Syed Noor

When one thinks of Pakistani cinema what is the first thing that comes to mind? On a funny note Meera perhaps, but when you seriously think of Pakistani cinema the only person who has tirelessly dedicated his life to local cinema, no matter in what way is none other then Syed Noor. Not very well-known amongst the ABCD classes, Noor is the last enduring iconic director, who at a time of cinematic desolation has carried on churning out hits like Sargam, Choorian and Majajan. He also has seriously hilarious works like Jungle Queen and Woti to his credit. And now, long after the release of Bollywood films has cast a shadow over the faintly flickering star of Lollywood, Noor refuses to take a back seat.

He recently came to Karachi for just one day to attend a session of informal discussion by the name of Reel Talks with film students and graduates organized by SAAMPT (South Asian Academy of Motion Picture Art and Television). The interaction and Syed Noor’s point of view gave a reality check to the upcoming filmmakers about the dynamics of cinema in Pakistan and was accompanied by some honest confessions on his part regarding the impotency of current Lollywood filmmakers and why he predicts that Karachi will eventually become the center of filmmaking.

Instep: What’s your take on the catchphrase ‘Revival of cinema in Pakistan‘? Is it even possible?

Syed Noor: Pakistani cinema has reached the lowest level possible of being bad, trust me it cannot get any worse, and the only way of making it better is by giving it a rebirth. Cinema will resurrect in Pakistan but this time not from Lahore but from Karachi as your city has a history of producing not only educated film makers but great artists. Also, the most important reason for why I predict this is the fact that Karachi has the most number of institutes and academies pertaining to the craft of film making and performing arts. The TV productions that have come out from Karachi are far better than those from elsewhere; the new crop of artists and educated filmmakers are pretty focused. Apart from that corporate financing is easy to get in Karachi and for some odd reason, all the film industries that I have seen around the world exist near water.

Instep: What do you think of the ban on Indian films during Eid and the debacle that cinema owners had to face due to Dabangg not being released on time?

Syed Noor: You should not sob about Dabangg’s failure. I was a part of the group that went to the Cultural Ministry and got Indian films banned on Eid because Indian films never did any good to Pakistani film industry. It is a big hoax that Pakistani films and stars like Nadeem and Waheed Murad had a lot of viewership in India earlier when two Pakistani films were bartered for Indian films. Only Indian films were screened in Pakistan and Pakistani films kept rotting in cans in India. India has always used Pakistan as their business center and never entertained our own films, the same trend will continue in the future.

Instep: Will cinema owners and film makers ever come on the same page in Pakistan?

Syed Noor: It is difficult to achieve a consensus because the interest is not mutual. Cinema owners want to earn money hence they prefer Indian films over Pakistani films, while we filmmakers can never match their standard as we consider a film budget high when it costs a few crores while just the marketing budget of an average Indian film is far greater then this. I think the multiplex culture is the way to go as that is the phenomenon that is catching on all around the world.

Instep: How about adopting the way Irani films are made?
They are simply made, under restrictions yet have international recognition.

Syed Noor: Bottom line:  We are not Iran! We are the ones who have grown up watching Indian films. We want entertainment. The consumer defines what is commercial. I can make a film similar to an Irani film but who will watch it? The number of educated people and educated filmmakers is negligible.

Instep: What do you think of Khuda Kay Liye?

Syed Noor: Khuda Kay Liye is a good film but people went to watch it because it was controversial. Wherever it was released people were eager to know about the controversy hence they made long cues around cinema.

Instep: Why do you use Saima in most of your films?

Syed Noor: On lighter note I’ll get beaten up at home if I don’t do it but seriously she is the most dedicated actress in Lollywood but it depends on the role too. I’ll never cast her in a role of a college going girl because she is not suitable for that.

Instep: What do you think about your own work?

Syed Noor: I am an uneducated man and a pretty bad film maker, those who like my work , like it because I am the only one doing it persistently. But I have no regrets, despite the fact that my own son keeps on questioning me about my films on gujjars and prefers reading Harry Potter instead.

Instep: Like all cinemas in the world, does Pakistani cinema have an identity of its own?

Syed Noor:  Of course! Whether you like it or hate it, gujjars and gandasas are the identity of Pakistani cinema.

Instep: What do you make of it, when bullets deviate from Shaan’s head when he is praying?

Syed Noor: You can believe man turning to metal in Terminator 2 and a person stopping bullets from fingers in Matrix just because it was nicely done and it had a scientific justification. In that case it was Allah’s power that made bullets fly way from Shaan, I have a spiritual justification for that.

Instep: Your take on formal education in film making, how helpful it is?

Instep: The students formally learning the art of film making need to realize what a blessing it is, I worked for 3 years as an assistant where my job was cleaning up stuff and then I became a chief assistant, the educated film makers will not have to go through all that, they should be proud of it. Basic schooling in film making always helps then you need to read and research a lot to broader your vision. But all these film students and graduates should be proud of learning such a craft which is capable of bringing a social change, so all they need to be is patient and be passionate about making films.

Instep: Your upcoming film any other projects in the line?

Syed Noor: My film Price of Honor will be released soon but I am about to start shooting for my new film which is inspired by the life of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani and it will be shot in Karachi. It will be a totally new cast and I would love film graduates and students to assist me. The film revolves around the continuous battle between good and the evil and how falsehood parishes forever. The most interesting thing about the film is a child actor as protagonist.

Instep: Your experience at SAAMPT and film students here?

Syed Noor: I am highly impressed by the amount of effort the faculty has put in and the passion the students have about film making. I would like to come here again and again as these students are the film makers of tomorrow and I promise to donate some of my equipment to SAAMPT and am looking forward to probable collaborations between SAAMPT and my own institute PAPA (Paragon Academy of Performing Arts).We need more institutes like these because the industry needs a number of films and to make a number of films you need a number of film makers, who are trained in such academies – Rafay Mahmood – The News on Sunday

    That the director of Buddha Gujjar hardly innovates is apparent even from the name of the movie. The suffix Gujjar has appeared in about half a dozen movies released during the last 12 months, though only a couple of them have been commercially successful. This is reminiscent of Jatt phenomenon led by Maula Jatt, though Syed Kamal can be given the credit of using the word prior to its release not in one but a series of flicks like Jatt Kurian Toun Darda and Jatt Kamala Gaya Dubai. Filmmakers, inspired by Maula Jatt’s phenomenal success thought the secret lay in the name alone and, therefore, they continued using it until it ran out of steam to be able to ensure box-office viability for loose plots and even looser productions. In Gujjar’s case, the word is yet to run its complete course and Buddha Gujjar is fortunate enough to have used it when it is a bit of a novelty.

    The name of any movie in Pakistan is determined in three ways; by taking a cue from Indian cinema, by plagiarizing on popular TV plays, or, most importantly, by showing in no subtle way as to who has financed the project. When wrestlers from Gujranwala and Lahore’s Walled City are the producers, the names inevitably are Achha Shookarwala, Puttar Shahiyay Da etc; when student leaders are the financiers, films blatantly tout their names as a symbol of success in life and when the money comes from Gujjars like Haji Chaudhry Fakir Muhammad, the films produced are called Humayoon Gujjar, Jeeva Gujjar, Kala Gujjar and of course, Buddha Gujjar. Of late, Arains have taken the cue and expect a spate of movies with titles like Arain Da Kharak to hit the box office in coming months.

    So much for the name, perhaps. In fact, the movie’s importance in Syed Noor’s career lies not in the title but in the subject matter. Among the most successful directors today, he has completed a full circle to reach where he once was as a filmi writer – treading the beaten track as hardly as one could – though his first film as a writer, Society Girl, was no mean achievement.

    Following in the footsteps of film writers of late 1970s and early 1980s who would bank upon unrestrained violence to achieve success, he used to churn out stuff that can easily be labeled as run of the mill. The departure came with his directorial debut in Kasam. His Ghoonghat and Sangam were a breath of fresh air for a cinema splashed all over with bloody, violent colors. From then on he continued experimenting between flicks based on socio-familial and personal themes and in at least one case, tried to put violence in a context by producing Hawain, a movie based on the life of a student leader. In Buddha Gujjar, it seems, unrestrained violence has staged a comeback as far as Syed Noor’s artistic experience is concerned.

    Violence, however, is one thing people no longer bother about in a Lollywood movie. But the bad thing about violence in Buddha Gujjar is the fact that in most part of the movie it appears to be violence for the sake of it. The forces of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are there and they fight many a pitched battle but there emerges during the process someone who believes wholeheartedly in sheer killer instinct to make a name for himself. Fortunately, he is not the protagonist but the hard-skinned, obdurate son of the main character Buddha, a God-fearing, no nonsense, magnanimous Gujjar who till the end believes violence only breeds more violence, though he also believes in avenging himself of any wrong done against him without any help from the enforcers of law.

    Sharif – the son, nicknamed Jagga and played by Shaan, is finally killed in a police encounter but not before killing scores if not hundreds of policemen single-handedly. An ending like this may be an attempt by the director to show that violence without cause always ends in the blind alley of death. Also the fact that Buddha, played by Yousaf Khan, survives after finishing off all his enemies is symbolic of the victory of ‘good’ against ‘evil’.

    Not that the theme is the only stock thing about the movie. Stock scenes, stock situations and stock characters are conspicuous by their sheer and sometimes offensive presence. The skimpily dressed dancer swaying her body amid a crowd of fans, the drunkard, scheming, selfish villain deserting even the closest friend, the local Robin Hood magnanimously doling out loot to the poor and the self-sacrificing plebeians trying to protect their upper class benefactors all have a place, in most cases a prominent one, in Buddha Gujjar as they have had in countless other movies. The court, the courtesan’s salon, the police station and the hospital are also there as they have been in almost all movies since they first appeared on the filmi scene. The most ludicrous thing about the last place is not the amount of violence that takes place there but the ‘instant’ and ‘instinctive’ way in which blood transfusion takes place. The stock situations, inter alia, include a fight over attempts to monopolize the emotions of a courtesan and the defection of someone from the villain’s inner circle of confidantes.

    The saving grace of the movie is its realistic setting and an attempt to keep the wardrobe as wearable as possible, obviously with a couple of exceptions for lead female characters played by Saima and Resham. The music and the lyrics too are apt and evocative, though not memorable.

    The acting mostly is acceptable, if not good. But one man who stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast as far as acting is concerned is Yousaf Khan. In fact, the role of an ageing but graceful man comes to him quite naturally. He does not need to act, rather he opts to under-act here and there. But even this suits him and the character. Shaan strives hard to play the spoilt guy but his attempt to always face the camera with eyes turned upwards sometimes irritates. Nawaz Khan and Arshad Mehmood do well.

    Turning back to the ‘formula’ thing. Once Sultan Rahi and Anjuman were the ‘formula’ couple of Punjabi movies. Now that they are out of the picture, Syed Noors of Pakistani tinsel town have been trying all along to find others who can fit the bill. This will hardly take the local cinema forward. But the Shaans and the Saimas, it seems, have started to adjust themselves to the directors’ design, by playing the same old ball in a not so new way – Aijaz Gul

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2002, Genre – Drama, Country – Pakistan, Language – Punjabi, Producer – N/A, Director – Syed Noor, Music Director – N/A, Cast – Shaan, Nawaz Khan, Saima, Resham, Arshad Mehmood, Yousaf Khan