For a considerably long time, director Syed Noor struck a blow for Pakistani cinema. With a series of films, such as Choorian (1998), Nikki Jai Haan (1999) and Majajan (2006), he consistently made an effort to fill the void in the industry.
However, with the new wave of film-makers having lent impetus to the movie industry like never before, the pressure is on the veteran director to deliver something equally good, if not better.
After facing delays, the only film of Noor’s that was released in 2012 and did considerably better than others was Sharika. The film is a family drama concerning the socio-cultural issue of watta satta (give-take) marriages.
“Sharika is a traditional film, which did normal business. A person should take pride in his work,” says Noor.
He says that he made multiple films at a time when there wasn’t much support for film-makers. Through the platform of Pakistan Film Producers Association, he has been vocal about the question of Indian films taking precedence over Pakistani ones.
In terms of films, this year is going to be an important one for Noor. He has around four films in the pipeline and all eyes are set on him to see if he manages to reclaim his status in the industry.
Otherwise popular among the general public, he says his upcoming film will cater to a different audience. “People my age have stopped going to the cinema. A select, new generation audience has been created; their perception is different. Remember, this is not a big audience. It’s just a few thousand people we are talking about,” says Noor.
His much-delayed film on honour killing, Price of Honour is ready for release in May and then, he will be going to Karachi to shoot action film Bhai Wanted, which is based on target killings and ‘missing’ persons. In the fall, he is scheduled to shoot a love story in Canada titled First Love, followed by another film that he will be shooting locally by the end of the year.
His emphasis as a film-maker and scriptwriter has always been on the content of the story and ensuring it had depth in the way it connects with the audience.
“Presently, I am not making any Punjabi films; I will be focusing on Urdu films. I have always felt that films should highlight [pertinent] issues, but if you do just that, they become dry,” he shares.
Price of Honour, he says, is going through the post-production phase in India and its cast comprises first-time actors. He feels that the time is right for a film with such a bold topic to be released. The film was shot in Rahim Yar Khan over a span of two months.
“The film has all new actors. I selected fresh faces because of the type of characters in the film. They had to look real, not scripted. This is difficult because a mature actor doesn’t [require the same effort as] a new one,” he says.
Noor spent several months researching on the topic of honour killing with his friend Abdul Imkan. “I researched where honour killings occur more frequently and why they do. I also looked at the Mukhtaran Mai case. We made a story by looking at these facets of the issue,” he shares. “There were some tensions, but I have always wanted to do work on things that have not been done before.”
The film Bhai Wanted would have been shot a couple of months ago, but was delayed due to the troubling situation in the city.
“[Film-making] is mainly about drawing inspiration. You can be inspired by a character or sometimes, a true story,” says Noor.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2014.
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