Interview with Azfar Ali

By Ahmed Hayat

Give us a background of your journey to the media world. How did you get in
to this field?
Well, I come from a family of artists. Both my mom and dad are painters. Two of
my mom's paternal uncles are also artists. I was brought up in such an
environment. I had no idea what I wanted to do in life till I went to London to
study in 1993, where I chose graphic designing as my future profession. When I
returned home in the summer vacations the following year, I thought Id do an
internship.
However, due to the lack of design houses in Karachi I landed at a television
production company called Combine Productions headed by Mr. Ghanzanfar Ali
(my mentor). There I learnt that I had a flair for moving visuals and I loved the fact
that I would one day see my work on TV. I decided to put my higher education on
hold and worked day and night for Combine. I assisted the directors, camera crew,
served tea to actors etc. After 3 or 4 months, I was promoted to 'segment director'
in which I was to shooting interviews of pop singers for a music show. Soon I was
given my very own program called Video Countdown and I was finally made the
'producer.' After working for 4 years and doing over 100 episodes I went to the
USA to study film. Unfortunately, since it was very expensive, I ended up
completing my BA in advertising. Ive been working freelance since my return.
You had gained a lot of fame with the sitcom "Sub Set Hai"? Tell us
something about that? How did you end up doing such a play?
Sub Set Hai was totally my idea based on the Archie comic book series. I have
said before that nothing was ever copied or extracted from the comic book itself. I
focused on the fact that Pakistani media ignored the youth. There were no
programs that spoke our language or had stories to which we could relate ourselves
to. I never liked that fact that our plays were women-oriented and carried a very
formal tone of dialogue even when two very close friends were communicating. I
broke all rules of script writing and created 4 characters that seemed real. We
decided not to use a written script. We improvised every scene and I knew exactly
how to make it funny, yet realistic, through my direction.

You have tried out many things; acting, play direction & music video
direction; which one do you enjoy doing the most. In your opinion, which field
do you think you fit best in?
My greatest desire is to make my own film. The path leading to my goal is through
plays. I enjoy them the most and I have a good understanding of them. I do music
video direction and acting sometimes just to break the monotony. Plays are about
people and their stories. Through them I get a chance to understand human
behavior, which is a PhD in psychology itself. For me, the idea of recreating reality
is very fascinating. I believe I can do this forever.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

All great people inspire me. I love reading about their lives and understanding their
goals. However, my greatest desire is to see Pakistani art, film and television
progress. I want to create a cool image of Pakistan through my work. I always say:
"People always work for themselves, when they succeed the country progresses,
but I work only for the country's progress and occasionally I get something out of it
too."
How was the experience working with Shahzad Nawaz in Daira?
To be honest I was very disappointed because every frame you see in that film was
created by me. At the end I was stripped of my credit and left to be called just the
Lead Director. Im still trying to figure out what it means.
It is said that Azfar Ali is very "Munn Maujee" in person? Is that true?
I like doing what I believe in, things that I do are unique and they are not
mainstream. I reject all offers that I think are not going to bring about a change in
the market. So Im not Munn Maujee. Im just looking at the bigger picture.
What has been the best move you have ever made in your career?
I guess it was the decision to marry Salma... she has changed my entire life.
Out of all your plays, which one is your favorite?

A short love story I did for Geo called Apple Pie. Its story about a fat girl who
falls in love with an army officer. I like this one because it was cute. It reminded
the audiences of the good old PTV days, when plays used to be sensitive, funny,
practical and artistic.

Your comment, on the current media scene of Pakistan?

We are a fast growing industry, however I dont agree with the direction in which
we are headed. We lack originality, literature, and we have failed to create
'thinkers'. However, all hope isnt lost. There are a few hard workers aiming to do
high-quality work. Some of them are succeeding as well. In my opinion the first
thing we need is a bunch of writers, who 'read' and observe the world around them,
not just Indian and Hollywood films.
Every director has a dream project in mind. Tell us whats yours?
Its a film, its all in my head. I even have a name, but I won't tell you that yet. I
might in a couple of years. It isnt the time for me to make a film yet.

How do you position yourself in the media world in the coming years, as there
is more and more competition coming in everyday?
Well, Salma and I have a company now; its called Kolachi Films. We are trying
to do projects that are solely our ideas and are based on my beliefs; we hope to set
a pattern that many can follow.
Tell us about your upcoming projects?
We are working on 3 projects now, one is a Telefilm on boxing, the second is a
sitcom about two girls who are cousins and the third is a serial about a young man
who moves from Faisalabad to Karachi, trying to strike it rich in this city. This one
is our pet project and I have my fingers crossed for it.
Talking about your love life, you are married to your Sub Set Hai co-star
Salma. Tell us how it happened?
We just met each other! We spoke over the phone for I think 7 hours and at the end,

I proposed. It turns out that our moms were long lost friends. Now here we are
married.

Are you two (Salma & You) going to working together as co-stars in any
coming projects?
Nothing is planned so far as acting together is concerned, but Salma is the CEO of
Kolachi Films and the producer for all our upcoming projects.

Tell us something about your family?

We are a very small family. Theres my sister whos married with 2 kids. My mom
got divorced when I was very young and Ive lived with her ever since. I do meet
my father sometimes though. My Kolachi Team is my family as well. We are 6 in
all.

Your aims & goals in life?

I wish to pay it forward, my experiences have taught me a lot and I want others to
benefit from them. I love to teach others all that I know. My goal is to make a film
and be recognized by it in the years to come.

Anything that you dislike about the current social system? How would you
like to change it?
I dont like the fact that our people are greatly influenced by the Indian media, and
have also started to follow them in many ways. This has made us lose our identity
and our originality. I dont know if one man can change this, but theres no harm in
trying!
Any message to the nation reading your interview?
One should know the difference between talent and desire. There are some
things one can do well and other things one has a desire to do, but cannot
necessarily do well. I always wanted to be a cricketer. I might have become one but
never one as good as Brain Lara!

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