Shaan, Asad ul Haq to bring ‘Mission 5’ back

Asad ul Haq and Shaan Shahid revisit their love for film production

LAHORE: Asad ul Haq of Shiny Toy Guns (STG) band and veteran Pakistani actor Shaan Shahid, have diverse skill sets which, when put together, have the potential to create magic. The two demonstrated this themselves in their collaboration for Mission 5 but unfortunately, the project fell through prematurely. Now, almost two years after Dekh Magar Pyaar Se (DMPS) and midway shooting for Arth 2 and Yalghaar, the duo have met up in Lahore to revisit their love for films.

“Shaan’s working on a film and I’ve just come out of one. He’s an actor cum director but we decided to put those differences asid. As long as we mutually respect boundaries, I think we can present a great package,” shares Asad. “We will revisit Mission 5 and see where we were and incorporate other ideas. We’re working as a team and not deciding the roles right now. We’ll see later on, who directs and who produces.” When questioned as to why Mission 5 was initially scratched, Asad responded, “We weren’t ready for that big an undertaking financially and needed a specific kind of weather to shoot.”



Speaking about the mistakes he made in DMPS, Asad stands behind his film wholeheartedly. He pointed out that other films are yet to become full packages themselves. “Everyone is experimenting and our visuals were the strongest out of the rest. We all have different strengths so I’m all in for collaborating.” Despite the picturesque shots in DMPS though, he admitted the films weakness lay in its storyline – something he can work on for the future. “Shaan has experience, script expertise and the ability to capture the desi crux mass appeal and STG has visual expertise,” adds Asad.

According to Asad, people are usually hesitant to collaborate in Pakistan, even though he’s been pushing it under the STG banner. “I can’t do everything and neither can you, so why can’t we work together? I’m not saying I’m bent on directing but I have a certain expertise. Take it from me and see where it goes,” added Asad.“One needs to put out different things. If the desi audience isn’t ready for what I have to put out there, that’s fine with me.” He further said, “I’m putting my team together with some new talent and oldies as I can’t do this alone, I need people around.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2016.

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