With Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (JPNA) on the cusp of release, Humayun Saeed is returning to the big screen with a bigger cast and seemingly bigger thrills. The actor/producer spoke to BBC Urdu, giving us more insight into what makes the actor/filmmaker who he is.
Sharing that he enjoys all genres as a filmmaker, Humayun reveals that JPNA is about stepping out of their comfort zones.
“We should attempt fun movies as such and not be daunted by Bolly movies’ bigger budgets. It’s okay if we have smaller budgets, but we should at least try! I, too, like masala flicks, the thumkas! The hype has been great, so I’m hoping people will enjoy watching us have a ball.”
He added: “One thing we can take away from Bollywood is that they don’t release blockbusters simultaneously. If Shahrukh’s movie is coming out, then Aamir’s doesn’t; they try not to clash. It would have damaged our box office collections if Ho Man Jahaan hadn’t been postponed. Asim [Ho Man Jahaan’s director] showcased great maturity in his decision to push back the release.”
No entertaining masala flick is complete without dancing.
He says: “We’re all dancing in the movie — Hamza, Vasay, Ahmed Ali Butt, all of us! We were all trying to palm off our dancing shots onto one another. The choreographer was surprised; coming from India, she was like that over there; people don’t want to give up their screen time, especially not when they’re dancing, and here we were!”
It’s no secret that Hamza is not a fan of item numbers. And while the cast of JPNA has been promoting the movie in full swing, Hamza has been missing in action as he declared he feels like a hypocrite for having been a part of the songs in it.
“Hamza is going through an evolution. When I first met him, he was very different. At one point, he wanted to do an item number for Kambakht! Then, he started going to all these dharnas, getting involved with PTI, and I started to feel he’s changing because he will feel judged for his work as an actor,” reveals Saeed.
“He also did want to back out of the movie at the last minute, but because he had committed to it, he went through with it hesitantly. I respected his wishes as much as possible, and I think we’ve managed to stay professional about it!”
The ensemble cast of JPNA includes Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ahmed Butt, Vasay Chaudhry, Mehwish Hayat, Sarwat Gillani, Sohai Ali Abro, Ayesha Khan and Saeed, among others. It is slated for an Eid ul Azha release.
Also read: Not baechari: How Humaima’s role in DMPS is a breakthrough for Pak cinema.
. BBC Urdu interviewed the actor/producer to learn more about him.){kind=link}