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    Brass Tacks with 'Jami' Mahmood Raza

    Written by: Aiza Azam
    Posted on: June 22, 2016 |

    Jami Mahmood (photo: dawn.com)

    Jamshed Mahmood Raza is a man of quiet creativity. Conversation with him reveals a passion for quality work, sensitivity to the plight of victims of injustice, and a belief that only a female can ensure salvation.

    Known as the talented music video director Jami, he brought groundbreaking work like Pal do Pal by Najam Shiraz, Duur, Dhaani and Anjaane by Strings, Iss Bar Milo by Hadiqa Kiani, and Bum Phatta by Ali Azmat, that were creative and broke the traditional mold. When buzz began to spread about his film Moor, his debut directorial venture on the big screen, expectations soared, and were fully met. Seeking insight into the experiences that shaped this talented director, we discover what feeds his natural talent.

    A young teenager in the pre Zia era, Jami struggled with school in an extended family of academic achievers. He describes that period as “dark, depressing, days”. His parents had separated at that time, and would reunite twenty years later. The children lived with their father.

    Pakistani Film Director Jami's Interview

    Jami with his mother, Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari

    Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari, Jami’s mother and a huge influence in his life, is a distinguished activist. Having worked on such projects as the groundbreaking Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi with Akhtar Hameed Khan, she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime’s worth of achievements. Her social activism, by her own admission, is rooted in the example set by her parents, who left property in India during Partition to live in a refugee camp in Pakistan, later named Shah Faisal Colony. They instilled in their children the virtue of merit and hard work rather than relying on the crutches of birth and connections. After the loss of East Pakistan, they hosted a family of refugees in their home for well over a decade. When given the ultimatum to choose between her family and work, she made the ultimate sacrifice for a woman, and opted to focus on her work for community development.

    Jami left for the States at the age of sixteen and enrolled at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, which boasts such notable alumni as director Robert Nakamura, and photographer and visual anthropologist Penny Wolin. Zia ul Haq was in power, and Jami has a vivid recollection of the pervasive suffocating atmosphere. While he had difficulties adjusting to life in Pasadena, the school was a fulfilling experience. A film buff, he had grown up with such classics as Star Wars, The Godfather, Ben Hur, Blade Runner, and even the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay. He expresses appreciation for the era of art films epitomized by the Indian actress Shabana Azmi, and opined that Indian cinema gave life to the local film industry.

    During his four years at the film school, Jami did a six-month internship at Spectrum, an advertising agency back home where he first met Bilal Maqsood of Strings. Jami came home after graduating in 1997, to a cinema and a music industry that was on life support. His first video, the thematically and visually provocative Pal Do Pal, caused quite a stir; and his subsequent work with Strings in the early 2000s made him an overnight sensation. Jami and his team were using equipment and techniques that were a decade ahead of contemporary local work. The “dark and abstract themes” he brought to life on camera, struck a chord with viewers craving originality.    

    His work was also gaining recognition across the border in India. Jami met his wife, an Indian producer, on an ICQ chat forum for filmmakers in the late 90s. Unable to get a visa for each other’s countries, their first rendezvous was in Khatmandu, and marriage followed in 2001. She heads Azad Films, the production house they established in Karachi. Its component for equipment rental has directly impacted much of the local film industry over the last decade.

    Pakistani Film Director Jami's Interview

    Hadiqa Kiyani's 'Iss Baar Milo'

    Interspersed with music videos was Jami’s work on commercials, to do which he had to overcome his aversion, as it was necessitated by financial needs. He agreed to some selective projects, and the Jami treatment worked magic.

    Jami’s respect for golden era cinema, combined with the training he received at film school, defines his approach to work. He laments that, barring a few exceptions, much of the work coming out of Pakistan today consists of unstructured Bollywood kitsch, and rails against crude product placement in recent Lollywood fare. Recognizing the need for generating funds in an industry where half of the film’s returns go to cinemas, 25% of the remainder to distribution, and where most films barely break even, he argues that branding of products must be done with some level of sophistication. He declares vehemently, “I’m not going to feature an item song in my film with a half-naked girl singing ‘I’m a tandoori chicken, come eat me!’”

    Work on Moor took a few years. “Initially, all I had was a simple story about an old man. But my wife told me it needed an angle to make it relatable to audiences, and suggested I look into the plight of our railway system.” Jami undertook a train journey from Quetta to Karachi and observed firsthand the blatant corruption that had destroyed a once thriving infrastructure. He also talked to former station masters and met families devastated by the decline of railways in the country.

    “That’s why we named it ‘Moor’ [the word means ‘mother’]. It’s about the motherland. But more specifically, it’s about redemption, salvation that only a woman can bring about. That’s how I created the character of Palwasha, who refuses to give in to corruption because she wants to protect her children from going down the same path.” Jami’s connection to Baluchistan comes from his mother who has worked there for more than 20 years. He compares his own childhood experience to the circumstances of Ehsaan, Palwasha’s son, and the sense of loss and lack of direction he faced with her absence.   

    Pakistani Film Director Jami's Interview

    Samiya Mumtaz as 'Palwasha' in Moor

    Moor emphasizes the stark beauty of Baluchistan, with panoramic views of snow-covered mountains, in sharp contrast to the deliberately cold portrayal of Karachi. “We wanted to highlight the stunning landscape of Baluchistan so people would realize the beauty of a region they have exploited and victimized without conscience.” He cites David Lean’s films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Dr Zhivago as a source of inspiration, and Moor has similar spectacular cinematography.

    The film, arguably Jami’s biggest success to date, did superbly well with critics. While the non linear narrative was not to the taste of some audiences, it was hailed as a film worthy of an Oscar nomination. After its release, Jami took the film to Baluchistan, armed with a projector and a length of cloth, and screened Moor in Quetta, Muslim Bagh, Loralai and Pishin; the public’s response was enthusiastic. A few months after the film’s release, Jami discovered that the Minister for Railways, Khwaja Saad Rafique, had ordered reconstruction of the rail tracks, beginning with the specific route highlighted in Moor. While modest about claiming that his film may have directly impacted policy, he is proud of the debate and awareness it has generated.  

    021 was another one of Jami’s successes. Produced by Azad Film, it was initially directed by Summer Nicks, but when Nicks was deported during filming, Jami took over its direction and re-shot most of the film. He amplified the role of Ayub Khoso’s character, brought in some of Quetta’s most talented TV actors, including Hameed Shaikh and Abdullah Ghaznavi, and shot footage in Afghanistan. According to Jami, the result was a spy thriller along the lines of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. “It actually became authentic, addressing real issues and politics, and was no longer a mindless action flick.”

    Pakistani Film Director Jami's Interview

    Ayub Khoso as 'Abdullah' in 021

    This film ran into complications when its local distributor bought, and released on the same day, a much-anticipated Indian film, cutting down 021’s opening weekend. A major point of concern that Jami identifies within the industry is that, “Non commercial films like Moor and 021 don’t get a fair shake because cinema houses slot screenings for the slowest times of the day or week for them. No one will show up at 11 am or 3 pm on a weekday to watch your film.” He describes film making here as a brutal business, where the guts to dream usually die in the face of financial and marketing obstacles.

    Jami does not believe there has been an actual revival of the film industry in creative terms. “Because most filmmakers, by design or default, choose to work with scripts that guarantee box office sales, I’d say we are only reproducing an old – Bollywood – system. What we need is an art movement, a wave of original cinema, to be able to claim a renaissance.” He is fulsome in his praise of films such as Manto and Zinda Bhaag (the latter having been associate produced by Azad Film), and also for Shah, a brilliant but severely underrated biopic about a Lyari boxer.

    He is excited about two projects that are in the offing: an action film in the Deadpool genre that he calls Aisi Ki Taisi for now; while the other one is about the sexual exploitation of a young girl, and that’s as far as he is willing to reveal.

    Before closing, we ask if there are any particular directors who have inspired his own work. He quickly reels off a list of names that includes Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa, Ramesh Sippy, David Fincher, Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze. But it is Terry Gilliam whose work he most identifies with. “If I can be like that, if I can really experiment with cinema and survive, then that would be an interesting career.”


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021