The musical saga ‘Loadwedding’ that was released on Eidul Azha is an attempt to raise the social issues pertaining to our society in a subtle manner. Creators of this movie Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza have already given some successful movies to the cinema industry and they are upbeat about the success of this movie also.
Qureshi in a candid chat disclosed that he and Meerza, the writer and producer of ‘Loadwedding’ created ideas together on the basis of viewers’ choice. He emphasised that Loadwedding is a script driven movie which touch base various factors and is the story of every household of Pakistan. Audience in Pakistan can relate to the story of this movie. Highlighting the story aspect of a movie, Nabeel said that a movie is run on story. A superstar can be a crowd pulled but later on public only talks about the story. It is actually the story which plays a vital role in the success and failure of a movie.
“We should stop begging public to watch Pakistani movies to support local industry. If we produce good movies, public will come and watch them”
Talking about the cast of this movie, Qureshi disclosed that while selecting cast for any movie, he takes into account acting talent, discipline and popularity of the actor and fortunately both Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat fulfill this criteria with aplomb. “Fahad was my first preference for the male lead of ‘Loadwedding’ because he is a very dedicated actor and has public acceptance. Mehwish is playing the role of a Punjabi girl for the first time and she has justified her role brilliantly,” he added.
Elaborating on the shooting process, Qureshi said that this movie was shot in various cities of Punjab. “During the shooting, public tried to interact with the cast and tried to capture scenes of this movie through their cell phones but our team handled the crowd in a tactful manner.”
Talking about the music of ‘Loadwedding,’ Nabeel disclosed that Shani Arshad created the music of this movie. “Movie has 5 songs and I am confident people will like this music.”
Meerza said there are so many things that bother you if you are a sensitive person. “There are so many negative activities happening around us. When you evaluate, you try to go for correction rather than accepting it. Making movies on different topics is my contribution to bring betterment in the society,” she added. Talking about her affiliation with Qureshi, she says : “Nabeel and I are passionate about telling stories. It is our like-mindedness that prompts us to make movies and so far our combination is working well. I know Nabeel for the last 14 years and enjoy working with him.”
Meerza said that while writing the script, they had analysed actors suitable for the role. According to her, dramas are playing a crucial role in introducing new talent to Pakistan’s film industry. Talking about the recent growth in the cinema industry, Meerza said that she was delighted at the rapid growth. She requested the government to accept cinema as an industry and draft favourable rules to support this industry. While answering a question about the success and failure of a movie she says: “Buri film ko kissi ka baap bhee nahi bacha sakta aur achi film ko koyi gira nahi sakta.” Her message for the fans is to go and watch the movie, if you like it, praise it and if you dislike it then do tell us so we can overcome our shortcomings in future.
Hayat is playing the role of a female health worker in ‘Loadwedding’. Talking about her role, she says : “I have not done this type of character previously and I am excited about my performance in this movie. There are so many characters and so many stories and I believe in doing different roles all the times. I want to do meaningful roles, characters that can portray me as a role model for girls. I don’t want to be a part of a film only to add glamour or beauty but also to contribute meaningfully through my character.”
Comparing cinema with television she said that film and drama are different medium. I don’t look at the medium instead I look at the scope of work.
In her view, cinema industry has achieved so much in a short period of time and we should be proud of it. Answering a question about her movies’ Loadwedding’ and ‘Punjab Nahee Jaoungee’, she said that both are totally different movies and comparison between them is not correct.
“In ‘Punjab Nahee Jaoungee’ I was a girl from Karachi who went to Punjab after marriage but in ‘Loadwedding’ I am a native of Punjab,” she added.
Talking about public’s preferences, Mustafa says: “We should stop begging public to watch Pakistani movies to support local industry. If we produce good movies, public will come and watch them.”
The writer works as a publicist
Published in Daily Times, September 5th 2018.