Thursday 23 January 2014

Sahir Lodhi’s debut in Film ’Mausam’

Sahir Lodhi a name everyone knows, no matter how likable or dislikable he is amongst the audience, still the guy has a charisma and consider as a talentedentertainer of Pakistan. We have watched his bewilderment on how he melted women’s hearts with his appeal and wit on live television, and even on the radio. This time the super talented Sahir will spread the magic of his personality on silver screen. The talk show host has recently completed scripting his first feature film, titled Mausam, and will be officially launching it by month’s end.

Lodhi has always had a penchant for acting and was offered many film opportunities outside of Lahore, his busy schedule and business commitments always restricted him take up any project. “I always wanted to do films. In fact, television was more or less an accident. Nevertheless, it was a blessing; it came at a time when I became a trendsetter and everybody then followed. Eventually, I got tired of all of that and wanted to do something bigger,” says Lodhi.

For now, Lodhi has taken break from the small screen and is more inclined towards is upcoming movie. He said, “If you do a show for five to six months regularly, who would want to come and watch you in cinemas? So, I wanted to take this break,” says Lodhi, who spends most of his time at the Lahore Hockey Stadium, where he works as the youth ambassador and media organizer for the Punjab Youth Festival.

Interestingly, Sahir Lodhi is not playing the main lead role in film, but also producing it, under his and partner Irfan Rafique’s banner called Red Ocean. Rafique, has already worked closely with the pleasant host, says that Lodhi has a great sense of originality and is business-savvy. Hence, film-making seems rational for him to follow and the novelty of this script was apt.

“We thought the story is very influential and he had been trying to work on the story for 2 to 3 years. When the film concept is discussed with the potential sponsors, even their response was optimistic because they found the subject to be very thought-provoking and innovative,” says Rafique. “That’s why, when we formed the company, we decided to put everything else on the backburner and work on the feature film as our first major production.” Lodhi is very much serious about quality film-making and therefore, he has maintained a balance of experienced and fresh people on his production team.

“This isn’t a run-of-the-mill, typical Lollywood or even Bollywood project. Instead, its aesthetics can be related to Hollywood films because while it is a romantic film, the emotional concept behind it is very different from usual,” asserts Lodhi.

The female lead is still being looked upon, which will likely be chosen from India. However, there have been rumors that they have signed Puja Panchkoty, British Nepalese actress, singer, model and designer with a passion for performing and creativity, currently living in London. The film will go on the floors in the coming few months, while the official press announcement will be made by the end of this month.

Lodhi has high hopes of bringing diversity to film-making, which is now very much prevalent in Pakistani cinema. The film, which is about a father-son relationship will be directed by veteran screenwriter and director Pervaiz Kaleem. The project also includes new talents like fresh art directors from the National College of Arts in Lahore and an undisclosed London-trained film-maker who has the experience of working with Indian directors.

It is apparent that with this film, Lodhi has been able to follow his lifelong dream of entering commercial cinema. “People don’t know this, but even when I was doing television, I was trying really hard to do films, but it just never happened. Now I feel it’s the right time, and hopefully it will pay off,” he says.