CL, formerly known as Osama Com Laude and originally from Rawalpindi, once made songs that just didn’t have long-term appeal. All that changed with the collaborative single, ‘Pindi Aye’ and multiple EPs - paKING, Barbaadi and Munkashif - as part of a trilogy. For the latter, admitted OCL in a conversation with Instep, nervous as he was, he still went with the rawest look that could be mustered visually including going without makeup, scars and all. “The way I did the visuals this time around,” noted OCL, “is pretty cool. We shot a whole short film and all 5 songs [from Munkashif] are interwoven into it.”

The reflection of these ideas is mirrored in the EPs, each as hard-hitting and personal with Munkashif (the EP) emerging as the gutsy finale to an ambitious idea of trilogy at a time when many artists prefer to release singles.

The strength to the trilogy, particularly the last one, is that it was not made to appeal to a certain demographic but reflected OCL’s own journey. “I can’t fake it to please others; gotta put it all out there.”

“Who need a hero? (Hero)/You need a hero, look in the mirror, there go your hero/Who on the front lines at ground zero? (Hero)...” - The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar

As buzz on the EPs by OCL continues, he also ventures into showbiz. Though OCL is not the first musician or rapper to get in the acting business, he is among the first to jump straight from rap music to the big screen. He also has the vigour to prove himself, something he has been working on, first through his music and now an upcoming film. Titled Umro Ayyar, the teaser is backed by part-opera-meets-dark-choir music, which is as cool as it sounds. OCL described the film on his Instagram in the following terms: “Of a magical land and evil jinns, of ancient lore and fights within, of modern visions and tales of glory!”

Though OCL is not the first musician or rapper to get in the acting business, he is among the first to jump straight from rap music to the big screen. He also has the vigour to prove himself, something he has been working on, first through his music and now an upcoming film. Titled Umro Ayyar, the teaser is backed by part-opera-meets-dark-choir music, which is as cool as it sounds.

Set to release in 2022, the film features OCL where he will join Sanam Saeed, Usman Mukhtar, Faran Tahir, Ali Kazmi, Adnan Siddiqui, Seemi Raheel, and the brilliant Manzar Sehbai, among others. Speaking to Instep about his jump from music to film, OCL said that approximately a year ago, he got a chance to audition for the film but had no details about the project. A month passed. “Lo and behold, I was cast.” The project was kept quiet until the cast came together. “I learned more about the cast and the story as time passed and it was literally a dream come true. It was too good to be true.”

“The project will mark OCL’s acting debut and to do it in this form feels too good to be true. I feel blessed enough to be the first rapper from Pakistan to make a jump from rap music to big screen.”

Adding that Faris Shafi has acted in television and will also be seen in Bilal Lashari’s big screen all-star epic, The Legend of Maula Jutt, OCL clarifies that he is not talking about the medium of acting. But the jump from rap music to the big screen in what is also an epic, albeit of a different nature.

“I couldn’t be happier or excited. This is going to be epic. It’s legit and I’m not shooting sh*t here, but it will be a gamechanger when it releases. We’re just a few months away and just to be a part of an ensemble cast of this calibre is amazing. From the first reading session to the last day, it was unreal and to be able to share the screen with a certain name in the cast is giving me goosebumps.”

For the film, OCL will not use his stage name, but his official one: Osama Karamat. “OCL,” he says, “remains for the music world. For the acting world, I’m going to stick with my real name.”

Though not a lot is known about this film, as cinema makes a comeback with films released and announced, it will be interesting to see what this ensemble has cooked up.