The ballad of Allahyar and the legend of Markhor

It’s close to 7 pm in Karachi and the cast of Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor (Natasha Humera Ejaz, Ali Noor and Anum Zaidi), joined by the film’s director Uzair Zaheer Khan, have spent the better part of this day talking to various press outlets. Though exhausted, they still have one more interview to give after this one, but the mood in this room remains optimistic and playful.

“He is the Noori of animation,” says Ali Noor about director and producer Uzair Zaheer Khan who is obviously moved by the comparison. There is incredible camaraderie in the room, and the film means a great deal to each of them.

Speaking to Instep, the Allahyar crew discusses how the idea for the film was born, what it was like to work on the upcoming animated film and how it has the potential to put faith back into humanity at a time…

Instep: When and how did you first come up with the idea for Allahyar?

Uzair Zaheer Khan (UZK): I’m part of this company that is working on literacy for children. We developed a curriculum that is Urdu-based. When I was thinking about writing the story and we were working on the curriculum for TCF, in it there was a Markhor (a wild goat) and it stayed in my head. When I started writing, it stuck with me. Generally I feel there is dissatisfaction we feel and we all have questions about why this country is the way it is and how we can change it. In my head the answer was always education, curriculum change, but that’s not something that is easy to achieve. And since this is my profession - I am a 3D artist - I thought it’s time to use this medium to change things from within. Future generations can change provided we get them while young when they’re not tainted and give them those important lessons.

Personally, I do have a relationship with animals and I thought children who’d watch this film like Mehru and Chakku and all these characters will never grow up to be people who’d want to harm animals; in fact they’ll have a soft spot for them. There are many other positive messages you can take away from this film but they’re done in subliminal manner.

We have grown up in a different environment where what we watched, such as PTV, provided controlled content. We grew up believing we’re the best country in the world and a set of values were imposed on us. That is no longer the case and newer generations look at Pakistan in a very different way than we did. Children are impressionable so the hope is it will have an impact on them in a positive way.

Instep: How did you assemble this particular cast? Voicing animated characters is not the same as acting in a film. In some ways, it requires a different skill set.

UZK: Natasha sent us her audition and it was really amazing. No one came close to it. So we had to have her. Anum, I had worked with before in Burka Avenger.

Instep: You were a part of Burka Avenger as well?

UZK: I set up that studio and I was the series director as well as the head of production during the first season of Burka Avenger. We auditioned a lot of boys but either they didn’t have the voice or couldn’t take direction; she (Anum) was the best. Chakku, the snow leopard, is voiced by Abdul Nabi Jamali. As for Ali Noor, I’ve always been a fan of his and when I met him I asked him if he’d like to do a song for an animated film I’m making. He agreed. He asked me if he’d get the chance to act and I got really excited. I think he thought I was kidding but 8 months later I called him and so he came over. And I reserved an important role for him.

Instep: Natasha, you do have a background in acting (theatre) but what does this role mean to you?

Natasha Humera Ejaz (NHE): Yes, I have acted in theatre but never a live-action film before this. I didn’t have an interest in acting for television but wanted to do an animation feature from childhood. When the casting call came, I was on it. I prepped for a week, before sending the audition. When I got the part, I was sent the script. And I started figuring out what Mehru really is about. She’s a very strong-headed character. A princess in her own right, she’s got a heart of gold but she also has her flaws. Through the course of the film she learns to overcome those flaws, which I think is a great learning process for anyone who watches it too. It’s a singing part so I got to sing two songs. One is a cover of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan’s ‘Muskuraye Ja’ and the second song is co-written by me and Ahmed Ali. I’m very excited about the original song we’ve written for the film.

Instep: What was it like voicing the character of Allahyar?

Anum Zaidi: In the beginning it was difficult, find the perfect balance between acting and working on my voice. Allahyar is an 8-year-old boy. To be honest, I hate 8 year old kids in the sense that children between 5 ton 10 years of age can be annoying (laughs). But when I got to read the script I started liking Allahyar a lot. The growth of this character within the film is incredible.

NHE: Allahyar is such an emotional character; he has so much compassion in his heart.

Instep: Ali, why were you interested in this role?

Ali Noor (AN): He (Uzair) is technically not a relative but we did end up meeting at a family wedding. I showed interest because I liked the guy, I got a great vibe from him and when he called me again, it was out of sheer courtesy but I knew I had to at least meet. And when I met him again, we struck a friendship. He is basically the Noori of animation, honest to god.

Instep: What was the process like, to voice the character of Mani?

AN: In the beginning I wasn’t sure but we approached it like we approach our audio recordings and we kept on repeating the lines.

Instep: Pakistani films are more about entertainment, less about empathy. Was it something at the back of your head as Allahyar creates a sense of empathy. The trailers and the songs so far certainly do.

UZK: Look, it can’t work if it’s not entertainment…

Instep: But there is a line…

UZK: Absolutely. We haven’t crossed that line and you make sure that you’re teaching people certain things without making it preachy. Whatever you do it has to have some purpose to it. It has to have soul. If you do something for the sake of entertainment alone, then it’s all about commercial success.

NHE: I always feel like some of the best projects in the world that sure are entertaining and everything but there’s plenty in the world that distracts us.

AN: That’s very well-said…

NHE: There’s very little content that…

AN: Forms us…

NHE: Forms us and puts faith back into humanity and we’re hoping that’s what Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor does for people because all of us involved with the film believe that it has that potential and we hope that audiences pick up on it.

AN: It is genuinely a scene where these people have come around and have actually explored something more than entertainment without being preachy or arty-farty.

– Photo by Maheen Sabeeh