Tolerance is the message of Zindagi Tamasha, says producer

A mundane Sunday evening transformed itself as authors, journalists, poets, writers, actors and members of the press came together under a winter sky at the British Council in Karachi, to meet and hear from the cast and crew of upcoming film, Zindagi Tamasha.

Amidst coffee and sandwiches, the open-air space saw the cast and crew of Zindagi Tamasha trickle in, slowly.

Arif Hassan, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi – three of the four protagonists (and film debutants) in this ensemble drama, set in the heart of inner Lahore, were present while Samiya Mumtaz, as Sarmad Khoosat later explained, could not make it to this particular gathering but would be present at future events. Amongst those present in the audience included journalist Ghazi Salahuddin, author, playwright and journalist Mohammad Hanif, actors Sania Saeed, Nimra Bucha and Wajdaan (who starred in an opening sequence in Manto and is a theatre artist).

The film’s powerful trailer was shown before the cast and crew took the stage.

Moderated by Sana Bucha, the session included conversations with producer Kanwal Khoosat, writer Nirmal Bano, and actors Eman Suleman and Arif Hassan, backed by director Sarmad Khoosat before the floor was given to the audience. During the discussion, Sana Bucha veered the conversation towards Sarmad Khoosat and how someone who directed Humsafar could make a Zindagi Tamasha.

Before describing the film, Sarmad confessed he had no niche and noted that Zindagi Tamasha is a story set in Lahore and one that doesn’t showcase the city as a merry, chirpy, bubbly, colorful city and just about it being the Walled City.

“It’s Lahore in winter; it’s foggy and the film has a live pulse to it and is predominantly Punjabi because I wanted to keep it authentic. It has a great sense of humour about it too. I’m not using tropes and cliches and indulging in melodrama.”

Kanwal Khoosat spoke about the role of a producer. “It’s my first project as a film producer and I didn’t know jack about it. Since I had to explore a lot, the ambiguity and the confusion around, and what a producer’s job entails, I was extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t because of the film at all; if there was anything that hooked me to the project, it was the story. The purity and uniqueness as the narrative unfolds itself and the characterization, I just fell in love with how unpredictable every aspect of the narrative becomes. Shooting in Lahore was difficult but everything faded out once the visual came before my eyes. That was the a-ha moment for me.”

Writer Nirmal Bano dismissed very politely the idea of revealing the story. “When we started we didn’t know the themes we would be exploring and even now when I watch the film I can’t pinpoint any one thing and since it’s a character driven film, all the things that affect us. It wasn’t the theme and plot dictating but the character deciding what would happen eventually.”

Eman Suleman, who described herself onstage as someone who thinks before she speaks, noted, “I think you guys are going to hate me by the time you’re done watching the film. As far as the film goes, I would like to thank Nirmal Bano for giving me such a strong-headed role that you don’t see a lot in Pakistani films and in dramas.”

She confessed her diction of Urdu was not very good and she had no sense of Punjabi.

Speaking on her behalf, Sarmad called Eman “a thinking actor” and “instinctive”.

“Eman has that quality on camera that you’re drawn to her; her silences, her mumbling,” he added.

Arif Hassan, who is one of the lead characters in the film, spoke about his role. “Samiya Mumtaz is the wife; she’s bed-ridden so I had to do all the domestic things.”

“I was very comfortable in this role,” he further stated. “I was comfortable because I had been discussing this thing with Sarmad for about two months so by the time we got to the shoot, the role was not very difficult. It was me, just like me, speaking in ghalat Punjabi, doing different things.”

Shedding light on his relationship with Eman, who essays his daughter, Arif Hassan noted, “Eman plays my daughter and when you see the film, you will see some very strong scenes, very deep, strange.”

Speaking to Instep on the sidelines of the event, Eman Suleman, who is one of the protagonists in the film, noted that Zindagi Tamasha was not her first Sarmad Khoosat project; it was Aakhri Station. “Nobody has seen the film but people are making all these assumptions, which are not true. This film is about inner Lahore; it’s about a family. It’s a beautiful film about a father and a daughter and their neighbours and their friends. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. You might cry; it may even make you laugh or anger you – most probably at me – but it might also create empathy.”

Eman said there is no specific theme under which the film could be blanketed. It’s an exploration of many themes.

Ali Qureshi, who essays her husband in the film, said that when he got called for a film, he thought it was related to fashion since he is a model. But when Sarmad narrated the film, he was sold. “It was a process and he’s done something with a film.”

Sarmad said he refrained from melodrama. “It takes you to that place and there are four characters and sensitized to them and then there are the supporting characters and there is no convention of storytelling.”

Nirmal Bano noted that she hoped people would walk away from the film, with tolerance.

“Why does entertainment need to be depleted; why do we discount the audience when they have evolved?”

Kanwal Khoosat noted that tolerance is the overarching theme that she hoped people would walk away with. “That’s the message, as the makers, we would like the audience to take away with them.”