Junaid Khan launches Jeem Films

Lahore:Junaid Khan’s journey in the entertainment industry has taken him from concert stages – performing in front of thousands of adoring Call fans – to television and film screens, his acting career going from strength to strength. Now the performer has launched his own production house, Jeem Films, through which he hopes to create even more diverse content.

“I’ve been in the field for almost two decades,” the entertainer tells Instep Today. “I started off as a musician, then ventured into acting and modelling. When it comes to this field, I’ve done almost everything. Hence, the next logical step was to create more content. I mean, I’ve been making music for a while now, so I’ve been a part of that process, and I’ve been a part of television and film projects as an actor and given that contribution, but now I wanted to create stories myself, and that pushed me towards making a production house of my own.”

Through Jeem Films, Junaid hopes to venture into arenas that still remain relatively unexplored onscreen. “There are many genres that are still untapped in Pakistan, on which not much work is being done,” he says. “Of course there is a reason for that: the content that is most viewed and in demand, most production houses produce that same content because it is easy to sell. But I aim to produce stuff that is a little different; that’s the goal, because I want to produce and contribute something new for the market which is not on television at the moment, especially when it comes to digital media.”

Junaid hopes to delve into genres like action, mystery, and thriller, which are a rare find on the Pakistani small screen. “I’m sure someone has worked on these genres, but they are largely untapped,” he explains. He also wants to produce documentaries. “There are untold stories of a lot of people that haven’t been examined yet. So the canvas is huge, and I just need to put it out to the world.”

The inaugural projects for Jeem were Junaid’s own music videos. “I started off with my own music films because a song and a video itself tells a story, and that’s also how most producers and directors get their start,” he elaborates. “Since I’ve been doing music myself, it was more convenient for me to do my own stuff initially. The first song I did was ‘Taqdeer’ which was about domestic violence and general oppression in the whole world. Then I did ‘Chaska’, which later became a collaboration with Pakola. That song was about life and living in the moment. And now I’m about to release another song which I’ll reveal soon.”

Jeem Films won’t just focus on Junaid’s own work though. “Production isn’t just about making stuff for yourself. It’s about contributing to the industry,” he says. “It’s about being a part of the whole circle, the whole cycle. We as an industry need to grow more. That will only happen when more and more producers, directors, and creative people give their input. The cycle will keep getting updated, new people will keep entering, and the Pakistani industry will remain relevant.”

Alongside Jeem, Junaid is also continuing his other performance work. He recently played his first starring role on the big screen in Kahay Dil Jidhar, and he is very happy with how well-received his character and performance were, especially by people within the industry. “When you’re having fun on set, it shows on the screen, and I had a blast on set.” He feels that his most recent drama, Hum Tum, was also well received by the audience for the same reason. “People really appreciated my character because I had a great time on set, playing with the character, improvising. When you get comfortable with the character, the character’s graph turns out well and people can see that.”

As for his upcoming acting projects, he is currently working on a play that is being produced by Wajahat Rauf with him, Sanam Jung, and Azfar Rehman in the cast, and Azeem Sajjad serving as director. So fans can rest assured that there is a lot more to come from Junaid, both from Jeem Films and beyond.