LAHORE-Yasir Nawaz is a multi-talented actor, director and producer. With the revival of Pakistani film industry especially in Karachi he is back in the game. In an exclusive interview with The Nation he shared his views about the revival of our film industry and his upcoming film ‘Mehrunisa V Lub You’, which is being released across the country on Eidul Fitr. Following are excerpts of the interview:
What inspired you to make ‘Mehrunisa V Lub you’?
My first movie was ‘Wrong No’ which was an entertaining film to attract people towards cinema houses. My second film is message oriented in a lighter mode.
My first priority is to convey some message to Pakistani nation through this film. It is a commercial movie with a light comedy and a small message.
How is this movie different from all other that are being released this year? What should the audience expect in terms of entertainment?
This is not the right time to make comparison.
The wave of revival in Pakistani films has not only grabbed the attention of the audience but also allowed Pakistan to compete at international film festivals as well as Oscars.
The only thing which matters today is local films should be produced at maximum level for the survival of our cinema industry.
How do you see Danish Taimor journey as an actor?
The best thing about Danish is that he avoids acting in drama serials and focuses more on doing film projects. He is a struggling actor and I see bright future for him.
Tell us about the dance sequences and music in the movie?
It is a commercial movie which includes dance, action and comedy. Dances were choreographed by Nigah, music was given by Simaab Sen, and the singers were Sukhwinder Singh, Armaan Malik and Nakash Aziz.
We are lucky enough that lyrics of our film songs have been written by famous Indian poet and lyricist Gulzar Sahib.
Could you share some special moments from the set of ‘Mehrunisa V Lub you’?
In film ‘Wrong No’ we learnt many things as film is an hundred percent risk. You are not sure whether you will get your money back or not. We have kept our hearts and pockets open while making this film.
We set up Rs250 million film set in Karachi open area so we could work in controlled environment. Interestingly, we had an amazing experience while film making as it was not an easy task and not everyone’s cup of tea.
One director whose films you are eager to see?
I’m a big fan of Shoaib Mansoor. Whether its comedy, action or serious drama serials his work has always fascinated me and I’m anxiously waiting for his upcoming film ‘Verna’.
Is it difficult to be director as well as producer?
I’m a director first and then a producer. I never think about the budgets and little issue which everyone faces while shooting a film. The producers always give me two, three options and after that I give them go head.
How wide is this film release?
We are having meeting with overseas distributors. We have set target to release this film at places where Indian films are released but if I talk about my previous experience with ‘Wrong No’ we had to bear loss at some places because in those areas Pakistani community was not that big in number.
This time we are trying to release the film in Canada, America, UAE and UK where majority of Pakistani community is available.
Looking back over your career as an actor what would you say?
I always wanted to direct films and drama serials and now I feel more comfortable in directing side rather than acting.
What’s next in pipeline for Yasir Nawaz?
I’m working on the scripts of some movies and my plans are further to work on movies and entertain the Pakistani audience.