Pakistani actor Usman Mukhtar believes that films in Pakistan are getting dumber.
In an interview with Ahmed Sarym he listed this as his reason for pivoting from film to drama.
“I feel like cinema is getting dumber by the day.”
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The Janan breakout star revealed that initially, he had shied away from acting in dramas. Despite his passion and undivided attention for films, ‘at the time there was no concept of films in Pakistan, the cinema was completely finished‘.
Even then, contemporary Pakistani cinema isn’t winning his heart. He says:
“I want to make art films. I don’t hate commercial films but I hate stupid films. And cinema in Pakistan is getting dumber.”
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Usman objects to entertaining hollow screenplays, which he says have become a staple in the biz. Was he taking a jab at current cinematic productions, or is his palate too refined for turning down rom-coms of which there’s no shortage of.
We have seen that certain films with depth and without much of a romantic sub-plot like Laal Kabotaar and Ramchand Pakistani have proven to be a hit with audiences. So perhaps Usman is onto something here.
On Market Demand
Usman Mukhtar’s medium may have changed with market demand. Now he realizes that the drama industry has a bigger market in Pakistan than film.
“I never realized drama as the biggest market in Pakistan if you want to be recognized as an actor.”
Now that he knows the drama scene has more potential, and that you’re never really famous till your known in the drama scene.
“Since my passion was filmmaking, I never thought of doing drama but now I have realized how strong is the television in Pakistan and now I want to do more and more dramas.”
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‘I Want to Make a Film’
The Anaa actor had nothing bad to say about the films he’s worked on in the past. He asserted that Janan and Parchi were good experiences but he wants to make art films.
” I got to make good friends like Hania, Bilal and Armeena, I enjoyed acting and cinematography.”
He’s even willing to take up the filmmaking mantle to create an art film. He just needs the budget for it.
“I am still up for film making but the kind of films we want to make require a lot of budget and unfortunately it’s not happening even though we got scripts and ideas.”
