Pakistani cinema Industry is passing through a tough phase due to a sequence of below par movies released recently. Although our cinema industry is still in the revival phase but even in this situation we expect better quality movies that contain original thoughts with better quality of direction, production and acting. To put our cinema industry on firm footing, we need good quality movies and upcoming movie Chalay Thay Sath consists of all ingredients to pull the cinema industry out of doldrums.
Faras Khalid,Osama Tahir,Mansha Pasha Zhalay Sarhadi, Syra Shehroze and Kent S. Leung
The husband wife duo of Umer Adil and Beenish Umer are the directors and producers of this movie which was produced under the banner of We Think Films in association with Hot Water Bottle Films. While Hot Water bottles existed for nearly a decade and have the experience of producing many corporate documentaries, We Think Films was specially established for the making of Chalay Thay Sath.
In an informal discussion about the movie with the producer Beenish Umer and cast of the film including Zhalay Sarhadi, Mansha Pasha, Osama Tahir and Faris Khalid, I find the whole team upbeat about the box office performance of Chalay Thay Sath.
Talking about her movie, Beenish Umer said that we conceived this idea 10 years ago when we went to Hunza for the shooting of a corporate documentary. We were always on the lookout to make a movie in pictures northern areas of Pakistan and when the opportunity knocked at our doors, we grabbed it with both hands. She was of the view that we selected a new writer Atiya Zaidi for this film because we were looking for someone who can give a fresh look to the story. Atiya as writer was a very good choice. We made lots of drafts and we discussed each and every point time and again and I think our gamble of having a raw writer on board will prove advantageous for this movie.
Kent S. Leung and Syra Shehroze during shooting of Chalay Thay Sath
Expressing about her experience of making Chalay Thay Sath, Beenish said that We started writing on this movie in 2015 and started shooting in 2016. We visited the location on three different occasions to closely observe and analyze our requirement during the shooting. We took our writer and technical team with us on our visit to give them real feel of the venue where we intend to shoot our film. Talking about the challenges, she said that we have a crew of 100 people and managing big crew is difficult in a small place but we able to manage all this because we prepare ourselves adequately. Approximately 90% of the movie shot in outside locations of Hunza. We did 45 days of continuous shooting in Hunza where we at times also faced harsh weather but with all the expected and unforeseen hazards, we were able to complete the shooting on schedule.
Talking about the role of Kent S. Leung, Beenish said that during our various visits of Hunza, we conversed with locals in Hunza, listen to their folk lore. Area has a lot of Chinese influence and considering the Chinese influence in Hunza, we decided to have this character in our movie. Speaking about Kent, she said that he is an extrovert person who is very eager to meet people. While giving credit to Kent for his performance and as the part of the team, he adjusted very well and instantly become an integral member of the Chalay Thay Sath family.
During the discussion Beenish also shed some light on the story of Chalay Thay Sath. Beenish revealed that road trip is only a small part of this movie. The plot of the film has lots of layers and it will captivate the audience for the whole duration. Furthermore she told that she has high expectations from this upcoming flick. Beenish is optimistic that Chalay Thay Sath will leave a significant impact on the audience.
Cast of the movie consists of many dynamic actors and actresses who all are optimistic about the success of Chalay Thay Saath.
Speaking about her role and her experience with Chalay Thay Saath team, Zhalay Sarhadi playing role of Alina in the movie said, “My experience is very positive. I was informed 6 months in advance about my role and was give adequate time for the rehearsals. She said that Everything about the characters was well planned. I am optimistic that Chalay Thay Saath is capable of breaking the sequence of flop movies. Movie will keep viewers engrossed. Its story has sequence and all scenes are of adequate duration. In my view there is nothing negative in this movie. This movie depicts real relations and people can resonate themselves with the situational problems shown in this movie.”
Expressing her views about the lack of audience’s interest towards Lollywood, Zhalay said that item numbers inserted in story damage the momentum. We are not making family films. Our direction towards vulgar jokes and items numbers is pushing families away from cinemas. Everyone enters in film business without realizing that this industry is not just about glamour only but actually it also requires a lot of hardwork and potential to create your niche in showbiz, which is definitely not a piece of cake.
Chalay Thay Saath will be the 2nd film for Faris Khalid. Talking about his role Faris said that his character was well explained. We all worked like a team. Production was well managed and he is hoping people will learn from the director and producer of this movie and follow them. From writer to cast to DOP everyone was very cooperative with him. Moreover during the discussion about his experience of working with the entire cast and crew, Faris told that he always wanted to work on the production side and this movie is an ultimate learning experience him.
Chalay Thay Saath will be Osama Tahir’s debut film. He is from theatre industry. Sharing his experience, he said that this movie will set a benchmark that how movie should be made. He further told that they were allowed to share ideas and this open discussion helped them bring improvement in some scenes of this movie. I came from theatre and in comparison to theatre, film is a totally different medium but I am thankful to all team members who supported me and allowed me to settle down well in this new segment.
Manish Pasha is working for television for the past 4 years. She will be playing the role of Tanya, which has an interesting perspective to it that is rarely seen. Sharing about her experience, she said that I developed good understanding with the whole team. It was wonderful that during the making of this film the entire team was on the same page. Even in TV we often struggle to develop this level of symmetry. I think everyone was taking initiatives on their end with great interest. Team was very professional and he is very fortunate to start off his Lollywood career with this team. Recently we have witnessed a lot of monotony but this film will surely be different and will touch the soul of masses.
Syra Shahroz, Behrooz Subzwari, Shamim Hilaly and Sherbazz Kaleem are also a part of this movie
Music of Chalay Thay Saath was given by Abbas Ali khan. There are total seven songs in this movie, five of which are in background while the remaining two are sung by the singer himself.
Chalay Thay Sath will be released all over Pakistan on April 21, 2017.
This article originally appeared in Daily Times newspaper on April 12, 2017