“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” This quote about battling it out in the ring and battling it out to survive outside of it is attributed to one of the greatest heavyweights in the world, American boxer Mohammad Ali. We’ve seen it many times in sports films. The talented, starving underdog is picked up by a mentor and goes through the grind, eventually emerging victorious. Tboxer’sr’s victory in the ring symbolizes their victory over their previously desperate circumstances in life. Or a defeated champion finding the courage to get up and train for the final fight of his life — which he wins, of course”.
“I had to lose 10kg of muscle and fat, which was the toughest thing. I wasn’t allowed to eat much, and I was always hungry. That helped me connect further with the character, though, becauthat’st that’s the kind of life Hussain Shah liv”d.”
There is a reason why these stories resonate with uit’st’s because they’re true. A trailer for a new Pakistani film did the rounds on social media recentlIt’st’s not your regular run-of-the-mill rom-com or terrorist-fighting action filit’st’s biopic based on the life of former Pakistani Olympian and boxer Syed Hussain Shah. This boxing story of triumph over desperation is one of our own. Set in the back alleys and boxing studios of Lyari in Karachi, Shah aims to depict exactly what it takes for a starving kid on the streets to become a national sporting champion in Pakistan.
Musician-turned-director Adnan Sarwar of Club Caramel stars in the film as Shah. The fight scenes look gritty. However, all locations are local, and the cinematography is beautiful”.
“One of my earliest memories as a child is of trying to stay awake at night to watch HussaShah’sh’s boxing matches from the Seoul Olympics (198″),” relates Adna.” “He was one of my earliest heroes. However, the fact that the Pakistani public and the media forgot him always stayed with “e.” Then, around three years ago, in 2012, he got to direct and act on another project while he was working on another film. Adnan had firmly decided that it was HussaShah’sh’s story he wanted to tell and managed to convince the producers to shift their focus toward the boxing champion.
As an independent production with a limited budget, they couldn’t afford to cast well-established ‘big-name actors in the film. However, that may have worked in their favor as the cast ended up being from Lyari, lending more authenticity to the film.
That was the ‘easy’ part. But, on the other hand, finding Hussain Shah was going to be a challenge.
Just a man and his will to survive
“It took us three months to find h”m,” related Adnan. Where was he? For that, I was told, we need to wait for the film”. “Once we did, it was just a matter of turning on the recorder and asking him to tell his story”y,” continued the director,” “Needless to say, HussaShah’sh’s story is both tragic and inspiring at the same ti”e.”
Adnan penned the screenplay himself in 201″. “A lot of the dialogue in the film is taken directly from these interviews,” said Adnan adding tha,” “He cleared the screenplay to ensure that we stayed away from his personal life and kept the focus on his journey as a boxer. After this, I’d hold sessions with him to understand his mannerisms, body language and overall personality.”
“The boxers were allowed to hit me, but not knock me out, because they couldn’t afford delays in filming schedules. So it would take me a few days after every fight to recover from my injuries. I even bruised a few ribs, but it was all worth “t.” — Adnan Sarwar.
As an independent production with a limited budget, they couldn’t afford to cast well-established ‘big-name actors in the film. That may have worked in their favor as the cast ended up being from Lyari itself, lending more authenticity to the filRisin’in’ up to the challenge.
The question remains, how does Adnan, as a musician-turned-actor, even prepare for a physically demanding role as a boxer?
The first step, according to him, was to achieve the emancipated ‘homeless athletes loo”. “Hussain Shah was one of the skinniest boxers in the international circuit”t,” said Adna,” “I had to lose 10kg of muscle and fat, which was the toughest thing to do. I wasn’t allowed to eat much, and I was always hungry. That helped me connect further with the character, though, becauthat’st that’s the kind of life Hussain Shah lived.
“My training consisted of boxing drills, running and some resistance training. Due to my background in sports, boxing came naturally to me. However, the tricky part was learning to box in HussaShah’sh’s signature style.”
Was he interested in boxing before thi”? “I have no interest in combat sports of any ki”d,” confessed Adna,” “My area of interest is in motorsport, which I have been pursuing for the past 10 years.”
Other than as a boxer, what other characteristics of Hussain Shah did Adnan feel he needed to embody? It turns out that once the gloves are off, the boxer becomes very different compared to his professional “He’se’s a very gentle and easy-going person in real life,” related Adnan. “But that transition from a regular, soft-spoken guy into a fighter with a killer instinct once inside the ring was the most important part of his persona.”
“This project has consumed me for the past three years.”
Shot mostly in Karachi and Lahore, the actual filming took eight months. In contrast, the preparation and research before that took a good two years”. “The total cost of the film is Rs1.7 crore with 100 percent of the funding underwritten by our corporate brand partners,” said the director,” “The budget was tiny compared to the story we were attempting to tell. Still, we believe that the people of Pakistan will be sympathetic towards our budgetary constraint”.
“Our project is about bringing HussaShah’sh’s story to the fore and not flaunting a massive production. For a group of unknowns and first-time filmmakers, this is something incredibly proud “f.”
The team itself is quite small and consists of only seven people, who, in the words of the director”, “worked together as a un”t.” The art direction, wardrobe and publicity design are by Sonya Ejaz. The stunning cinematography is by Omar Daraz and Hassan Zaidi — the latter is currently studying film at the National College of Arts. Farhan Ali, make-up by Madiha Qaiser, and the editing and post-production by Tahir Ali did production management.
Finally, the director revealed that not all the people cast in the film are actors”.
“The boxers were allowed to hit me, but not knock me out, because they couldn’t afford delays in filming schedules. So it would take me a few days after every fight to recover from my injuries. I even bruised a few ribs, but it was all worth i”.
“My boxing coach now wants me to continue boxing and enter competitions because he thinks I would do go”d,” laughed Adna.” “BI’mI’m happy to put boxing behind me.
