Anyone who has watched Rafay Rashdi’s Thora Jee Le, the first release of the year, would call it a bad film without a second thought.
Rafay Rashidi will be producing a short fashion film titled Woh Aas, which will feature the Thora Jee Le actress Ramsha Khan.
The director talks about flaws in the film and what he learnt from his first attempt at filmmaking.
Anyone who has watched Rafay Rashdi’s Thora Jee Le, the first release of the year, would call it a bad film without a second thought. Released on January 20, it received a lot of backlash on all forums for not even qualifying as a film. Speaking to Instep on the sidelines of a recent event, director Rafay Rashdi admitted that there were a lot of flaws in the film.
“Lots of people have found a lot of flaws in the film,” he told Instep. “Actors were new, nobody had seen their work. A few of them couldn’t shine as they were unable to act. And then there were technical issues as well. It was my debut film so acknowledgment is the first step that I accept my flaws. But I think I have contributed to the Pakistani cinema; I have come out as a filmmaker. Also, those six to seven people whom I tried to launch have gotten good opportunities. So I think it was a good step, I’ll focus more when I make my next film.”
Thora Jee Le tells the story of seven college friends (played by Rizwan Ali Jaffri, Bilal Abbas Khan, Ramsha Khan, Kasim Khan, Fatima Shah Jillani, Ahsan Mohsin Ikram and Salman Faisal) whose lives transform as life takes a practical turn. Having parted ways after college, they reunite and embark on a journey that tests their relationships and paves the way for self-discovery.
Rashdi is of the view that despite several loopholes in the film, Thora Jee Le managed to convey the messages that he tried to put forward.
Thora Jee Le tells the story of seven college friends whose lives transform as life takes a practical turn.
“It wasn’t just a masala movie; there were a few social messages as well which I think have been highlighted to some extent,” he stated. “A small chunk of audience understood the concept. It basically talked about issues that are relevant to our society – drug addiction and women empowerment.”
Discussing issues that he faced being a first time filmmaker, Rashdi informed that he faced a lot of rejection. “A lot of people didn’t listen to me since I had not directed any play or film before,” he shared.
However, he admitted that Thora Jee Le could have been much better had he taken care of a few things that he eventually learnt from his first experience with filmmaking. He said, “I learnt that one should take an experienced cinematographer on board, a cinematographer who has done a couple of films earlier. The person who did Thora Jee Le was a friend; he had just worked on quite a few documentaries. Moreover, there should be at least one or two renowned faces in the film to pull in audiences. Our cinema viewers focus more on faces. I really wanted new faces to work with but I realized that it doesn’t attract viewers. I hope that if I make another film, I’ll grasp all these things and come up with a better product and promote it well.”
As far as Rashdi’s upcoming projects are concerned, he’s gearing up to produce a short fashion film. Titled Woh Aas, the film is being made in collaboration with designer Tabassum Mughal and stars Thora Jee Le actress Ramsha Khan. It will be directed by Umair Najeeb Khan.
