jaanisaars’ for his magnum opus Umrao Jaan, feels cinema is a tricky road to traverse. “Both good and bad things always happen in the industry. Artists are born and finished regularly. There are actors who don’t compromise and then there are those who do. The more the number of mouths, the more there will be talk,” he noted. “The way you want to move forward, how you want to live and what you want to say are things that’ll ultimately define what your journey is.”



Ali is also set to exhibit his acting chops in the film. He revealed that he was earlier planning on casting Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah for the role, which he ended up depicting himself. “According to the demand of the script, there was a need for a person who somewhat resembled me. We were thinking about Naseer and Amitabh, but both of them didn’t have time,” he shared.

Read: Imran Abbas wraps up ‘Jaanisaar’

He said his son Shaad, who has helmed films, such as Saathiya and Ali Zafar’s Kill Dil, prompted him to do the film. “My son told me I should take up the role. I told him that if you’ll be around, then I’ll do it and eventually, I did it,” he said. He joked that he “committed a mistake” by agreeing to act in the film.

Terming his character in the film “extremely exciting,” Ali shared, “He’s a person, who has experienced the 1857 [revolt] and has noticed how there was a corpse hanging on every tree. He realised that not only aggression but also consciousness were required for this revolt.” He further said, “He’s trying to keep alive the fire, while also becoming an inspiration for the girl (Pernia Qureshi), and he’s aware of all the secrets associated with this boy (Imran Abbas), which get revealed in the end.”

As for Abbas, who plays the male lead in Jaanisaar, Ali lauded him for not having any apprehensions about taking up a role in the movie. “The script demanded a boy like Imran. He had the guts to say ‘yes’ to me. It’s a big thing that he came forward during such a period,” said the filmmaker. Jaanisaar, which marks the debut of stylist Pernia Qureshi, is slated to release on August 7. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th,  2015.

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