‘Not many know what’s been done to Balochistan’

Film screening, discussion organised

LAHORE: “If the Pakistani film industry was thought to be in the ICU previously we can assume that it has witnessed somewhat of a revival,” filmmaker Jami Mahmood posited.

Mahmood made the remarks at a panel discussion organised following the screening of his film Moor.

“I do not concur with anyone saying there has been a welcome revival of Pakistani cinema. If one is lifting ideas from Bollywood, the phenomenon cannot be categorised as a new wave,” he said. BNU’s Azhar Sukhera and film producer Akifa Miyan moderated the discussion.

Replying to a query regarding how difficult it was to helm the film, Mahmood said he had come to realise that Moor was Pakistan’s Revenant after watching the latter. He said shooting on location sounds without dubbing was most challenging as the crew did not want to compromise when it came to authenticity. Shooting in minus 15 temperatures was another challenge, Mahmood said.

“Not many know what has been done to Balochistan. The (main) gas pipeline originates from the province but (many) don’t have access to gas there,” he said. So, Mahmood said, the crew had to use coal and bushes to keep warm. “Negotiating our way with the Taliban at one end and the ISI at the other was another interesting aspect,” he said.

The filmmaker said he had gotten the idea to make Moor following a visit to Quetta. Mahmood said his visit had left him dumbfounded as to how the province was being run.

“The havoc wreaked on railways during the Musharraf era was extremely tragic. Tracks installed during the Raj were dismantled. The then government promised to install new ones. That never happened,” he said.

Mahmood counselled budding filmmakers to forget about equipment and focus instead on becoming good storytellers. “You won’t be able to sell a film if it does not have a good story. You have to be insanely dedicated to the craft. It’s a clichéd statement but aggressiveness is key to bringing forth quality work”, he said.

Speaking on the trend of copying Bollywood, Mahmood said one had to understand that with films like Lunchbox gaining ground and raking in the moolah, we were picking up something they were gradually jettisoning. He said the painful part about making films in Pakistan was that owners of cinema houses had a misconception that there was no market for avant-garde films. “Even if such a film is making money it will still be given odd screening slots like 11 in the morning. This doesn’t help promote quality cinema,” Mahmood said.

Set against the backdrop of the engineered decline of railways in Pakistan, Mahmood’s Moor is about the meaning of loyalty—to one’s land, family and principles. The film—Pakistan’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 88th Academy Awards—premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2016.