Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat talks about rendering Urdu novelist Hyder’s short story for web series
Sarmad Khoosat
After the encouraging response to his film 'Zindagi Tamasha' (2019), acclaimed Pakistani director-actor Sarmad Khoosat has returned to helm and front an episode of Yaar Julahay. The second episode will have Khoosat showcasing Sahitya Akademi, Jnanpith and Padma Bhushan awardee Qurratulain Hyder’s classic short story, Nazzarah Darmyan Hai. The first episode, also directed by Khoosat, featured Mahira Khan as she did a dramatic reading of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s classic, Guriya.
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Nazzarah Darmyan Hai is a short story about Khurshid Aalam, a talented violinist who ditches his Parsi fiancée Peroja Dastur, a classical pianist, for a rich woman, Almas Begum. Hyder has woven together class differences, societal norms, economic needs and unwanted compromises that force lovers to part ways in this story. “The story conveys a lifetime of longing, and is an ode to love and loss,” says Khoosat of the episode that will stream this week on Zee Theatre.
“The story has an expansive plot, drama, a flash-forward, a flashback, many characters and a scale that is almost epic. The team and I have tried to do justice to this love story where the writing brings the era alive.”
In order to reflect the narrative’s period, an opulent set of a Parsi home was created, complete with a grand piano that had to be carted from Islamabad to Lahore. Styled to perfection to resemble someone who has an impeccable fashionable sense, Khoosat recalls, “During the shoot, I had to ensure that beneath the layers of my elegant clothing, my mic caught my voice and narration perfectly.” He further adds how the narration, immersed in music, helped him express the right emotions. “I got the opportunity to dance to a Beatles song, to sing Harry Bellafonte’s Jamaica Farewell, and even rendered Baba Farid’s immortal words, Kaga sab tan khaaiyo chun chun khaiyo maas.”
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