An Interview with the Team of Karachi Se Lahore by Ally Adnan
Photographs by Junaid Khan
Wajahat Rauf’s long-awaited comedy-road film, the star-studded Karachi Se Lahore, is all set to hit the screens on the thirty first of July. If industry buzz is to be believed – and if the film’s slick
trailer is any indicator - Karachi Se Lahore is destined to be one of Pakistan’s biggest cinematic successes – both commercially and critically – in many years. In a comprehensive interview for the Nation, the team of the film – actors Ayesha Omer, Shahzad Sheikh, Aashir Wajahat, and Yasir Hussain, writer Yasir Hussain and director Wajahat Rauf - talk to Ally Adnan about the upcoming film. 1
Ally Adnan:
Pakistani cinema has attracted a large number of very well-trained, internationally educated and intellectually sophisticated individuals in recent years. As a result, a number of very serious films have been made; films that cater to critics and the literati instead of the masses. Why did you decide to make an unabashedly commercial film in this atmosphere?
Wajahat Rauf:
Comedy is the genre that I am most comfortable with and the one that I enjoy personally. It is good to have fun and to laugh. When I decided to make a film, I wanted it to be fresh, funny and entertaining. The commercial viability of the
film was not in my mind at the time. I wanted to do something that was fun for me, for the team and for the audience and something that was new. Karachi Se Lahore is a road movie which is a genre that has never been explored in Pakistani cinema. As a student in the United States, I used to take a lot of road trips which were a tremendous amount of fun. I wanted to recreate the same kind of fun in my film. The idea was to create a number of interesting and quirky characters, send them on a road trip from Karachi to Lahore, throw some interesting situations along the way, and see how they react to them. 2
Ayesha Omer:
A road film is not an easy one to make. Karachi Se Lahore takes viewers out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of homes and sets and out in the open to have fun. There were a lot of challenges – privacy, security, control and others – but
we managed to shoot the film on the road. The film is a comedy that is both smart and witty. I signed on to do the film after talking to Wajahat and Yasir about the project without reading the script. I knew they were going to do something original, clever and entertaining and not just copy one of the many successful road films that have been made internationally. My instincts were right. Karachi Se Lahore is intensely original, relentlessly funny and a decidedly Pakistani take on the genre. Yasir Hussain:
All the jokes are Pakistani; jokes that Pakistanis make all the time.
Wajahat Rauf:
I think Pakistanis have enough drama in their lives already. Karachi Se Lahore will allow them to experience comedy, laugh out loud and enjoy themselves.
Aashir Wajahat: We had a lot of fun filming Karachi Se Lahore. I think people will have as much fun watching it.
Ally Adnan:
Discipline is required of everyone involved while making any film but is absolutely necessary in films with ensemble casts where most of the actors are present in all the scenes. A lot of the new Pakistani actors are not known for being disciplined or professional and have made things impossibly difficult for 3
a number of producers and directors. Did you experience any such problems while making Karachi Se Lahore? Ayesha Omar:
We know what you are talking about. All of us have heard horror stories from the sets of many Pakistani films. I have heard of times when actors have shown up ten hours late and sometimes not at all. I have seen actors fight about camera angles, screen space and top billing. They throw some fantastic tantrums on set.
Wajahat Rauf:
I know of actors who have walked off sets over unbelievably trivial matters. We were, of course, aware of these issues and knew that they could break a film such as Karachi Se Lahore.
Yasir Hussain:
In fact there were times when we thought of making an easier-to-shoot film as
our first one. The prospect of shooting in the controlled environments of homes and studios was very attractive but we were sold to the idea of Karachi Se Lahore. It took us two and one half years to write the script. We occasionally thought of making a simpler movie during the time but always came back to the road movie we had envisioned in the beginning. Wajahat Rauf:
To answer the question, we did not have any of the problems that you asked about. None at all. Everyone in the team, except Ahmed Ali, knew and got along well with each other well before we started shooting Karachi Se Lahore. Ahmed got to know the team very quickly and very soon became a member of the gang. Everyone set whatever egos they had aside and devoted themselves to making a good film. I cannot be thankful enough for the professionalism of the team. 4
Ally Adnan:
Comedy has always been a part of Pakistani films. Even dramatic and serious films have traditionally included comedic actors, Rangeela and Munnawar Zareef, in their casts. Is Karachi Se Lahore similar?
Yasir Hussain:
No, not at all. We do not have comedic actors in our film to add a touch of comedy. Our film itself is a comedy. It has some romance but is first and foremost a comedy. Every single one of the cast members adds to the comedy in the film but no one actor is supposed to be funnier than the others.
Wajahat Rauf:
It is truly a light-hearted movie with the one primary goal of entertaining viewers. It does have some serious themes but these have handled with great care and subtlety to make sure that the cheerful mood of the film is not destroyed.
Yasir Hussain:
The serious messages in the film have been conveyed very delicately. They will probably be lost on all but the few people who will understand and enjoy them.
Ally Adnan:
A lot – whole lot – has been said about Ayesha’s item number in the movie.
Ayesha Omar:
The news of the item number was all over town within minutes of the release
of the teaser. The sad truth is that a lot of people saw a girl dancing in front of a large group of men and assumed the worst. No one understood what was going on. The girl who is dancing is gutsy, daring and honorable. Her dress, demeanor and dance do not take away from the strength of her character. She 5
dances in the film to get out of an untenable situation and secure the safe passage of the boys and not for kicks. If anything, the dance makes her braver and more respectable. The gender reversal – girl saving the boy instead of it being the other way around – is the joke that people need to enjoy.
Ally Adnan:
Who choreographed the dance?
Ayesha Omar:
It was the wonderful, wonderful Wahab Shah. He is quite possibly the best choreographer in Pakistan currently. I would work with him a hundred times.
Ally Adnan:
Did he choreograph all the dances in the film?
Wajahat Rauf:
No. There are three songs in the film and each one has been choreographed by a different dance director. Shahzad and Ghani choreographed the song which features Javed Sheikh and Mantahaa Maqsood. There is a basant-themed song in the film that was choreographed by Zarmeena and Breakhna.
Ally Adnan:
Did Ayesha Omer and Shahzad Sheikh get formal training in dance for the film?
Shahzad Sheikh: No, we did not. Our characters in the film are not professional dancers but kids
who are trying to have fun and entertain others. That required some rehearsing but no formal training.
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Wajahat Rauf:
They dance well but only as well as everyday people do. We did not need more. The songs were not added to titillate but were a part of the narrative. Therefore, highly skilled dancing would have been out of place.
Ally Adnan:
How did you handle people with mobile phone cameras while shooting outdoors in public places?
Shahzad Sheikh: Ayesha loved it. She really enjoys being shot with mobile phone cameras. Ayesha Omar:
I hate it. The problem is that people shoot from weird angles, making you look
unattractive, and post videos all over the web. One loses control over one’s own image that way. I don’t like that one bit. I can spot someone using a mobile phone camera even from a mile, even if the person is standing amongst a crowd. Yasir Hussain:
In fact, she can spot someone who owns a mobile phone but is not making her movie from two miles.
Wajahat Rauf:
And in some cases, she can get upset with people who don’t even have mobile phones.
Ayesha Omar:
I just do not want to be shot when I am not filming. I need the privacy.
Yasir Hussain:
People make movies using their mobile phones all the time. In our case the problem was more severe because we had the very khoobsoorat Ayesha Omar in the cast. 7
Ally Adnan:
Did you just say that only Ayesha Omar is very good-looking and that Shahzad Sheikh is not very khoobsoorat?
Yasir Hussain:
No, no. I am just referring to the name of a character that Ayesha played in one of her television plays. It was Khoobsoorat. Otherwise, I think Shahzad is very good looking.
Ayesha Omar:
I think Shahzad is way more khoobsoorat than I am.
Shahzad Sheikh: Good looking or not, I am just glad that I did not have hordes of men shooting movies of me while I was on location. That would have been tragic. Ayesha Omar:
Tragic but very funny.
Ally Adnan:
Is it true that three hundred of Ayesha’s brothers showed up for the shooting of the item number in Karachi Se Lahore?
Ayesha Omar:
Dancing in front of three hundred men is not easy. I had never danced in front of even five men. I was very nervous and actually crying before the song was
shot. I was seeking solace and support from Wajahat and others in the team. Then I had the idea of talking directly to the three hundred, or so, men and telling them about my fear and apprehensions. That worked remarkably well and the men immediately became incredibly supportive and empathetic.
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Instead of treating me like a dancing star, they started treating me like a sister, addressed as baji whenever they needed my attention. Yasir Hussain:
You will see a lot of brotherly love for Ayesha Omar on screen when you watch the item number.
Ally Adnan:
Are you planning a big marketing campaign to launch Karachi Se Lahore?
Wajahat Rauf:
Yes, we are. It is never enough to make a good movie. One needs to promote
and market the movie well to make sure it is successful. We plan on releasing the film almost simultaneously all over the world – India, the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, Australia and the United States – in August following a massive marketing campaign.
Ally Adnan:
The jokes in Karachi Se Lahore – albeit fresh and funny – are very Pakistani. Are you concerned that they will not translate well in other countries where the film will be released?
Wajahat Rauf:
I think it will do well in India. India has not had a good comedic actor for a long time. Kapil Sharma is the first truly funny actor they have found in years. His comedy is nothing like that of his predecessors like Johnny Lever, Mehmood and Shakti Kapoor. His comedy is decidedly Pakistan in nature.
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Yasir Hussain:
Kapil Sharma has become a superstar in India. His comedy is in the same vain as that of Umar Sharif, Amanullah Khan and Pappu Baral. I think people in India will not only understand the comedy of Karachi Se Lahore but they will enjoy it.
Wajahat Rauf:
The film is going to be released all over the world but the audiences are going to be Pakistanis and Indians living abroad. I think they will understand, appreciate and enjoy the jokes in the film.
Ally Adnan:
It is not easy to write a screenplay that is funny. How did Yasir learn to write a comedy?
Yasir Hussain:
I come from the world of theater and have been exposed to a lot of good
comedy. The world of theater is a veritable university for all genres of cinema including comedy. I also had the good fortune of working with Anwar Maqsood who taught me the effectiveness of wit, intellect and intelligence in writing comedy. Instead of slapstick, cringe, blue or black comedy, I rely on word-play and wit. This is something that I learnt from Anwar Maqsood. You will also see some observational and a little topical comedy in Karachi Se Lahore but the focus is always on the line that is funny. Ayesha Omar:
I think script is genuinely funny. I never once felt the need to discuss changing any of the lines with the writer or the director.
Shahzad Sheikh: Yasir wrote very well. He made sure that the lines of each character worked well for him. He worked with the actors to make sure that they understood 10
meaning and purpose of every word in the script. Some of the lines that he wrote are exceedingly funny. I enjoyed the script while shooting but got to truly appreciate it during the dubbing. Yasir is a very smart and funny man.
Ally Adnan:
A film can be both a critical and a commercial success, or one of the two, and sometimes neither. If you had to pick between Karachi Se Lahore garnering a great deal of critical acclaim and making lots of money, which would you chose?
Wajahat Rauf:
I will be very honest here. I want and need Karachi Se Lahore to be a commercial success. The film did not have any investors. I had done twelve projects for television before making my first film. All the money that I saved from those projects was spent on Karachi Se Lahore. I need it back.
Yasir Hussain:
I do hope that critics like the film but am not too worried about reviews. There will always be a few critics who will find fault with any movie no matter how successful.
Ayesha Omar:
To hell with critics if the film is successful commercially. I will be completely satisfied if the masses like the film. I do not work to satisfy a few critics. My goal is to entertain people who fill cinemas.
Shahzad Sheikh: I agree with Ayesha here. I watch a lot of plays and movies but try not to read
reviews beforehand. I think my own opinion of what I see is much more important than that of critics. There are times when I agree with critics and
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times when I don’t, but I never consider their views to be more valid than my own. Wajahat Rauf:
A lot of very honest hard work has gone into Karachi Se Lahore. I have faith that it will be successful.
Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and the arts. He tweets @allyadnan and can be reached at
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