Zinda Bhaag will translate seamlessly in India

How did the idea to make Zinda Bhaag come about Farjad Nabi Our producer Mazhar Zaidi did a journalistic piece on a boat which had capsized off the Greek coast years ago He went to a village in Gujarat where the dead bodies of the drowned men were returning When he described the scenes to us it impacted us such that we couldnrsquot forget it If you read the news of late you will read a news item about a boat capsizing somewhere off the Italian or Greek coast yet again It is a relentless cycle which does not stop We were interested in the question as to why do men take such high risks for something that may never come about The answers turned out to be many layered Meenu Gaur We had close friends and family who had made similar journeys They had told us stories anecdotes events that stayed in our head We began to write this script and somewhere in the writing process our motivations grew we also wanted to tell a quintessentially lsquoLahorirsquo story While Zinda Bhaag does have illegal immigration as a theme it is essentially an everyday sort of story from Lahore What were some of the initial challenges before you could set the ball rolling Farjad Nabi In Pakistan the film industry is in a rebuilding stage after a long period of hibernation Therefore we had to not only plan for the film but also build some sort of an infrastructure as well For example our art department was entirely made up of students some of whom hadnrsquot even graduated Poster of the film Meenu Gaur So when Zinda Bhaag won Best Film at the MosaicMisaff Festival in Canada we were very proud that the jury had mentioned Art Design as one of our strongest factors That spirit and dedication of our crew mostly on their first feature including us has been the touchstone for Zinda Bhaag Tell us about the filmrsquos cast who were mainly nonactors How did Naseeruddin Shah come on board Farjad Nabi We had written an intimate script where one would feel as if they are inside peoplesrsquo homes listening to their conversations We were also shooting on location from where the stories had emerged So in extension we wanted lsquorealrsquo actors to do the roles The audition process was huge from which we shortlisted our three boys The actors are playing themselves which lends the film its spontaneity Even minor characters emerged from our auditions Naseeruddin Shah plays Puhlwan a Lahori goon Meenu Gaur The character of Puhlwan is a largerthanlife character We wanted somebody who would immediately grab the attention of the audiences We were big fans of Naseeruddin Shah and therefore thought of him We didnrsquot know him and neither did anybody we knew know him So we sent him our script and he really liked it I canrsquot get over the fact that Naseer saab read a script that arrived at his door without any references or recommendations He judged the script purely on its potential Also for an actor of his stature who has lsquodone this seen thatrsquo to agree to learn a new language for a role in a film by firsttime filmmakers is indicatve of his passion and commitment to his art On our request he came to Lahore to conduct a tenday acting workshop for our main leads as all of them were nonactors It was a solid workshop for all mdash including our writers and directors Could you give us a brief background of the filmrsquos soundtrack and how important it is to the film Meenu Gaur Farjad and I are big fans of our 1960s70s films and the music of our film both in terms of content and form is inspired from there So our entire music is recorded with live acoustics Itrsquos how music was recorded before the present era of softwaregenerated instrumentals Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi have collaborated on many projects including short films documentaries and written pieces Currently they are working on documentaries on Lollywood and Karachi The duo also have their next feature script ready Farjad Nabi As filmmakers we wanted the story to determine the use of music Zinda Bhaag explores lsquoLahorirsquo popular culture so we knew that it had to have great music Also Lahore has produced great musicians in last many decades so wanted its music to be one of its strongest elements The talented Sahir Ali Bagga is the music director The film has seven songs sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Arif Lohar AbrarulHaq Amanat Ali Jabar Abbas Iqra Saleema and Sahir Ali Bagga himself The music is available in India recently I had called someone in India and from the other end I heard the Arif Lohar song from our film playing When you began making Zinda Bhaag did you imagine it would go this far What are you and the team doing to ensure it gets its due globally Meenu Gaur Itrsquos great to have made the long list of the Oscars The news has generated an interest in cinema in Pakistan Farjad Nabi We released commercially in Pakistan and the US and will be followed soon by Canada A big release across the UAE and the rest of Middle East is up next The film will translate spontaneously and seamlessly in India Wersquove heard about the lobbying that one has to do for nominations and that we need to get a publicist in the US Ours is a small independent film and so taking that route isnrsquot possibile but even without any publicist our film has generated great buzz in the US media Cinematographer Satya Rai Nagpaul sound designer Vipin Bhatti mdash both from Mumbai with producer Mazhar Zaidi on the filmrsquos sets Amna Ilyas as Rubina in the film Will the movie be released in India and at film festivals Farjad Nabi The film will be screened at the Kolkata and Kerala Film Festivals In between it will be at the Goa Film Bazaar as part of the Film Bazaar Recommends in the Viewing Room Most Bollywood films are released simultaneously in Pakistan so now our films should also be released in India Farjad Nabi The film is without the terrible stereotypes that the media propagates It would be a window to life in Lahore so it would be a fun experience for audiences here The road to the Oscars The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee selected Zinda Bhaag as the first Pakistani film in over fifty years to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category at the 86th Academy Awards Four films were submitted for consideration Chambeli Josh and Lamha English title Seedlings apart from Zinda Bhaag The film is directed and written by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi and is produced by Mazhar Zaidi The cast includes Naseeruddin Shah Amna Ilyas and Khurram Patras in leading roles It recently won four major awards at the Mosaic mdash The South Asian Heritage Festival of Mississauga including Best Pictureu00a0