The actor spoke to Instep and defended her role in JPNA 2, noting how the boys shouldered the entire burden while also stating that her character in the film was detailed. She also spoke about her role in Aangan and finding love.
Mawra Hocane confesses that she is on the pursuit of excellence and it wouldn’t be untrue to say that whatever she touches turns to gold. From her strong social media presence to quirky style decisions, Hocane truly stands out. Her debut Pakistani flick, Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (JPNA 2), which featured her alongside Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa and Kubra Khan has emerged as the highest grossing Pakistani film on the box office till date.
Instep caught up with Mawra Hocane as JPNA 2 continues to create waves. We begin by going back to how the film landed in Hocane’s lap as rumors suggested that Syra Shahroz had originally been roped in for the part and had refused. But as Hocane told Instep, JPNA 2 was her birthday gift.
“This film was a gift from Nadeem Baig (director) to me on my last birthday,” she recalled. “He was over at my house. I was asking everybody for my birthday presents, and I asked him why he didn’t get me anything? He said he did, so after we had cut the cake and were sitting he handed me the script. I read it and it came from a director who had already given big films to our country so there was no way I was not going to do it.”
The actor has a number of hit television plays to her credit and has starred in the Bollywood romance, Sanam Teri Kasam, but it’s JPNA 2 that marked her foray into local cinema. Unlike her contemporaries, she noted there was no baggage whatsoever in selecting her first Pakistani movie.
“I don’t take this very seriously; it’s not a big deal that I’ve not done a movie here. It’s not a debut, I’ve done a film before, I’ve done projects in Pakistan, so for the audience, I’m not a debutant. They’re excited because they’ve seen my work earlier,” she maintained.
“It puts no pressure on me whatsoever that it’s my first film. For me it’s another project, for us (actors), it’s another set – we don’t go in-front of the camera thinking whether it’s a film or a drama, a first or a second; it’s irrelevant, to me, at least,” she continued before adding how filming the feature had helped her learn about camaraderie on-set. “Shooting JPNA 2 was actually a lot of fun. With the resources that we had, the kind of quality these makers deliver, Humayun, Nadeem, Vasay (writer), it was amazing.”
Even though JPNA 2 has been helmed by the most sought-after filmmaking team in the industry, Hocane still finds comparisons with Bollywood bizarre in relevance to the local fraternity’s nascent state as opposed to Hindi cinema that is a century old.
“We don’t have that kind of a set-up, yet the results are so grand. And I think I’ve learnt about team-work a lot while being on JPNA 2’s set; everybody was there for each other and giving their best to make the product look great. To put it together in one word, it’s been a very ‘sweet’ journey.”
Nonetheless, in times where female participation in cinema is being encouraged and celebrated worldwide, much of the criticism that has come in context of the JPNA franchise is its overall female characterisation, that has been one-dimensional, if not superficial. Primarily a male-buddy series, Hocane had no qualms in starring in an offering that doesn’t pay as much emphasis on the women as the men.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in doing a boy’s film. The boys are taking the entire burden on their shoulders for you to shine in the film. But I also do think that Vasay’s written my and Kubra’s characters with a lot of detail as opposed to the first part and the female characters in that,” Hocane responded. “From the outlook, if you want to believe it’s a boy’s film, I’m very proud to have done one, because these are the same boys who’ve stood by us in the TV industry for the longest time.”
Furthering her thoughts, she added, “It was my second serial and Fahad Mustafa stood behind me in the title even though he’s better, senior and just a great actor. At that time, I never saw boys saying, ‘Why should we stand in a girl’s drama?’ It’s irrelevant. Good films need to be made with good content - now’s not the time to fight the (gender) battle. If Bollywood wants to define female-headed films, it’s because they’ve made millions of films. We have to be together, co-exist, learn to stand by each other and just give quality projects to the audience.”
On the personal front, Hocane has received a world distinction in Islamic Law from the University of London and confesses to have found love. Though she kept her lips sealed, she did express how “life without love is useless.”
With the success of JPNA 2, Hocane now anticipates the airing of her first period-play, Ehteshamuddin’s Aangan, which is due to appear next month. The all-star cast comprises Sajal Aly, Ahsan Khan, Ahad Raza Mir and Sonya Hussyn, and the serial is set in the pre-partition era. It goes without saying that Hocane is of the view that 2018 has been her year.
“It’s been a great year so far, the characters I’ve had in both JPNA 2 and Aangan, are something I’ve never done before, so I’m excited to surprise the audience. Aangan is huge and I still can’t believe that the producers gave it to me, so it’s a big responsibility,” the 24-year-old actress observed. “Unlike JPNA 2, Aangan is riding on my shoulders and that really scares me because if I fail, so does the entire project. I had Ehtesham bhai to guide me through and working under his direction was a very enriching experience.”
Speaking of shooting the drama, she shared on a parting note, “We were also isolated, in some place near Gujranwala, where there are houses from the 1920s and 30s where the vibe is very different. And we had to create an era, with lanterns and write letters. We started off by slowing down our pace, so we’d get the rhythm and it doesn’t feel like Mawra from 2018, but Aliya from the early 1900s. It was just a great time shooting Aangan and JPNA 2 simultaneously.”
