Filmmaker Jamshed Mehmood aka Jami’s film Moor has proved to be a source of pride for the country. Not only is it being lauded at various film festivals world over but it is also Pakistan’s official entry for the upcoming Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter has in fact endorsed that Moor be nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. At the film’s recent outing to the International Film Festival of Kerala, where it received mixed reviews from critics and Indian audiences, Jami spoke to the Indian press about now being the right time for independent filmmaking and how films need to be more than just entertaining.
“Film is not just a medium of entertainment. It is not for a picnic we go to theatres. Instead, it should make people think and bring about change,” Jami asserted, adding that after seeing the state of affairs in the Zhob Valley he wondered how things would have been different had women replaced the men in authority.
Jami also spoke on Bollywood’s impact on Pakistani cinema and that item songs have been a negative influence, echoing the thoughts of many in the local film industry. “Renaissance of Pakistani films happened out of a lifeline from Bollywood. Now, we have films of our own. But the presence of many item songs marks the negative impact of Bollywood,” he said.
Moor is set against the backdrop of the visually stunning Balochistan with its premise revolving around the decline of railways in the province and one’s love for the motherland.
Courtesy: NewsBytes (The News)
