Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat hope to ignite love stories with 'Load Wedding'

Cast and crew of the film discuss storyline and other films releasing on Eidul Azha

KARACHI: The trio of Nabeel Qureshi, Fizza Ali Meerza and Fahad Mustafa have been giving hit after hit the last several years. Their latest film Load Wedding, which is set to release this Eidul Azha, has generated buzz all over the country. And, soon after Actor in Law (2016), they yet again welcomed Mehwish Hayat to the family as the film’s leading lady.

'Load Wedding' trailer perfectly sets the mood for the summer wedding season

The Express Tribune interviewed the cast of Load Wedding ahead of the film’s release. The storyline revolves around Raja (Mustafa) and Meerab (Hayat) in a love story set in Punjab. Hayat’s previous hit Punjab Nahi Jaungi also forced her to visit Punjab, even though she was adamant on not going. Speaking about it, she laughed and said there are no similarities between her characters in both films. “This is one thing I’ve been particular about. I’ve always made sure not to repeat what I’ve already done. Meerab is a different person altogether,” she shared. “She is a Punjab ki kuri, who has her own strengths and vulnerabilities. That makes her beautifully flawed, unique and special.”

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Meanwhile Mustafa has never played a role like Raja before. “My films have always been character-driven, so I’m a very ‘non-hero’ kind of star in this industry. I play characters, that’s what I do. It’s a boy-next-door always. We put them in front of different backdrops, that’s it,” he added. “What I found fascinating about Raja is his innocent romance. I think of it as a pure, innocent love story. It’s the kind of love that’s not been shown in Pakistan before, at least to me.”

Speaking about portraying a Punjabi girl, Hayat stated, “As a human, you pick a lot of accents from your surroundings. Of course, if it were any other language like French, it’d be difficult. But we have all got Punjabi friends so it wasn’t that difficult. And that’s the fun of being an actor.” According to Hayat, she chooses characters based on how similar they are to her real personality. “I found Meerab relatable to myself, and I think she is relatable to every girl in terms of her dreams, emotions and strengths. It’s a universal character.”

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Mustafa revealed he has never done a romantic film. “I have never done romance. Mah-e-Mir was an intense story, which was not exactly romance. This is the only romance story I’ve done, jis me aik dusre ke samne beth ke romance kar rahe hain. Khat-o-kitabat wala romance (old-school filmy romance),” he said. “In Na Maloom Afraad 2, Jawed Sheikh was my heroine. I hardly looked towards Urwa. I looked at Sheikh sahab after every line, because we shared such great chemistry.”

However, Mustafa is confident about his chemistry with Hayat. He said, “The kind of chemistry Mehwish and I have shared on-screen will ignite many new love stories.” While the film’s leading stars are comfortable with their roles, the director carries a lot more responsibility and pressure. “It’s like Shahid Afridi came and hit a century early on, so people expect him to do that every time he’s playing. It’s the same with us. Na Maloom Afraad and Actor in Law worked well so now people have more expectations each time we make a film. The pressure is there,” said Qureshi.

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Load Wedding marks a change of genre for the director. “It’s different from my previous films. It mainly stands out because of the story. We tell stories and people remember stories more than anything. No matter how well I light it or edit it, a good story is what captures an audience,” he added.

Talking about their choice to recast Mustafa in all of their films, producer Meerza said, “When it comes to Fahad being in all our films, it’s because he’s a very good actor. He’s professional and punctual, and not just with us, but with everyone he works with. Thirdly, Fahad is a film star. So when it comes making a mainstream film that you want to sell on a festival like Eid, you need a face that can carry a film that big.”

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But this Eid is more interesting than ever as Mustafa will be featured in two out of three releases: Load Wedding and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani  2 (JPNA2). While Mustafa was one of the several big stars in JPNA2, Load Wedding was his solo venture. Meerza hopes all films will be good, also pointing out one big problem in the industry. “It shows there are very few film stars in our film industry. We have been working with Fahad since the beginning. And with time, we are working toward it, bringing in new faces in various roles,” she said. “But the celebrity factor also comes in where people will want establishes stars.”

A number of top Pakistani film-makers have been called out for hijacking Eid spots for their films as they ensure bigger collections. We always see Qureshi and Nadeem Beyg’s films during Eid festivities, while the rest of the film-makers try to find their place. Meerza said, “When you make a film with a budget bigger than five to six crores, it’s difficult to recoup it without a festival. Having 150 screens in Pakistan, it doesn’t make sense for us to release it on a non-festive date.”

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She continued, “I would release it on any given Friday if we had 400 screens. But if people expect a quality product and judge us on that level, we will need a return on the investment to survive and continue providing that level of entertainment.”

Meerza expects the landscape to change in the next two years. “A few years ago, only one film could do well on Eid, and then two films could as the screens grew in number. Now we have three films releasing on the occasion,” she said. “I believe two films are good for Eid. Three are a bit too much. But again, there is no authority that takes care of release dates. It’s a free market here and everybody can come in and do business when and however they want. It doesn’t matter if I announced the film’s release date a year ago. We are in that phase and we are learning slowly.”

Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat-starrer 'Load Wedding' to release on Eidul Azha

When asked why cinemagoers should watch Load Wedding, Hayat said, “Fahad and I will be seen romancing as a Punjabi couple, so that’ll be something fresh for the audience.” Mustafa iterated how the team has a history of giving quality films to audiences. The producer-director duo compared their films to children and how parents love all their children equally. Meerza said, “Every mother calls their child “mera laal, mera chanda.” Qureshi concluded, “Let’s see how this ‘laal’ performs.”

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