By Sonia Mansoor and Sangeeta Kumar

Mehreen Jabbar needs no introduction to those familiar with the Pakistani entertainment industry. However, the showcasing of her first feature-length film Ramchand Pakistani at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York has catapulted her on to the world stage.

Ramchand Pakistani is "possibly the first film in the 60-year history of Pakistan, and most certainly the first film post-1971 (after the loss of East Pakistan) in which the central characters of a Pakistani film are Pakistani Hindus". But that is not what makes the film special. It is the poetic sensibility with which she portrays what essentially is a human story.

EGO: Congratulations on Ramchand Pakistani being selected for the Tribeca film Festival. The movie was incredibly moving with stellar performances. Though the story was sketched in the context of the political divide it was the human story that really permeated. Tell us a bit about the process of settling on the subject.
Mehreen: I’ve wanted to do a feature length film for many years. My father, Javed Jabbar, had written a four page draft of the story and shared it with me when I visited Pakistan after a two year hiatus. He had met the father and son depicted in the film during his trips doing volunteer work in the Thar Desert. The human interest story moved me and the political story gave it a punch. After deciding to do the film I managed to sign on Mohammad Ahmad to work on the script and then started looking out for investors. My mother, Shabnam, invested first and she was followed by 18-20 people who shared our vision of the film and wanted to invest in it as well as contribute to the revival of cinema. All the investors afforded us full creative freedom and I’m very grateful for their support and belief in the film.

EGO: What was shooting like in what must have been very extreme conditions in the desert on the border? It must have been a logistical nightmare. Did Ramchand actually cross the border as shown in the film – I would think not but I was just curious 
Mehreen: The film was shot 14-15 hours from Karachi in a town called Nagarparkar and also in Islamkot. It’s one of the most under developed regions in Pakistan with no metalled roads, running water or electricity so housing and logistics for a crew of around more than 70 people including four Americans and Nandita was quite a challenge. Since my father had worked in the region for over 2 decades setting up schools, wells, and working on income generation schemes with the villagers through his NGO Baanhn Beli, the people of the area welcomed us.

Since Pakistan’s film industry has been in a state of decline for the last 30 years or so, it was hard to get a crew together who had worked on a film such as this. However we managed to get together a very passionate and talented group of people from the TV industry. I think for most of us except a couple, it was everyone’s first feature film experience.

EGO: Sabiha Sumar's remarkable Khamosh Pani (2003), another wonderful India-Pakistan collaboration, never had a theatrical release in Pakistan. On the other hand I hear Khuda Ke Liye was very successful. What are the chances of getting Ramchand Pakistani released in Pakistan?
Mehreen: We already have Geo Films Distribution lined up as the distributors. They had also distributed Khuda Ke Liye and we hope to release the film in July. India will follow some weeks later.


EGO: From what I understand you began as a director for TV plays. Your first play way back in 1994, as part of a series by South Asian writers, was. “Nivala” based on a short story by Ismat Chugtai. This was not aired on the state-run television because it was based on the work of an Indian writer. What kept you going in spite of this bureaucratic myopia?
Mehreen: Nivala was a 40 minute film which was prevented from being aired in 1993-1994 as part of the government policy. Even though it was very disappointing not to have your first film be shown, I was greatly supported by my mother and father who gave me the funds to make another 40 minute film for TV. This time it was shown on PTV (Pakistan Television Network) to critical and audience acclaim. From then on, I worked as a producer and director on television films and then went on to become a free lance director for channels and independent producers. By the way, Nivala was finally shown about 6 years after it was made on Indus TV, a private cable channel. I came to New York in 2003 and since then have made a couple of TV series and magazine shows based out of NY for the Pakistani satellite channels.

EGO: Your short film Beauty Parlor deals with issues of identity and desire. How do these issues juxtapose with Pakistani society?
Mehreen: Beauty Parlor was made ten years ago. A team of us wanted to do something that challenged us and wasn’t in the confines of the parameters that were set by the official government channels at that time. The film is about four characters who frequent a salon and a brief insight into their lives. The characters include two women roommates, a prostitute, a new bride and a transvestite. I got the idea for the film one day when I had gone for threading to a salon in Pakistan and I overheard bits and pieces of conversations that the women there were having with each other. It was a space to open up and share lives, something akin to what ‘khokas’ or tea stalls are like to men in Pakistan and India. The film has been shown at the Kara Film Festival, and other mainstream festivals like Pusan, Hong Kong, New Orleans and the Asian American Film Festival.

EGO: You spear headed the Kara Film Festival. Is that something you’re still actively pursuing?
Mehreen: The KaraFilm Festival was founded in 2001 by a group of us who were really passionate about setting up Pakistan’s first international film festival and providing a venue for the exchange of cinema from around the world and a space where filmmakers could meet. I was involved in it till I left for NY in 2003. The festival has now really grown with greater audience and film participation and is one of the sought ever events in Karachi.

EGO: One keeps hearing of the decline of Lollywood – what ails Pakistani cinema? Talent is obviously not an issue.
Mehreen: There are many factors. I think cinema was just not encouraged at any level or taken seriously. Cinemas were torn down, there were no government incentives, no film schools or programs and the people who started getting involved in it really had no sense of what film is. Things are starting to look up hopefully. With the success of Khuda Ke Liyey, and now the release of our film, I hope that there is a revival of sorts that can take place, but it needs to be sustained. There needs to be a recognition at all levels that cinema has to be taken seriously as a true form of expression of a society and should not be denigrated and cheapened. I hope that directors from the TV industry will become tomorrow’s film directors.

EGO: The Hindustan Times ran an article to-day about Mahesh Bhatt premiering his film, Jannat, in Lahore this month. He calls it his, “dream come true”. Do you think that this spirit of camaraderie in the film/music industries (John Abraham is also starring in a Pakistani music video) will translate into a deeper more sustainable equation between the two countries?
Mehreen: If it continues, yes. Also if it is not, subject to whims of governments in both countries. Cultural exchanges never hurt, and they are always useful .There is much to learn from both countries and there should be a strong spirit of collaboration that must continue.

Images courtesy: www.mehreenjabbar.com and www.ramchandpakistani.com