Shaan Shahid has urged the Pakistani film industry to move away from repetitive formulas and focus on creating original stories that reflect local culture and realities.
Appearing on programme ‘Mazaq Raat’ along with Meera, Shaan Shahid said the film industry should stop copying foreign trends. “Invest in talent instead of property or safer businesses,” he said, adding that filmmakers need to take creative risks for the industry to grow. He added that Pakistani cinema needs to develop its own cultural voice. The industry needs its own content, its own identity, told in the context of modern Pakistan,” he noted.
Meera echoed the sentiment, pointing to her upcoming work as an example of experimentation within local cinema.
“People ask why we do not make films on topics like Hollywood, why we are not exploring different ideas. To them, the answer is my film Psycho, where Shaan has addressed a subject closer to Hollywood and a genre different from the usual,” she said.
She added that such projects represent an effort to broaden the scope of storytelling in Pakistan and push audiences towards new genres. Building on this creative direction, Shaan revealed that a new film is currently in development titled English Minglish, with Meera in the lead role. He has written the script, screenplay and is directing the project himself.
“The pipeline ahead features a comedy film and its name is English Minglish,” he said. “It stars Meera and her character’s task in the movie is that she has to learn English in three months.”
Meera said she is excited about collaborating again with Shaan on the project and is also working on Psycho 2. Reflecting on Meera’s journey, he said her return to films came at a difficult time.
“When Meera decided she wanted to do a film again, I felt here is an actress, a woman, struggling to define herself and find her domain. My effort is to develop an ecosystem of scripts around her,” he said.