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Amar Khan talks about her first film, Dam Mastam

By Buraq Shabbir
Thu, 11, 19

After making waves as Alizey in the recently concluded drama serial Dil e Gumshuda, the actress-writer speaks exclusively to Instep about her big screen debut next year.

Amar Khan has a few but extremely diverse roles to her credit in a career that spans over three short years. She played a blind girl in telefilm Chashm-e-Num opposite Ahsan Khan, a young Indian woman in Ghughi while she played a dayan (witch) in last year’s Belapur Ki Dayan for which she also bagged multiple nominations. The actress essayed the character of Alizey - a modern-day, progressive female who is possessive and can go to any extent to have what she desires - in Dil e Gumshuda, which came to an end recently.

The latest news surrounding the actress is about her film debut with Dam Mastam that she has been working on for a while; she serves as the writer as well as the female lead in the film that is scheduled to release next year. Not many people know that Amar has been a writer first and then an actor, probably because she first came to prominence with her onscreen roles. Though she also wrote telefilm Chasm-e-Num in 2017, it is Dam Mastam that is likely to put her on the map as a writer as well.

“Even when I wasn’t acting, a lot of people knew that I am into writing and was in the process of writing my film,” Amar Khan told Instep in an exclusive conversation. “However, I got acting assignments before, which is why people got to know me as an actor before a writer.”

“It has been a very long process; for the past three years I’ve had the initial draft with me,” she added. “I tried to materialize it multiple times but the way industry is reviving now wasn’t the case before. A good story wasn’t enough to make a film then, without financers, distributors and other key stakeholders taking interest in the business.”

However, Amar believes that this is the right time. She shared how she was shooting Ghughi with Adnan Siddiqui, who she discussed the script and idea with. Adnan Siddiqui came on board as co-producer of the film and one after the other, the team began to build.

Dam Mastam is being directed by Mohammad Ehteshamuddin, who made his big screen directorial debut with Superstar earlier this year, while it also marks Imran Ashraf’s film debut. Amar and Imran will be playing lead characters in this film that aims to offer a mix of both entertainment and strong content to its viewers.

“It is a very good mix of a commercially viable film yet at the same time, it is content driven,” Amar revealed, adding that the film hopes to be a balance of masala as well as content. “It is a Punjab-centric rom-com, but not based in rural Punjab; it is a very rooted, indigenized story of interior Lahore. It is set in the underbelly of the city.”

Speaking of starring in the film alongside writing it, Amar recalled that she didn’t have anyone in mind while penning the script. However, every time she narrated the character to someone, they suggested that she should be playing the role and she went for it.

“For me, as well as for Imran, the roles are completely in contrast with whatever we have played on small screen so far,” the Belapur Ki Dayan actress shared, adding that there is music, dance, a comical streak, a fiery element and crackling chemistry – given that it is about two lovers, and much more.

Amar also pointed out that Dam Mastam, which goes on floor this month and will be shot in Lahore and Karachi, aims to cater to the youth, besides families and kids. “Today’s youth is our major audience and it is important to give them content according to their language and flavour to make it more relatable to them,” Amar explained.

On a parting note, the actress spoke about her most recent role, Alizey – a rebel of sorts – who generated hype due to her sense of style as well as her antics.

“Actors around the world are quite ahead of ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ characters as narratives go far beyond that. That is what I apply when I opt for any character; my only demand is that the character should be well rounded. When I was offered Alizey, I felt there is an Alizey in almost every girl. We all are possessive, have insecurities, longings, etc. She is a completely freaked out entity, who knows what she wants; she is stubborn yet innocent at the same time. I didn’t play it like a negative character but rather like a human,” Amar concluded, also informing that her first film is her sole focus right now and she will not take up any TV project until the film comes out.