A few examples are attached. Still debating with Ali between the two posters (simple sucide vs complex train tracks). one thing is clear we need KALA PUL in romanized script so that non Urdu speakers can read and remember to google/ask it on the Internet.
Note: Lots of debate on the use of Zair, Zabar, Pesh since it is not used in written Urdu. But I feel it gives the script a more flowery feel and as Oscar Wilde said, "All Art is useless."
KALA PUL - THE BLACK BRIDGE, director Saqib Mausoof’s debut feature film, is an exploration of family, regional politics, revenge, and the conflicts inherent in trying to escape one’s past. It uses the thriller genre as the driving force to provide insight on ; a forgotten megalopolis of fifteen million people in , a front line state in the War Against Terror.
It unites Mausoof with Salim Iqbal, a veteran Pakistani actor who has been given a newopportunity to probe both the underworld vibes of Karachi and the evolving role of a masculine code of honor called jawanmardi, a set of rules followed by the Muslim gentry; similar to Bushido in Japan.
Saqib Mausoof:” These days the only time we hear of Muslims is in reference to suicide bombers
KALA PUL is not for the faint hearted. It molds its concerns around universal social factions found in any harsh city and brings together characters operating on the fringes of society, whose obsessions provide fascinating looks into the darker, compulsive side of human nature and its effect on militancy, extremisms and greed. The title derives from a bridge in which connects the affluent parts of the city to the lower income areas. The protagonist grew up under the shadows of the bridge caught between the haves and have-nots – a world of MTV inspired ‘burgers’ (westernized youth)
With the success of the adapted stage play in San Francisco, which was reviewed in Dawn, Pakistan’s largest circulating English Daily, as “Mausoof has taken a different route with KALA PUL, producing results not unlike Satyajit Ray’s Distant Thunder, and exposing the impact of 911 in Pakistan”, Saqib founded Black Crow Productions with Muder Kothari, a successful silicon valley based VC and embarked on shooting the movie in Karachi.
Mausoof is particularly drawn to a political thriller style. “I have used the basic revenge plot to expose excessively
Also starring Angeline Malik, Ayesha Toor, Ashok Malani and Munawar Saeed, KALA PUL is based on an original screenplay by writer Saqib Mausoof is produced by Muder Kothari. Ali Mumtaz, Nauman Sheikh, Kiran Bukhari, Miraj-ul-Haq are featured in supporting roles.
After nearly thirty days of ending shooting, I finally see the footage after digitizing the Digibeta tapes. The cinematography is good, I pat myself on the back for selecting Markus. The old adage, you get what you pay for . . . still it would have been nice to an FX person on board. Still I am pleased overall and starting syncing audio and editing.
Last day of the shoot was on the other side of the bridge in North Nazimabad. We were planning on shooting three scenes but completed only two as we ran out of time and film stock. In the middle of the shoot we switched from day to tungsten film stock and used the appropriate gels to match the light. The HMI’s worked overtime to keep the day light consistent. We ended up using 2 each of 4k, 2k, 1.2, .6k's as well as kenoflows. Munawar Sahab was good with his delivery, but Salim acted way too cordially towards Munawar Sahab respecting him as a senior artist. I told him that his respect should be off camera, on camera his character is a selfish and arrogant man. The younger brother played by Miraj, was on the spot with the intense look. The scene has some powerful banter and I was happy with it, but there were minor upheavals when the spot boys were lazing around and the PM(that would be my brother) had to threaten to throw them off set.
On the ride back, I chatted with our driver, Mr. Yousuf. He told me that he was at one time crowned Mr. Sindh and had trained with Syed Hussein Shah, Pakistan’s only Olympic medal winner in boxing. Both of these gentleman were Sidis or Makranis (Pakistanis of African ancestry). I had noticed Yousuf smoking his special cigarettes throughout the shoot, and this time, relieved from my duties asked him to share one. After a few puffs, I asked him why he had given up on boxing to take up chain smoking. “I have six children, now my only relief is smoke” He replied with a smile. I told him that he should have been the real hero for Kala Pul.
That night I stopped at my grand father’s house to see him. It was on my to do list. Nana Abu, is a shell of this former self, suffering from late stage Alzheimer. He was alone in his room, being looked after by an attendant who was trying to take him to the toilet, Nana Abu moaned like a wounded animal. In the next room my cousins, his grandsons, played XBox. I had played cricket with him, and at one time worked for him. I will always remember Ozair Mirza as a handsome well-dressed man who told fantastical stories of Jinns, fairies and the land of kohkaf, all the time slicing melons and mango's for his many grand children. Today he failed to recognize me, but he reminded me of Jan Decleir as the lead in the Belgian film Memory of a Killer, about an assassin who is suffering from Alzheimer. It was altogether a bit disturbing and unnerving.
I woke up feeling better from my bout with food poisoning. The first shoot depicted a religious seminary or a Madarsa. We had selected an abandoned school and the art department set to work to give the crumbling class rooms the rustic look of a militant hideout and four boys kids with skull caps and qaidas were set up on the floor on low benches. My costume and turban were ready as was the black goat, that was supposed to be slaughtered by my character,
We started rolling with the Suzuki entering scene, a mock up of my character slaughtering the goat and then washing his bloody hands, etc. After that, the goat was slaughtered by the butcher, and the meat donated to the Hindu couple that ran the school. Our European crew member were not comfortable with filming it. Later during the scene, my character chides the protagonist for being a hypocrite like the west, “they eat meat but can’t slaughter animals, start wars but cant’ see children die.”
During the 20+ setups for the shoot, I felt weak in the stomach and vowed never to act in my own movie, its is annoying and quite different from stage. This was bolstered by our diminutive sound man who asked me if I had written this scene. When I confirmed he said, “I am very impressed, by your writing . . . .” I wonder if he was not impressed by my acting ;)
The second shoot that we had postponed from last night was set at the Shah Ghazi. BY favourable chance, we ended up showing the fundamentalist and the spiritual side of Karachi on the same day. As in any public places, crowd control was challenging, the lights were funky halogens. Once we unloaded the equipment, which was impressive, our European crew and beautiful cast attracted attention. One extra asked me about Ayesha, is she Pakistani? is she Muslim? what’s is her name? I told him she was an Indian actress.
We did a walk up to the shrine, a Dutch tilt and then walked up the stairway to shoot the last scene as we were not allowed inside the actual tomb. This scenes required an ecstatic Qalander -holy man - to grabs Arsalan and challenge him about life. I had asked a female jogan to play the part, but she refused, another faqir told me that he can't let his image be captured on camera. However, our luck took a turn for the better when we saw a group of men accompanying a Qalander who I would call Metal Baba, a living saint wearing over a hundred pounds of metal anklets, locks and chains.
After a brief discussion he agreed to act and I could not believe my luck. As we took the last shot a businessman based in Los Angeles handed his business card to Muder and told him to give him a call for potential investors. I did not expect Ghazi Baba to bestow his baraka on us so quickly.
I woke with an upset stomach that made me particularly annoyed. We needed a car for the shoot, but Danial was getting his Honda towed to the garage so we decided to use Muder’s rental. To my horror, I learned that last night he had to go to the hospital for acute kidney pains. He was resting after getting morphine injections. I fortified myself with Imodium, packed some crackers, ORS solution in a water bottle and got ready..
After a three hour delay, we left for Turtle beach, without Muder, Danial or Omer so I managed the production. On the way, we stopped to get some air for the van’s tires near Sohrab Goth and I saw an empty public bus, with green tinted windows. I talked it over with Ali Mumtaz, the visual director, and decided to use it as an impromptu prop on the lonely highway.
On location, our lead confessed that he was not comfortable driving a car, so I had to hide a Kamber from the production crew in the back of the car, while some crew members joked about this, I reminded them that Mr Pierce Brosnan/007 does not know how to drive a stick shift, atleast Salim knows how to ride a motorbike in Karachi traffic. Since we were in the boonies and running late, the crew was in a bad mood and kept asking for lunch, while I had to excuse myself to find suitable shrubs for some privacy. Because we were near the beach, the sound was a continuous problem with the wireless mics. In short, it was miserable shoot, but the frame composition looked great.
Later that evening, we were scheduled to the shoot the shrine scene, but I had developed a fever, Ayesha was hinting that it was her birthday today and she would like to be home celeberating, and Thursday is the busiest night at the shrine. Back at base camp, Danial negotiated a deal with the grip truck so that they they did not charge us for that day and I took two Panadol CF pills. That night I struggled all night with negativities, finally breaking sweat around three in the morning.
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