A dangerous method : Of publicity skills and Punjabi thrills

Director Sohail Javed bashes fellow artists for ongoing patriotism debate on social media

KARACHI:

A closer look at Twitter and Facebook timelines during the past week reveal a common trend —  the negative publicity Saif Ali Khan’s anti-Pakistan film Phantom has attracted on our side of the border.

From political pundits like Ashraf Chaudhry and Faisal Qureshi, to actors as celebrated as Hamza Ali Abbasi, Shaan and even Mawra Hocane all voicing their views on the issue, the situation has suddenly turned into a tasteless potpourri of opinions.

Having grown tired by the alarmingly high level of hate speech on multiple social media forums, director Sohail Javed finally decided to take on the matter at hand via a video blog of his own. He clarifies in the video that he is saying everything directly because he doesn’t want it to become a war of facebook status updates.

Read: Shaan calls for a ban on Mawra Hocane for supporting Phantom

An industry veteran, who has directed a number of remarkable music videos, shows and commercials, shares his take on the matter with The Express Tribune and also raises the curtain on his debut feature film.

The aim of his video was not to enjoy two minutes of fame but he couldn’t keep quiet while others were making a mockery of themselves and the entertainment industry.

“There is a dignified manner of going about such issues,” Javed tells The Express Tribune. “But the way in which seasoned people like Shaan and Ashraf reacted is disturbing. The language that they’ve used against a 20-year old girl like Mawra is just appalling.”

Reiterating the fact that he has no issues against anyone, including Shaan, he says that it did not bode an actor of Shaan’s stature to make such statements —  noting how the actor continues to speak up against Indian cinema while at the same time holds the re-make rights to Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth.

Read: It's not just us, the Kapoors love Mawra Hocane too!



“People don’t realise the amount of damage and harm they can inflict on people just through their words. Debates like these only go on to widen the various divides that are already there within our society.”

In his video, the director also speaks up about how the world uses art and cinema to entertain people and bring about social change, whereas in Pakistan, artists are indulging in hate speech.

New beginnings

Taking a leaf out of the books of his contemporaries like Mehreen Jabbar, Nadeem Baig and Sarmad Khoosat,  Javed is another high-profile television serial director taking the leap from television serials to movies with Punjabi Wedding Thriller.

With the script for the movie nearing completion the director shared that he does expect the film to go on floors before the start of next calendar year. “We would most likely begin filming in January-February next year as the story is set during the winter season.”

The movie is primarily in Punjabi and although, he is not one to promote personal agenda through film, Javed hopes to right one particular wrong with his upcoming venture. “Unfortunately, the perception people have of the Punjabi culture is that it is very tasteless and badtameez, but it is in fact as rich and at par with English literature.”



Unwilling to reveal the cast of the movie, Javed’s film will feature a mix of his frequent collaborators and fresh faces. “No offence to anyone, but I haven’t paid a lot of importance on casting stars or big names, and have focused more on getting quality actors.”

Being termed as a drama revolving around a family, the film is going to be shot in Karachi, Lahore and also includes a spell outside Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st,  2015.

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