By Maliha Rehman
Dark, dingy alleys and a single ominously flickering light bulb; the sounds and colors of a desi wedding with the bride and groom running about in a madcap scheme and the romance of two strangers meeting in a train – three completely disparate stories tied up together in a single cinematic offering titled, ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’ (TMK).
It’s a new concept and an intriguing one, introduced by SeePrime, which had hitherto primarily focused on releasing content on YouTube. At a time when audience attentions spans are increasingly fickle and the local cinema box office continues to be unreliable, three short films that can be watched with a single cinema ticket sounds like a great idea. All three movies also very evidently offer completely different flavors, catering to the diverse tastes of the audience.
However, short films can only leave an impression if the stories are well-told and not half-baked. In the limited time available, the film’s makers have to ensure that the story is well-knit, the characters well-developed and the plot interesting enough to hook the audience. There isn’t enough time available to opt for tropes like multiple song-and-dance sequences and comic scenes to amp up the film – the maker has to work within a time limit, pick and choose between scenes and still manage to tell the story convincingly.
This is where TMK may benefit from the heavy duty lineup of veterans and stars that are part of its cast and crew. The three short films are being directed by three very powerful names: Nadeem Baig and Nabeel Qureshi, veritably Pakistani cinema’s most celebrated directors, and Marina Khan, who has her extensive experience as a TV drama director to her credit. These are no amateurs dabbling with a new genre and hoping to put together a hit. These are Pakistani entertainment’s kingpins and they are famed for telling stories that are memorable and hugely popular.
In fact, ever since TMK’s trio of directors’ names were revealed, a joke has been going around that year after year, Nadeem Baig and Nabeel Qureshi would both be releasing movies on the same date; i.e., Eid-ul-Adha. This time, for a change, the two are releasing a movie together on the festive holiday. And while Marina Khan may be new to the cinematic landscape, her experience as a TV director is undeniable. Her particular short film has been written by Vasay Chaudhry, reminding one of the hit Baraat series on TV which was also directed by Marina and Nadeem Baig with Vasay as scriptwriter.
Then, there’s the cast. What a cast! There’s Wahaj Ali, Pakistan’s most well-loved hero right now, opposite Mehwish Hayat. The two are both passengers, sitting opposite each other in a train journey, locking eyes and speaking in poetic prose penned by Khalil-ul-Rehman Qamar, while the train romantically chugs along. Mehwish Hayat looks beautiful, her windswept hair in a careless braid, wearing a sari, leaning forwards as she talks, her eyes full of expression. Wahaj can be expected to be in his element; romance and dramatic dialogues are his forte, after all. He’s been sweeping the TV audience away with his romantic roles and now, he’s very likely to wield the same kind of magic on the bigger cinema screen. Another linchpin in the story possibly will be ace actor Zahid Ahmed as Mehwish’s husband, who is evidently having an affair with a sultry Amna Ilyas. And while one can’t agree with writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s very regressive personal views, it is undeniable that he has a flair for writing nuanced, emotionally charged scripts. Also, the Khalil Sahab – Nadeem Baig pairing has always been a very successful one – and this short film, Aik Sau Taeswaan, could possibly get added to their repertoire of hits.
Marina Khan’s short film, Pasoori, features a fresh new pair that looks great together in the trailer. Sheheryar Munawar is the groom-to-be and Ramsha Khan, his bride. Babar Ali is evidently Sheheryar’s dictatorial father and a few hours before the wedding, Ramsha seems to have had come up with a notion that could end up in getting the two of them in trouble. There’s music and dance and the whirling colors of a desi wedding. The actors look good together – why did no one think of this pairing before? – and of course, Sheheryar and Ramsha are both seasoned performers of the romantic-comedy genre. He has a boyish charm and she epitomizes the spunky, modern day heroine. She twirls on the dance floor, he’s looking dapper in a formal kurta and then, they’re bickering and he’s rushing off somewhere, hidden in a burqah. This one promises to be a feel-good family comedy.
And then there are the dark, haunted alleys that form the setting of Nabeel Qureshi’s horror comedy Jin Mahal starring Mani, Hira Mani and Gul-e-Rana in the character of what appears to be a blind old woman who is very capable of giving you the chills with her diabolical cackle. The trailer hints at the story of an impoverished family who decides to live in an empty, spooky house by pretending to be ghosts. Perhaps, they’ll end up encountering actual ghosts – you never know! What one does know is that this short film is likely to deliver plenty of laughs. Mani’s comic timing is brilliant and it has been a pity that so far his work in cinema has been unnoticeable simply because it was seen in mediocre films. Hira is a fine actor often being limited by the repetitive roles that come her way and Gul-e-Rana is, of course, a marvel. A group of young child actors, frequently seen on TV, are also part of the cast, possibly playing the roles of Mani and Hira’s children. Pupetteering this motley crew of actors is the very intuitive Nabeel Qureshi which makes one really look forward to the film. It’s a relatively new genre for local cinema and if told well, could be very gripping.
Every film also has a musical score; there is one song each in Nadeem and Nabeel’s short films and two in the short film directed by Marina Khan.
It all looks quite promising right now. The question remains, though, if we will end up walking out of the cinema feeling like we’ve watched three telefilms or experienced larger-than-life bona fide cinema? Will these shorter films still pack in the punches with the dramatics and the razzmatazz so essential for cinema? One hope so. Nadeem Baig is also co-executive producer of TMK, along with Seemeen Naveed of SeePrime, and he is certainly no novice. He is likely to make sure that the movies are fine-tuned to the point that, hopefully, all three contenders ends up offering a cinematic experience.
Also, while cinema needs to be engaging it doesn’t necessarily have to follow the cookie-cutter format of a boy meets girl romance. We’re all familiar with artistically told narratives that rely on performance rather than back-to-back action, or movies that tell concise, comical stories with underlying morals to them. Grappling with a fluctuating economy, filmmakers may be hesitant right now to invest time, effort and money into a movie with an experimental storyline. The option of creating a short film can be more enticing.
And from the audience’s perspective, even if you get distracted during one of the movies, there’s always the chance that the other two movies will rivet!
What do you think?