What kind of a show is Ek Jhoothi Love Story?
It is a social comedy, encompassing the idea of love in the time of social media and the obsession with the rishta culture. Things are told in a light-hearted manner but it definitely has a message.
Is the tussle between arranged and love marriage there in Pakistan too?
Yes, it is between the older generation having expectations or demands about who they think is a suitable person and the young people who are exposed to a wider world and social media, and what their dreams and aspirations are. It has strong female characters. The story centres around two middle-class families. The girls are all highly educated and aware as opposed to others in their neighbourhood. That adds to the difficulty of finding suitable matches for them.
Tell us about the cast.
Everyone has an arc, a journey in the show. No one is there as a supportive role. Bilal (Abbas Khan) is promising and versatile. This was his first foray into this kind of comedy. The parents are played by my aunt, Beo Raana Zafar, and Mohammad Ahmed saab, who wrote Ramchand Pakistani. Hina Biyat plays Bilal’s mother. They have been acting for several years. The others are a mix of theatre actors and those who are just starting out.
When did you shoot for the show?
We shot last year. The post-production finished in January. There are 18 episodes.
You are based in the US but your stories are on life in Pakistan. How do you manage?
I do travel a lot as I shoot a lot of my shows there. In fact, I returned just two days ago after another project. I moved here 15 years ago but I did my school and college over there and spent the first 10-15 years of my career.
Your debut film Ramchand Pakistani created a sensation, winning several awards (including the FIPRESCI Prize from the International Federation of Film Critics at Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival).
I started in 1994-95 but that was on television. Yes, Ramchand Pakistani was my first feature film, in 2008, and I am so lucky that Nandita (Das) came on board. She was always a supporter of cross-border collaborations. I became friends with her when she had come for the Kara Film Festival in 2000. After that, we did a short film in New York for Hum TV. When I offered her this role eight years later, she was happy to say yes. The music was done in India, and we had Shubha Mudgal and Shafqat Amanat Ali singing. So was the editing. It was a truly an India-Pakistan love story.
Debajyoti Mishra was also involved with the music, right? He is from Calcutta.
Yes, the wonderful Debu. Please say ‘hi’ to him. I miss working with him. I saw his film Raincoat (directed by Rituparno Ghosh) and heard Shubha sing. I fell in love and contacted him.
You seem to be good friends with Mira Nair.
Yes. Like I shuttle between New York and Pakistan, she divides her time between New York and Uganda. She has been a great friend and mentor for the last 12-13 years. She has a home in Kampala. She runs this annual project called Maisha Film Lab where they get young directors in a workshop and invite mentors in screenwriting, cinematography and direction who help them craft their own short films. She had invited me to the workshop seven years ago. The purpose is to develop a place where they get training so that they might tell their own stories.
You were one of the founders of Karachi’s Kara Film Festival. In Pakistan, where TV serials are more popular than feature films, did the festival help the film industry gain popularity?
We started the festival in 2000 and could only continue it for six-seven years. Eventually it was run by volunteers who found jobs elsewhere and we had to get sponsorships. So it could not be sustained. Recently there have been a couple of other festivals, though not held with the frequency that they should be because there are far more film-makers now than there were 20 years ago. The film industry did revive five-six years ago. But because of various factors like Covid and Indian films not being shown (in Pakistan cinemas), it’s still struggling. We don’t have enough films to sustain an industry. But lots of good films are being made.
In India, OTT platforms have become even more popular post-lockdown. What is the scene in Pakistan?
We are still in the process of developing our own platforms but subscriptions to Netflix have gone up. People are watching a lot on YouTube. They have time in hand. On OTT, they can see shows from different parts of the world which they can’t see on television. It is opening eyes to the rest of the world and letting us tell our stories to the rest of the world. It is bringing stories of the world together on the same platform. My friends in Pakistan have binge-watched a lot of Indian shows like Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Delhi Crime…
Churails, Zindagi’s first show for Zee5, was apparently taken off air in Pakistan. Is it back?
Yes, yes. It was off only for one day. I still have not watched it as Zee5 does not stream in the US. I hope it soon does.
Do you follow anyone’s work in India?
I follow Zoya Akhtar’s work and we meet when she comes to New York. I have met some wonderful actors like Rajkummar Rao in film festivals here and there. I hope the industry opens up. I would love to work with Indian actors.