Courtesy: www.thesaturdaypost.com/2012/05/06/shahzad-nawaz/
Shahzad Nawaz is perhaps best known outside of Pakistan for his role in Moth Smoke’s adaptation, Daira. What was less known was that this creative man is the winner of 102 international advertising awards and heads the Media Assets business for the Jang Group, in addition to being their Head of Special Programming. Speaking with Shahzad was a motivating experience. He does not look it but when he speaks, he perfectly fits the profile of an intellectual, creative, quiet person whose thoughts run much deeper than his day-to-day business like exterior gives away. If Pakistan’s second cinema is fortunate enough to encourage more people like Shahzad, it isn’t long before we will find the country high on the international film industry radar.
Who is Shahzad Nawaz?
I’m a Creative Director by profession. I look after media assets for the Jang Group and Geo Network including TV, Radio, Newspapers, and magazines. Basically I look after all the aspects like sets, animation, page layouts, broadcast graphics, and events for Pakistan, UK, and UAE. My background is in advertising. From 1993 to 1996, I was making ads, which was great. I have won 102 international creative awards, which is by far the highest number ever won by anyone in Pakistan. But then I decided to quit entering for awards, because 102 is enough to pamper my ego for a life time. It was basically time to switch from award winning work to consumer winning work. I have degrees in Marketing, Advertising, and Designing. I’ve studied in Pakistan as well as the US. I went to the Memphis College of Art, which was a nice mid-West college. I’m also head of Special Programming which is basically “profile” programming. Meaning, I’ll be doing alternate or independent work, which is not really based on a whole lot of research but a whole lot of gut and reality. And it’s more parallel stream, not mainstream, so I won’t be doing commercial plays or sitcoms, but thought provoking films and anything that pleases my senses. It’s a license to create at will, so I guess I’m privileged (laughs). I also teach and give talks and do seminars and workshops all over Pakistan in art and business schools.
How did Daira come about?
Daira was my maiden project, but it was long before I joined Geo, so it was purely an independent project. I’d grown sick of advertising and counting beans, because as the head of the agency I had to look after everything. I needed a break and something to stimulate me and I came across Moth Smoke. A student of mine had given it to me. It was lying on my table, I picked it up and started reading it. I just couldn’t put it down. After I’d read it, I knew that this is what I wanted to do, i.e. make it into a tele-feature. I knew the subject was great but it didn’t have the requisites for commercial or mainstream cinema to take it up as a project. Also, there were cost considerations. I made it for TV and it was safer bet because I could sell it to a TV channel outside of Pakistan. I hadn’t really expected any channel in Pakistan to pick it up. But to my surprise and good luck, Jang Group picked it up for Geo. It’s run twice already – once when it was launched and then recently again in the US.
How was Daira received by the audience?
They were excited and appreciated that there was such a conscious effort to depict reality or the darker side behind what is typically considered “all good”. It takes a lot of resilience and courage, but the reaction was very positive, I just couldn’t be luckier. The satisfaction of being recognized and appreciated in itself was worth more than any award. It’s interesting to tell you that the reaction in terms of advertisers was great. This is the first tele-film that has got the highest commercial air time, 104 minutes for a film that was 156 minutes long. It aired in two parts and people got offended too, but the DVD version is ad free (laughs). They say when you break the law of monotony, you get noticed. If there triangles on a wall and you throw in a circle, it’s noticed by virtue of the shape itself. Daira was made in a time when everything was very formula and people wanted to see something with which they could connect. So it was very well received. People really liked it. A lot of people have gotten in touch with me from all over the world, including some old friends from Europe and US, after seeing the film. In Pakistan, I had mixed reactions. You have to understand, when you go on TV, you can only do two things – broadcast or narrowcast. This was narrowcasting because it was not meant for everyone. So as far as my target audience is concerned, I’ve done only one project and everyone knows me for it. And here we are, interviewing two years later and I think that’s proof enough.
What about the controversial aspects like the relationship between Mumtaz and Daru? How did people react to that?
It happens all the time – it’s been happening since before Pakistan was formed and has continued. I mean, what was Nehru doing with Lord Mountbatten’s wife? That’s pre-partition, so there’s nothing new. It’s a human emotion that has been around since civilization. Yes, I understand there’s a religious implication but then again, I mean, all of us who live in Pakistan do see this happen. I conveyed it just as it was in the book; I didn’t create the story. So you have to look at why it was in the book. I had many discussions with Mohsin (author of Moth Smoke), who felt that it was a part and parcel of being a Lahori. There’s no denying that. A lot of us who read this can recall that this isn’t the first time they’re reading about or seeing a relationship between a married woman and another man. But nothing like this has aired in Pakistan before, including a very intimate kissing scene that went on air. Paradoxically, the word “Daru” has not been used on air like it was in Daira.
Why did you choose to play Daru yourself? Could you not find anyone or did you relate to him so much that you decided to act it out yourself?
I couldn’t relate to Daru – he is a loser and I’m a go-getter. But, maybe a part of me sympathized with him or maybe I’ve seen people like that around, so I knew that I could bring reality into that character. If I’d taken someone famous, they might have commercialized it, because they would have competing priorities and busy playing other roles. They couldn’t have the same passion that I did for making this character real. He required sensitivity and heck, I wanted to do it. (Smiles). I don’t know how successful I’ve been, but people say I’ve done a good job considering it was my first acting role.
How was this experience for you – a maiden venture in a film industry full of Meeras and Nirmas?
Well, there could be and should be a parallel stream and I don’t believe that there’s any lack of talent. That’s why you don’t see any Meeras and Nirmas in Daira. See, it’s great to say all these things but it sounds very text bookish. Just like that, I was sitting with a couple of friends and being discontent about the way we continue to produce work that challenges our own sensibility and doesn’t even rise to an average mind’s acceptance level. So one of my friends sitting there got up and said why don’t you do it if you think you can do it differently? You have access to the same camera and if you think you’re worthy of more, why don’t you show it? I guess I took that as a catalyst and I did that, and the rest is history.
Tell us about the new project you are working on?
I just finished what I’ll call “Botal Gulley” (Bottle Alley), which starts filming in July and should be out in October. I don’t want to be the guy who’s always talking about intoxicants but I feel that Karachi city is basically not a city but a Botal Gulley, and we are all Botal Kay Jin. One bottle can get many things done. Again, on the intellectual platform, like Daira was actually about India, Pakistan, and Kashmir, it wasn’t really about the characters. Botal Gulley is about the public, false promises, and the government. It’s a story of a bootlegger, who sells and pushes Desi daru, and suddenly, like it’s been happening for the last 7-8 months in Karachi, you can’t find foreign liquor because the bonded warehouses are sealed. All of a sudden this guy finds mother luck wink at him and instead of selling a bottle for Rs.250, he can sell it for Rs.800. The main character and narrator of the story is the bottle itself. We’re going to see the city from the bottle’s point of view. I named the brand myself as I didn’t want to use any known brand name. So I used “Dante’s Vodka” basing it on the Divine Comedy. Like the nine circles of hell according to Dante, I’m going to have about nine different stories that come together and chain themselves to the main plot. I’m done with my fourth revision.
What inspired you to write Botal Gulley?
When you write you’re basically bringing into play and dramatizing your own experiences and observations. I guess I’ve seen and observed a lot of what you’ll see in the film. I’ve had Dr. Anwer Sajjad whom I respect and admire a lot review my script and I was happy to see that he only had two or three recommendations for changes. I accepted all but one, which he was fine with. I’m definitely ready to start rolling in July.
How easy is it to find the right cast?
It’s very difficult to find the right person. 99% of my new venture’s cast is new to film, mostly from theater, people that Pakistani media would not otherwise see as glossy or beautiful. But I want real people. I don’t want green eyes and things like that. I don’t want to have beautiful people because real life isn’t always beautiful. Life is about seeing yourself in the mirror and whether you like it or not, you’ve got to live with what you’ve got. Reality too is not about finding Aishwarya Rai or Shahrukh Khan. Everyone has an individuality that makes him or her beautiful. That’s what I want to do. I want to take finger prints of real life.
Is finding new talent difficult in Pakistan?
Actually it’s very easy – you’d be surprised. It’s always been easy. When the student is ready to learn, the teacher appears. When you want to do something, you find a way. In Pakistan, the tendency is to “star cast”, I don’t know if that’s relevant anywhere else in the world. So you are casting stars not actors or performers. You could be a performing artist but not a superstar, like Naseeruddin Shah. He’s an actor! Nana Patekar, Amrish Puri, and people like them …the list goes on. Pakistan has a stigma associated with star cast. All producers tend to jump on the band wagon and cast the same people over and over once they’ve become successful. In Daira we used different people – Aisha did a great job and won us the lead actress award in Kara Film Festival. Adnan and Ijaz did a great job, so did Usman Peerzada. Imran Pasha is a school friend of mine and played Murad Badshah, and people noticed him. You need to get motivated yourself – people have always been interested – but filmmakers are reluctant to experiment. I’m really not in a fix because people are always around if you really want to find them. It’s not about taboos around acting in Pakistan. There are cultural sensitivities, so if you can respect the individual’s need for preserving a certain image in their society and culture it is not a problem to find good actors.
Any other ventures after Botal Gulley?
Botal Gulley is next – then I’m shooting a feature called Baawan (52), which is 90% in English and will be internationally released, including in North America. It’s a story of one night, five friends, a reunion, and challenging the myth of childhood friendship as we see it in Pakistan. It actually defies the myth of childhood friendship. It talks about how we are all led by our selfishness, which is not entirely a vice, but can be a virtue. It’s how you choose to position your selfishness in a situation where you coexist with your friends especially in your school days. It’s a very interesting plot. I would like to enter film festivals before I do a cinema release, because I want to prove that we can do intelligent cinema and I want to make our country proud. Plus, entering film festivals is really good publicity, and it’s how you find good distributors and ensure a wider release for your movie so more and more people can see it. Considering that Sundance and Toronto film festivals are in August and September, I won’t be able to release until the end of 2006. But I will roll in November this year and will be done by March/April.
Film and other media in other countries is very strong – what are media folks like yourself doing in Pakistan to improve our country’s international visibility and image?
First cinema is almost dead in Pakistan. We chose it ourselves. It was a suicide. Second cinema will never replace first cinema. How many thinking individuals do you come across in a day’s work? Finding second cinema is like smiling which you can’t do all day long, but you’ll have moments that you’ll find yourself with a reason to smile. Smiling in my way is like being intellectually challenged or provoked to take back a message with you. We need to be sure of ourselves and our identity to begin with and the rest will follow. We are not too sure of our identity. If India makes one film in red, we want to make three films in red, and not just red, but all the tints and shades of red. This isn’t how it works. We need to be more positive and realize that fantasy oriented cinema is gone – it’s about reality now – we need to come up with original material. We need to look within ourselves to produce and create. Creation is a by product of intrigue, innovation, and intuition. You have to look at these three eyes with your own eyes. We can only make a mark as far as a little stroke on a big canvas. You have to realize that a canvas that’s already been painted and dabbed with so many colors, mine is only a color of black or blue or white. I cannot paint the canvas entirely, I can only give you one little dab. I’ll have to have many more like minded people can dab along with me to complete the big picture. But that is not an excuse to not follow my own agenda and let my point of view float freely.
How is filmmaking as a career?
Look, if you do this as a career, you should not be looking at it. It will become very cold and devoid of emotion. You don’t fall in love to make a career out of it. (Laughs). You fall in love because you feel it. You should dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat – it doesn’t have to be salsa or tango – it can be anything. If you really want to be in film making then it’s a passion – don’t call it a career. If you want to know whether it’s possible to make money out of this line, sure. But it’s a by product of being crazy about it and having the conviction that what you do will work. Certainly yes, it is a great line to be in. Independent film is still not a business, you cannot make independent movies with the expectation of making money of it. That’s the difference between first cinema (main stream), and second cinema (parallel stream). Your trajectory could be great if you’re going into first cinema, but you cannot create legends in first cinema.
How do you maintain so many interests and passions at the same time?
I was on a radio program the other day and a caller asked me the same question. What I said was that when I go to sleep, I dream about all these things and when I wake up, I run after them wildly and madly. I dream very colorfully and I make sure I remember the colors and hues so I can repaint them when I wake up. Advertising is still there and will stay there. I still do that for my day job.
This interview was taken in 2007 and reposted in 2012 by The Saturday Post- USA. Some of the information conflicts with Shahzad Nawaz's new ventures as opposed to those he discusses here, but it is a great retrospect on him, and his way of thinking!
Shahzad Nawaz is perhaps best known outside of Pakistan for his role in Moth Smoke’s adaptation, Daira. What was less known was that this creative man is the winner of 102 international advertising awards and heads the Media Assets business for the Jang Group, in addition to being their Head of Special Programming. Speaking with Shahzad was a motivating experience. He does not look it but when he speaks, he perfectly fits the profile of an intellectual, creative, quiet person whose thoughts run much deeper than his day-to-day business like exterior gives away. If Pakistan’s second cinema is fortunate enough to encourage more people like Shahzad, it isn’t long before we will find the country high on the international film industry radar.
Who is Shahzad Nawaz?
I’m a Creative Director by profession. I look after media assets for the Jang Group and Geo Network including TV, Radio, Newspapers, and magazines. Basically I look after all the aspects like sets, animation, page layouts, broadcast graphics, and events for Pakistan, UK, and UAE. My background is in advertising. From 1993 to 1996, I was making ads, which was great. I have won 102 international creative awards, which is by far the highest number ever won by anyone in Pakistan. But then I decided to quit entering for awards, because 102 is enough to pamper my ego for a life time. It was basically time to switch from award winning work to consumer winning work. I have degrees in Marketing, Advertising, and Designing. I’ve studied in Pakistan as well as the US. I went to the Memphis College of Art, which was a nice mid-West college. I’m also head of Special Programming which is basically “profile” programming. Meaning, I’ll be doing alternate or independent work, which is not really based on a whole lot of research but a whole lot of gut and reality. And it’s more parallel stream, not mainstream, so I won’t be doing commercial plays or sitcoms, but thought provoking films and anything that pleases my senses. It’s a license to create at will, so I guess I’m privileged (laughs). I also teach and give talks and do seminars and workshops all over Pakistan in art and business schools.
How did Daira come about?
Daira was my maiden project, but it was long before I joined Geo, so it was purely an independent project. I’d grown sick of advertising and counting beans, because as the head of the agency I had to look after everything. I needed a break and something to stimulate me and I came across Moth Smoke. A student of mine had given it to me. It was lying on my table, I picked it up and started reading it. I just couldn’t put it down. After I’d read it, I knew that this is what I wanted to do, i.e. make it into a tele-feature. I knew the subject was great but it didn’t have the requisites for commercial or mainstream cinema to take it up as a project. Also, there were cost considerations. I made it for TV and it was safer bet because I could sell it to a TV channel outside of Pakistan. I hadn’t really expected any channel in Pakistan to pick it up. But to my surprise and good luck, Jang Group picked it up for Geo. It’s run twice already – once when it was launched and then recently again in the US.
How was Daira received by the audience?
They were excited and appreciated that there was such a conscious effort to depict reality or the darker side behind what is typically considered “all good”. It takes a lot of resilience and courage, but the reaction was very positive, I just couldn’t be luckier. The satisfaction of being recognized and appreciated in itself was worth more than any award. It’s interesting to tell you that the reaction in terms of advertisers was great. This is the first tele-film that has got the highest commercial air time, 104 minutes for a film that was 156 minutes long. It aired in two parts and people got offended too, but the DVD version is ad free (laughs). They say when you break the law of monotony, you get noticed. If there triangles on a wall and you throw in a circle, it’s noticed by virtue of the shape itself. Daira was made in a time when everything was very formula and people wanted to see something with which they could connect. So it was very well received. People really liked it. A lot of people have gotten in touch with me from all over the world, including some old friends from Europe and US, after seeing the film. In Pakistan, I had mixed reactions. You have to understand, when you go on TV, you can only do two things – broadcast or narrowcast. This was narrowcasting because it was not meant for everyone. So as far as my target audience is concerned, I’ve done only one project and everyone knows me for it. And here we are, interviewing two years later and I think that’s proof enough.
What about the controversial aspects like the relationship between Mumtaz and Daru? How did people react to that?
It happens all the time – it’s been happening since before Pakistan was formed and has continued. I mean, what was Nehru doing with Lord Mountbatten’s wife? That’s pre-partition, so there’s nothing new. It’s a human emotion that has been around since civilization. Yes, I understand there’s a religious implication but then again, I mean, all of us who live in Pakistan do see this happen. I conveyed it just as it was in the book; I didn’t create the story. So you have to look at why it was in the book. I had many discussions with Mohsin (author of Moth Smoke), who felt that it was a part and parcel of being a Lahori. There’s no denying that. A lot of us who read this can recall that this isn’t the first time they’re reading about or seeing a relationship between a married woman and another man. But nothing like this has aired in Pakistan before, including a very intimate kissing scene that went on air. Paradoxically, the word “Daru” has not been used on air like it was in Daira.
Why did you choose to play Daru yourself? Could you not find anyone or did you relate to him so much that you decided to act it out yourself?
I couldn’t relate to Daru – he is a loser and I’m a go-getter. But, maybe a part of me sympathized with him or maybe I’ve seen people like that around, so I knew that I could bring reality into that character. If I’d taken someone famous, they might have commercialized it, because they would have competing priorities and busy playing other roles. They couldn’t have the same passion that I did for making this character real. He required sensitivity and heck, I wanted to do it. (Smiles). I don’t know how successful I’ve been, but people say I’ve done a good job considering it was my first acting role.
How was this experience for you – a maiden venture in a film industry full of Meeras and Nirmas?
Well, there could be and should be a parallel stream and I don’t believe that there’s any lack of talent. That’s why you don’t see any Meeras and Nirmas in Daira. See, it’s great to say all these things but it sounds very text bookish. Just like that, I was sitting with a couple of friends and being discontent about the way we continue to produce work that challenges our own sensibility and doesn’t even rise to an average mind’s acceptance level. So one of my friends sitting there got up and said why don’t you do it if you think you can do it differently? You have access to the same camera and if you think you’re worthy of more, why don’t you show it? I guess I took that as a catalyst and I did that, and the rest is history.
Tell us about the new project you are working on?
I just finished what I’ll call “Botal Gulley” (Bottle Alley), which starts filming in July and should be out in October. I don’t want to be the guy who’s always talking about intoxicants but I feel that Karachi city is basically not a city but a Botal Gulley, and we are all Botal Kay Jin. One bottle can get many things done. Again, on the intellectual platform, like Daira was actually about India, Pakistan, and Kashmir, it wasn’t really about the characters. Botal Gulley is about the public, false promises, and the government. It’s a story of a bootlegger, who sells and pushes Desi daru, and suddenly, like it’s been happening for the last 7-8 months in Karachi, you can’t find foreign liquor because the bonded warehouses are sealed. All of a sudden this guy finds mother luck wink at him and instead of selling a bottle for Rs.250, he can sell it for Rs.800. The main character and narrator of the story is the bottle itself. We’re going to see the city from the bottle’s point of view. I named the brand myself as I didn’t want to use any known brand name. So I used “Dante’s Vodka” basing it on the Divine Comedy. Like the nine circles of hell according to Dante, I’m going to have about nine different stories that come together and chain themselves to the main plot. I’m done with my fourth revision.
What inspired you to write Botal Gulley?
When you write you’re basically bringing into play and dramatizing your own experiences and observations. I guess I’ve seen and observed a lot of what you’ll see in the film. I’ve had Dr. Anwer Sajjad whom I respect and admire a lot review my script and I was happy to see that he only had two or three recommendations for changes. I accepted all but one, which he was fine with. I’m definitely ready to start rolling in July.
How easy is it to find the right cast?
It’s very difficult to find the right person. 99% of my new venture’s cast is new to film, mostly from theater, people that Pakistani media would not otherwise see as glossy or beautiful. But I want real people. I don’t want green eyes and things like that. I don’t want to have beautiful people because real life isn’t always beautiful. Life is about seeing yourself in the mirror and whether you like it or not, you’ve got to live with what you’ve got. Reality too is not about finding Aishwarya Rai or Shahrukh Khan. Everyone has an individuality that makes him or her beautiful. That’s what I want to do. I want to take finger prints of real life.
Is finding new talent difficult in Pakistan?
Actually it’s very easy – you’d be surprised. It’s always been easy. When the student is ready to learn, the teacher appears. When you want to do something, you find a way. In Pakistan, the tendency is to “star cast”, I don’t know if that’s relevant anywhere else in the world. So you are casting stars not actors or performers. You could be a performing artist but not a superstar, like Naseeruddin Shah. He’s an actor! Nana Patekar, Amrish Puri, and people like them …the list goes on. Pakistan has a stigma associated with star cast. All producers tend to jump on the band wagon and cast the same people over and over once they’ve become successful. In Daira we used different people – Aisha did a great job and won us the lead actress award in Kara Film Festival. Adnan and Ijaz did a great job, so did Usman Peerzada. Imran Pasha is a school friend of mine and played Murad Badshah, and people noticed him. You need to get motivated yourself – people have always been interested – but filmmakers are reluctant to experiment. I’m really not in a fix because people are always around if you really want to find them. It’s not about taboos around acting in Pakistan. There are cultural sensitivities, so if you can respect the individual’s need for preserving a certain image in their society and culture it is not a problem to find good actors.
Any other ventures after Botal Gulley?
Botal Gulley is next – then I’m shooting a feature called Baawan (52), which is 90% in English and will be internationally released, including in North America. It’s a story of one night, five friends, a reunion, and challenging the myth of childhood friendship as we see it in Pakistan. It actually defies the myth of childhood friendship. It talks about how we are all led by our selfishness, which is not entirely a vice, but can be a virtue. It’s how you choose to position your selfishness in a situation where you coexist with your friends especially in your school days. It’s a very interesting plot. I would like to enter film festivals before I do a cinema release, because I want to prove that we can do intelligent cinema and I want to make our country proud. Plus, entering film festivals is really good publicity, and it’s how you find good distributors and ensure a wider release for your movie so more and more people can see it. Considering that Sundance and Toronto film festivals are in August and September, I won’t be able to release until the end of 2006. But I will roll in November this year and will be done by March/April.
Film and other media in other countries is very strong – what are media folks like yourself doing in Pakistan to improve our country’s international visibility and image?
First cinema is almost dead in Pakistan. We chose it ourselves. It was a suicide. Second cinema will never replace first cinema. How many thinking individuals do you come across in a day’s work? Finding second cinema is like smiling which you can’t do all day long, but you’ll have moments that you’ll find yourself with a reason to smile. Smiling in my way is like being intellectually challenged or provoked to take back a message with you. We need to be sure of ourselves and our identity to begin with and the rest will follow. We are not too sure of our identity. If India makes one film in red, we want to make three films in red, and not just red, but all the tints and shades of red. This isn’t how it works. We need to be more positive and realize that fantasy oriented cinema is gone – it’s about reality now – we need to come up with original material. We need to look within ourselves to produce and create. Creation is a by product of intrigue, innovation, and intuition. You have to look at these three eyes with your own eyes. We can only make a mark as far as a little stroke on a big canvas. You have to realize that a canvas that’s already been painted and dabbed with so many colors, mine is only a color of black or blue or white. I cannot paint the canvas entirely, I can only give you one little dab. I’ll have to have many more like minded people can dab along with me to complete the big picture. But that is not an excuse to not follow my own agenda and let my point of view float freely.
How is filmmaking as a career?
Look, if you do this as a career, you should not be looking at it. It will become very cold and devoid of emotion. You don’t fall in love to make a career out of it. (Laughs). You fall in love because you feel it. You should dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeat – it doesn’t have to be salsa or tango – it can be anything. If you really want to be in film making then it’s a passion – don’t call it a career. If you want to know whether it’s possible to make money out of this line, sure. But it’s a by product of being crazy about it and having the conviction that what you do will work. Certainly yes, it is a great line to be in. Independent film is still not a business, you cannot make independent movies with the expectation of making money of it. That’s the difference between first cinema (main stream), and second cinema (parallel stream). Your trajectory could be great if you’re going into first cinema, but you cannot create legends in first cinema.
How do you maintain so many interests and passions at the same time?
I was on a radio program the other day and a caller asked me the same question. What I said was that when I go to sleep, I dream about all these things and when I wake up, I run after them wildly and madly. I dream very colorfully and I make sure I remember the colors and hues so I can repaint them when I wake up. Advertising is still there and will stay there. I still do that for my day job.
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