Janaan seeks positive global spotlight for Pakistan

The cast and crew behind new film Janaan are hoping to showcase the positive side of Pakistan as they look to bolster international investment and interest in the country’s small movie industry.

In comparison to Hollywood and Bollywood, the Pakistani industry is still in its infancy. Films are made with much smaller budgets and are not often premiered widely around the globe.

Janaan, a romantic comedy released over the Muslim festival of Eidul Azha, is hoping to help change that. It has already made it to No.8 in the UK Box Office Top Ten, and it has been released in 17 different countries.

“The revival is still very, very new. I think it’s going to take time to develop. But just the fact that here we are, competing at an international level, with Bollywood and Hollywood films, even in Pakistan, I think it’s very refreshing,” the film’s lead actor Bilal Ashraf told Reuters.

Ashraf said that more people needed to be educated about the Pakistani film industry and that wider support, as well as advances in technology and special effects, would help it develop.

The filmmakers behind Janaan are a young group who want to take a positive look at their country. While the film tackles serious issues including child molestation and adoption, it also shows the rich cultural side of the country’s ethnic Pashtun tribe.

Shot in Swat Valley, the same area where Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, the film captures some of the region’s breathtaking scenery. Ashraf and fellow cast members Ali Rehman Khan and Armeena Rana Khan said they’d felt safe while shooting in the area and that security had improved.

“The main purpose behind Janaan was to put a light on the good things of Pakistan, globally, rather than just, you know, showing the negative things,” said Hareem Farooq, a Pakistani actress who is also one of the producers behind the film.

“This is what we want people to see, that we Pakistanis are not just terrorists. There’s more to it. We’re like good people – as crazy as others.”

 

Janaan to enter final phase of production

KARACHI: Aiming for a release in the first quarter of 2016, Reham Khan’sJanaan seems to be well on its course to meet the set target. As the film completes its first two spells of production, the producers are now hopeful to release the movie by early next year.

“Almost 65 per cent of the movie has been completed during the first two spells that took place in Swat and Islamabad,” the film’s co-producer Imran Raza Kazmi told The Express Tribune. “We’re more than confident that we’ll wind up the film during the third spell, which is expected to begin in January 2016,” he added.

With a big slice of filming out of the way, Imran shared the team only needs to film a few songs and sequences. Having already announced that the final leg of shooting will take place in Swat and Islamabad this winter, he was wary about how it would be difficult to film a movie in Northern areas in the season.

“We’ve worked out all the logistics and have prepared a contingency plan in case we’re unable to film in Swat. Nathia Galli, Abbotabad, Thandyani and Kalabagh are being assessed as alternatives if Swat is inaccessible,” he shared. Editing for the movie is slated to commence in the next few days and the production team is already looking for potential editors to helm the responsibility.

“We’re in talks with a few post-production houses from Pakistan, India and Dubai to start work on Janaan.” Imran also revealed that the music and background score for the film have been composed by well-known collaborator Ahmed Ali, who also worked on the score for his previous production Siyaah.

Produced by Imran and Reham, Janaan features an ensemble cast of emerging actors, including Bilal Ashraf, Armeena Rana Khan and Ali Rehman Khan, with TV actor Osman Khalid Butt as the screenwriter. The movie narrates the story of three brothers, who are based in Pakistan and overseas. It focuses on their children as they gather for a family wedding in the Northern areas of Pakistan.

Reham’s ‘Janaan’ to go on floors

                                                                                                    

 

In the wake of criticism, it was recently clarified that Reham Khan will neither contest elections on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ticket nor will she attend any party gathering. But despite cutting back on her political contribution, it seems she still won’t have any free time on her hands. This is so because Reham and IRK Films’ upcoming film Janaan is expected to go on the floors on August 21, with the first production spell scheduled for Islamabad.

No stranger to the craft of filmmaking, Imran Raza Kazmi, who previously produced the horror film Siyaah, spoke to The Express Tribune about his latest venture. Describing Janaan as a romantic-comedy in the vein of Jab We Met, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge andKuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kazmi said the prime aim of the movie is to promote Pashtun culture in the country. “We want to project Pashtun culture and tradition through our movie, and show that they’re just as normal as us,” he shared.

The movie, to be shot in Islamabad and Swat, tells the story of three brothers based there and in Canada. It further focuses on their children, all of whom gather for a family wedding in the northern areas of Pakistan. According to Kazmi, Reham has been involved in the entire filmmaking process. “From the story to casting, Reham was involved in every aspect of the process. She even helped in developing the story forJanaan, which was later adapted into a screenplay by Osman Khalid Butt.” He added that since Reham hails from Swat, she was able to incorporate unique elements about the area into the story.

Janaan features young actors, such as Armeena Khan, Bilal Ashraf and Ali Rehman Khan, who were all casted following interviews and screen tests. Without divulging details about their roles, Kazmi shared that Armeena would depict the role of a Canadian girl of Pakistani origin in the film.  Interestingly, the film reunites the team behind Siyaah, with Kazmi returning as producer, Azfar Jafri as director and Butt as writer.

For Kazmi, this was an easy decision, not only because of the chemistry the trio shares but also because of the success Siyaah proved to be. “We made Siyaah with a small budget and limited resources, and the way [Jafri and Butt] capitalised on them was remarkable. Imagine what they can do with a greater budget and resources.”

The soundtrack for the movie will feature a string of local artists, such as Ataullah Khan, with the filmmakers also attempting to rope in Bollywood musicians for the project. Kazmi is hopeful that the movie will do well no matter when it releases and may also benefit from Reham’s growing popularity. “This will be a major factor because a lot of people know Reham, but the reason why she’s doing this movie is to promote our local culture.” The film is so far slated for a 2016 release.