Written by: Nida Qasim
Posted on: November 30, 2020 | 
| 中文
Aijaz Gul
Aijaz Gul is a renowned film critic, teacher, and writer who is based in Islamabad. He received his early education from Aitchison College, Lahore, and went on to study Cinema at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He has contributed to the film world in various ways after returning to Pakistan. He frequently writes film reviews for Pakistani and foreign film publications and has written extensively for The News International. “Noor-e-Jehan: The Melody Queen” and “Journey Through Lens: Pakistani Cinema” are two of his four books which explore Pakistani films. He has taught, and continues to teach, courses on Film History, Film Appreciation, Film Techniques, and World Cinema at Riphah International University, TMUC, and Szabist. He taught two courses as part of the one-year Film Diploma at PNCA’s Film Production Online. Gul has attended various international film festivals, in cities such as Mumbai, Tehran, Tokyo, Bangkok, Paris, Moscow, Busan, etc. Not only is he is a member of the FIPRESCI (Federation of Film Critics) but he is also part of the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), and serves as a key member of the Lok Virsa Mandwa Film Club.
'Journey Through Lens: Pakistani Cinema' by Aijaz Gul and Jamal Sohail.
Gul’s recently published book titled “Journey Through Lens: Pakistani Cinema”, which is co-authored by Jamal Sohail, is a visual journey of the Pakistani cinema from its’ origin in 1947 to the modern age—it features the authors’ vision for the Pakistani cinema. It was published under the care of Dr. Fouzia Saeed and her team at Lok Virsa, and is a rich photographic archive of moments captured throughout Pakistan’s film history. It also features essays on crucial topics such as “Cinema & Society”, “The Economics of the Film industry”, “Film Trade”, “International Cinema”, and curated lists such as “Major Film festivals”, “Major films (around the world)”, “Major directors”, “Film Companies in Pakistan”, “Film Trade Associations and Film Clubs” as well as tributes to major figures in Pakistani cinema. Despite the challenge posed by the lack of a film archive in Pakistan, the book’s authors and their team were able to put together a rich collection of visual and resourceful materials pertaining to Pakistani cinema. This book will soon be released in an audio-visual format, with multiple interviews and archives of films which have been put together by Jamal Sohail.
Book Launch of 'Journey Through Lens' in 2018 (Credits to Dawn)
During a conversation, Aijaz Gul took me on a quick tour of the history of Pakistani cinema, and its’ key milestones, until the present day. Due to his rich background and years of dedicated research and engagement with films, Gul can educate individuals about the long and ever-growing tradition of films in Pakistan, as well as around the world. The book “Journey through Lens: Pakistani Cinema” encapsulates an entire history of films in Pakistan, and it is an attempt to create an accessible visual and informative archive for film enthusiasts, film and media students, and members of the film industry. Even though Pakistan lacks a film industry such as Bollywood or Hollywood, it has the equivalent of what Aijaz Gul defined as “Film Trade”, since filmmaking in Pakistan has not been recognized as an industry by the Ministry of Industries. As this fact is not well known, many continue to use the term “film industry” for the film trade that takes place within the country.
Aijaz Gul during the opening ceremony of his book 'Journey Through Lens: Pakistani Cinema'.
Aijaz Gul shared his own thoughts about Pakistani film trade and culture, after spending many years of deep involvement with it, and shared the need for more film clubs and societies in the country, where film enthusiasts and aficionados can gather and truly appreciate great films together. He stressed that script writing is the meat of a story; it should be crafted with the utmost effort. A film’s script is written three times, once on paper or in pre-production of the film, the second time occurs during production, and third takes place during the post-production or editing of the film. In addition to the need for good scripts, Gul also stressed the importance of good sound and music which can accompany the visual storytelling of the film. At the same time, he recommended watching a film without the sound, since deciphering the plot without the aid of dialogues and sound is a testament to the quality of the visual storytelling of the film. For those interested in filmmaking, Gul recommended that the time is ripe to produce short films. He suggested that most individuals have cameras accessible to them nowadays, even in their smart phones, so they should observe situations around them, create a story, and then shoot it in the format of a short film. He encouraged individuals to start with a story from home, particularly those surrounding children.
Book cover of Aijaz Gul's 'NoorJehan The Melody Queen'
The link for Aijaz Gul’s The News International articles is as follows: https://www.thenews.com.pk/writer/aijaz-gul The link for his Twitter page is: @aijazzgul1
Quaid-e-Azam's letter in the book
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