Shamyl Khan

Lollywood is a rough place to be in, especially if you are looking for a quick break. But once every while one comes across a success story that defies the rules of the film industry. Actor Shamyl Khan is one such example. It’s almost unheard of for a newcomer to make the kind of impression he did in Larki Punjaban in Britain where it has been released. But the actor has discovered that not all is as it seems in the land of make-believe.

Having a Turkish mother and a father who claims Central Asian descent, his personality seems to be a confluence of both. It was surprising to learn that Shamyl’s family didn’t object when he decided to try his luck in acting, leaving behind a steady job in an oil company. Perhaps realizing that showbiz might not be the bedrock to base his future on, Shamyl is considering pursuing an MBA or law degree now. Still, he is making the most of his gains in showbiz.

“My father is a friend of Syed Noor’s. I wanted to establish myself as an actor of substance, different from the usual kind. He advised me to first learn the basic techniques – everything from production to editing. Soon I found myself working with the director,” Shamyl says explaining his entrance into this field.

His actual journey began when he started assisting Syed Noor in his projects, which included Sapnay apnay apnay, Daku, Chorian tay hatkarian and Mehndi walay hath. This has turned out to be an invaluable experience for Shamyl as he now realizes what it means to look through the director’s eyes, understanding what directors expect from artists.
“Working with a director like Syed Noor was a blessing in disguise for me. It helped me to see that working on TV is completely different from working in films. Both have a totally different environment,” says Shamyl. He has also been lucky with his foray into television as he clinched a role in late Mohsin Ali and Haseena Moin’s serial Eik naiy mor per.

“My experience on television has helped me a lot in my acting career. Since we don’t have institutions that can groom aspiring actors, practical experience in the field is the only possible way we can polish and hone our skills.”

Considering the crisis that the Pakistani film industry is currently going through, Shamyl must be aware that the stakes are high and that Larki Punjaban will have to surmount quite a few obstacles to strike a chord with the masses, when it is released here in Pakistan in mid-September.

“I know that the expectations are very high. But believe me, I have delivered the best as far as my personal efforts are concerned. I have done some very difficult scenes where I could have used a stunt double. The whole team has strived to present a solid product. I believe it won’t be another Lollywood formula film where a comedy picture scares the audience more than it makes them laugh,” Shamyl Khan remarks, tongue firmly in cheek.

Though often newcomers in the field take whatever offer they can get, Shamyl seems to be a bit more selective when considering projects.

“My priorities haven’t changed. I’m available for all those roles that have substance, something that meets the basic level of quality. I’m not here to do more of the formula fare that has ruined our industry.”

He feels that as a person, he is simple, yet difficult at the same time. Difficult in the sense that “when I am determined to do something, I become very rigid and rarely go back on my decisions.” How, then, has he adjusted himself to the unprofessional attitude that reigns supreme in Lollywood?

“If you appear to be flexible in this industry, then people will begin dictating to you. Once you start compromising, that is the beginning of the end because if one compromises, then one is forced to do things that may go against one’s conscience. That’s something I feel a good artist should always refrain from,” he says.

How much has fame affected his personality?

“I haven’t changed and my feet are firmly fixed on the ground. I’m an artist and my job is to entertain people. My fans are very important to me. Their feelings matter to me a lot. I sometimes ponder what they expect from us entertainers. The truth is, most fans just want an autograph or to be snapped with us. That is it. So I feel it is an entertainer’s responsibility to be humble and deal politely with fans,” he says emphasizing the point.

Shamyl thinks the best work he has done so far is the Ishq music video, which was directed by Shoaib Mansoor and featured Baba Bullay Shah’s mystical Sufi poetry.

“That was a spiritual experience for me. It was something extraordinary and I’m really thankful to Shoaib Mansoor for considering me suitable for the project. He is without a doubt an extremely talented person and whatever he does, he does well.”

What does the budding actor think is the best way to reverse the negative trend that has gripped the local film industry?

“We artists are also responsible for the decline of our films. If artists refused to work in movies they felt didn’t offer anything sensible, then the situation would be different. In a small industry like ours where only four or five leading artists feature prominently, if these actors turn down substandard movies, then that will definitely make an impact. The same policy should be adopted by leading directors,” he opines.

Shamyl Khan sets himself apart from the other starry-eyed hopefuls swarming the Lollywood corridors by dedicating himself to his art and checking all other peripherals at the gate.

“I’m more interested in my work. I’m a workaholic. I feel I have miles to go before I can relax and feel satisfied,” he says contemplating the future. With good looks and a positive attitude being his strong points, if Shamyl sticks to his current rules of engagement, we might just see a new star rising on the glum local showbiz horizon.

Shaan in Hum Aik Hain

Syed Noor began making 786 almost two years back. This film was completed earlier this year and the title was changed to Hum Aik Hain, as the Censor Board Members did not approve of 786.

Syed Noor has often claimed in recent months that this film is his effort for promoting sectarian harmony, unity and peace. He wants religious understanding among different sects of the society. Such a claim coming from a film director certainly was heartening. Film, after all, is a medium for mass consumption. Today with Cable TV, Video, CD and DVD, only a small segment is going to the cinemas but that segment is crucial part of the society: male, single, urban, lower-middle-class and largely illiterate. And when it comes to religious harmony and sectarian peace, this segment of the society needs the message – loud and clear.

True to his claim in letter and spirit, Hum Aik Hain begins with an Azan showing Badshahi Mosque and other parts of Lahore with rather badly photographed (and badly lit) clips. The titles end on Shan (Mustafa) who is the muezzin. He is educated, wears jeans and is looking for a job. But the job does not come even after repeated appointments. The academic degrees are not even worth good enough to be sold as waste paper. Trash must go to trash and the degrees are burnt alive in a rage of disappointment and frustration. There seems to be plenty of fire around at nights around Lahore with flames burning inside large empty drums (read ‘a heavy symbolism of hero’s agony’).

And yes, Shan has an ultra-religious mother Naghma who looks like a nun in white She helps children with Quran lessons and baptizes babies by marking 786 on their foreheads (it is supposed to me good omen). Naghma was never a good actress and now her haggard looks and somewhat forced Urdu accent, does not make things any easier for her and the audiences. Coming back to fire in the streets, Shan watches a Maulana being gunned down in cold blood. He is a witness and must suffer at the hands of the police and the establishment.

Shan later joins Nisar Qadri’s gang, delivering bags (containing bombs) from one place of the town to other and is instrumental in inadvertently killing his mother who happens to be traveling in one such bus to be blown up on Nisar Qadri’s command. Incidentally Shan is strictly not allowed to see inside the bag and find out what deadly explosives he has been carrying and delivering. Now it is time for Shan to change his loyalties and he does that pretty fast.

He builds up a gang of his own the members of which wear red bandanas with 786 emblazoned on them. The villains must be paid in their own currency and the scores are settled on the occasion of Ashura when crowds are purifying their sins from events of Karbala. A van carrying explosives by Haider Sultan is averted minutes before but blood baths are choreographed simultaneously in the nearby deserted streets. The man behind these deadly schemes, Nisar Qadri, is actually butchered in his decorative temple, right across the street from Badshahi Mosque – now you know the significance of terrorists hitting religious monuments. In fact, Nisar Qadri’s neat little temple with badly sculptures statues is shown numerous times with minaret of Badshahi Mosque visible right across the frame. One could call that pretentious framing and composition.

Hum Aik Hain also takes on many other sub-plots. Shamyl Khan is a diehard young man from the Shiite community and a friend of Shan’s. Together they must go through the physical torture but must fight the evil and make this world a better place to live (and die). And then there are drugs and junkies suddenly make an appearance. If that is not enough, Shan must also go through the exotic experience and feel the ecstasy. Hum Aik Hain in spite of cheap and low-grade comic relief by a bhands and mirasis is dry film. Saima and new face Gull (Rozina’s daughter) appear in extended extra roles and their brief appearance does not have anything to do with the story.

Shan works remarkably well. He was made for this character, which he has been playing in abundance since 1995 so successfully and shamelessly. Shamyl Khan appears in a brief yet strong role with a little bit of romance and a couple of songs. He is a man with strong convictions but he is torn between his conviction, friendship to Sunni friend Shan and the murder of the Maulana in the Imam Bara. Gul is a rich lady who donates generously to Imam Baras and meets Shamyl Khan and falls for him instantly (this is where we must suspend our disbelief). Saima is a mirasan who meets Shan in the hospital. She looks good and we can watch her in almost over a dozen wardrobes in just a single song. The song in question is apparently supposed to add to the production effects of the film but with a flat, one-dimensional set, it just doesn’t.

In a world where you are watching the best and the latest from both Hollywood and Bollywood right in your living room, filmmakers have to be intelligent and visually alert to make films with substance, meaning, powerful characters and slick production, all the while remaining within a modest budget. And then you have to know what kind of a film you are making. In Hum Aik Hain, Syed Noor should not have mixed religion with drugs, seductive dances, musical melodrama in the hospitals and love spots. There are more sober ways and means of providing relief other than introducing superfluous characters and ludicrous situations. Technically, Ali Jan as cameraman and Z.A. Zulfi as editor have done well but the film’s length could have been reduced to give a fast pace to the lingering scene after scene. M. Arshad as composer has ripped off many tunes. One song filmed on Shamyl and Gul is straight out of Bandish (1980) which was a beautiful composition by Robin Ghosh, rendered then by Mehdi Hasan and Mehnaz.

Syed Noor here is almost remaking his earlier film Angarey, a totally plagiarized version of an Indian film. In Angarey, Shan is a lawyer who must fight the villains and eventually hang the culprit. True, he has brought in Sunni-Shia element, but he has shown his bias by showing Hindus as the real culprits behind the sectarian split in our society. Noor goes on to the extent of involving RAW in the plot, which he shows in reverse as WAR and makes sure than Shan comes out with this explanation loud and clear. The claim that India has had its share of anti-Pakistani films does not hold true at all.

Films like Moosa Khan and now Hum Aik Hain are not showing Indians but Hindus as sources of all evil. Indian filmmakers have never done that. They may have had their share of Border, Khakee, Refugee, Maa Tujhey Salaam, LoC: Kargil and Sarfarosh, but while these films can be anti-Pakistan, they are never anti-Muslim. The Muslim characters may be cardboard figures but they are never really shown in a hideously negative role. Syed Noor as a writer and director must realize that the film medium is not there to degrade minorities and involve them in hateful crimes. That itself is religious bigotry, something Syed Noor is supposed to be fighting against – Aijaz Gul

Cast and Production Credits

Year - 2004, Genre – Drama, Country - Pakistan, Language - Urdu, Producer - N/A, Director - Syed Noor, Music Director – M. Arshad, Cast – Shaan, Shamyl Khan, Saima, Haider Sultan, and Introducing Gul (Rozina’s Daughter)