Written by: Sania Ahmed Khan
Posted on: May 09, 2019 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Rashid Farooqui as Ghulam Raees and Qazi Wajid as Ahmeddeen
Would you wait years for the perfect cup of chai (tea) with the perfect companion?
Bas Ek Piyali Chai (Just A Cup of Tea) is a short film written and directed by Muhammad Belaal Imran. Starring Qazi Wajid (late) and Rashid Farooqui, the film drew attention from local critics in 2018, and was screened at 6 major South Asian Film Festivals under the banner of Family Films.
The film follows Ghulam Raees’ nostalgic recounting of the conversations he has shared with Ahmeddeen Sahab over an evening cup of tea, which has been a daily affair for the past 13 years. The bond between this ‘maalik and mulazim’ (master and servant) pair withstands the test of time, and the characters remain connected long after Ahmeddeen (Qazi Wajid) parts ways from his beloved wife. While Ghulam Raees (Rashid Farooqui) goes about his business during the day, Ahmeddeen is grief stricken and quarantined in his chair. Perhaps his only motivation to live is the chance to have one last cup of tea with his companion.
The film has been shot in a busy marketplace of Garden East, Karachi, where Ghulam Raees observes shopkeepers and passersby from his misvaak shop, laid out on the floor in the style of a street hawker. He relishes the odd comfort he finds in the monotony of his life. Like Ahmeddeen, perhaps his motivation to live also lies in a cup of tea. However, it is no ordinary cup of tea, for the tea is made from a pint of tea leaves stored in a secret location of the house by Ahmeddeen’s wife before she died.
Director Muhammad Belaal Imran and Producer Ali Sohail Jaura were present at the British Council Library on 4th May, 2019, to discuss the inspiration behind the film, and their excitement in casting a legendary actor for this amateur project.
Belaal based Ahmeddeen’s character on his grandfather, and wrote the script two years prior to filming. Family Films has produced other critically acclaimed films since then, such as ‘Arz-e-Pakistan' (The Land of Pakistan) and ‘Nanu aur Main,’ (Grandpa and Me) but Belaal considers this project closest to his heart, for it reminds him of his grandfather. At the pre-production stage, with their limited experience and resources, the filmmakers had not expected to sign up senior actors for their film, nor had they anticipated its ultimate success.
Belaal recalled meeting Qazi Wajid to discuss the script, and Wajid seemed awestruck by his writing. He was up at 6 am on shoot day, ready to play his part. While the film is dedicated to Belaal’s grandfather, it also pays tribute to Qazi Wajid, since it was one of the last roles of his acting career.
Speaking about the effort that went into production and sound design, Ali Sohail Jaura said that contributions were made by students from Iqra University, Szabist, University of Karachi, Greenwich and PAF Kiet. The colour palette of the film stays true to the colors of tea, and the footage was colour graded by video editors in India. Ali also mentioned that the title was handwritten by the calligrapher Zardari, based in the Pakistan Chowk area of Karachi.
Despite limited resources, the filmmakers managed to put together a visually pleasing masterpiece. Beautiful shots of a busy marketplace are in sync with Ghulam Raees’ narration, which makes his story more engaging. Props, such as old currency notes and traditional crockery, are carefully placed between shots to add a touch of nostalgia, which seems fitting to the plot. There were some aspects of the film and details that could have been improved upon: for instance, why is Ghulam Raees forced to make a living out of selling misvaak if he worked for Ahmeddeen in his youth, and certainly learnt a few tricks of the trade? There were also some continuation errors in filming, for e.g., Raees repeatedly mentions that he visited Ahmeddeen at Maghrib, but the sunlight seeping into Ahmeddeen’s living room suggests that they were meeting at midday.
Nevertheless, Family Films continues to make films that can be viewed and enjoyed by the whole family. Belaal and Ali are keen on making feature films and web series, in order to revive the local film industry. Their films ‘Bas Ek Piyali Chai’ and ‘Nanu Aur Main’ have been released on iflix, and are available to watch for free.
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