by Momin Ali Munshi
“The System” was the first official release of the year 2014 and is probably one of the few Pakistani films that arrived on the date they publicized, without any postponement. The film came and the film conquered. Box-office numbers were amazing and the public had wholly accepted the new action hero ‘Sheraz Ghufoor’. Now it has been almost three months since the film’s release and we here at Galaxy Lollywood decided to talk to the hero himself. Momin Ali Munshi (Editor at Galaxy Lollywood) met up with the young star for a little interview. Here are excerpts from the conversation:-
The System recently released in Norway. How was the response?
Mashallah the response was very good. People loved it and the business has been amazing.
What about the the response you got when the film released in Pakistan? You satisfied with it?
Yes, the response was good. Specially the box office numbers were very encouraging. Moreover the feedback I have received personally via emails and messages as an actor has been amazing. I think this is the most important thing for an actor is that he has been accepted by the crowd.
When the film released there was this controversy over the fact that the cinema owners did not give the film the desired showtimes and your father , the producer of the film , was pretty vocal about this issue as well. What exactly happened?
See this is a problem that almost every Pakistani film faces and I think this will continue for quite some time. The fact is that Bollywood and Hollywood biggies get the main show times but my take on this issue is that I believe you give any film the show time of 8pm and it will do wonders. See 7-8pm is the time when families go out for entertainment and any film that is given this time is generally a house full. If you give a film a showtime of 1pm on a Sunday and then say that the film failed to attract audience, that is not right!
Also the leading lady of the film Kashf Ali went ahead and made quite a few statements against the film and the team once the film released. What happened?
Momin you know how our Urdu press works. Well turns out someone just misquoted her and rephrased what she had said. Kashf then clarified and made it clear that she had nothing against the film and was proud to be associated with “The System”. It was just one big misunderstanding!
I recently interviewed Syed Noor for Galaxy Lollywood and Syed Noor on record said that “The System” had a weak script and the direction was not good. Any comments?
Well every one has his or her view and I think we should just leave it to that. He is a senior director maybe that’s what he felt. Though I was told that he liked the film specially the action sequences.
So what is next for you? Any up-coming projects?
I cannot disclose much information as of yet. All Ill say is that there are two offers and work is being done on them. The funny part is that both of them have the same set of dates required so I have to chose between them. For me the most important thing in a project is that it should be relevant to todays time and it should be of a certain quality and both of these films have just that! Once I finalize I shall make an announcement.
Well can you give some tiny teeny detail for your fans at Galaxy Lollywood?
I believe that you should only speak about the film once you have signed it. The reason is that if for some reason the things don’t go as planned and you end up not doing the project then people talk bad about you and I don’t want to be the one!
Okay how about you tell us when does the shooting start because you mentioned the dates are the same! And when will the film release?
See if all goes according to the plan then the shooting will start early 2015 and the release will be early 2016.
Did you see any of the Pakistani releases this year including the recently released “Sultanant” or “Tamanna”?No, I was in Norway and none of these films released there so sadly I missed on them. I have been hearing things about the films but I can only decide once I have seen the films of my self
Okay you started your acting career with the film “Khamosh Raho” but you have gone on record to say that “The System” is your debut film. What went wrong with “Khamosh Raho”
See Khamosh Raho was never my film. I just had a supporting role and Shaan was the main hero. The plan on paper was something else but the director had some issues and he was not able to deliver what he had promised. For me “ Khamosh Raho” was something that was unplanned and just happened. “The System” on the other hand was like a film where I got a chance to show of my skills and hence was my proper debut!
Since “The System” worked with the audiences and even you have a bond with the film. Any chance for a “The System Part 2”?
See you never know what the future holds. There is always a possibility that we end up making a sequel Im alive, the director is here so who knows ( laughs)
We publicized on our Galaxy Lollywood facebook page that we would be interviewing you and asked fans to ask questions. Now lets come to the questions asked by the fans.
Shahzad Alam says “ I travelled a long way to Islamabad to see the film “The System” as I love action films and this film was heavily promoted as an action film. However what I saw in the cinemas was not hardcore action. Why?”
See Shahzad we made a film which had romance, drama and action. We never said that “The System” is a full on action movie, we always said that it’s a complete film!
Abdul Rauf says “ Any chance for you to direct a film like your brother?”
Abdul Rauf direction is something that has never really interested me . Currently there is no plan for me to go into direction as all my focus is on acting.
Talal Ahmed asks “ Do you think you have it in you to become a superstar. Do you think you can be a long term success here in Pakistan”
Talal I think that this is all up to you fans to decide. If you love and accept me then I will stay , if you don’t support me then I am nothing. Its all up to the public! Specially for a newcomer like me its extremely crucial to get the acceptance of the public!
Muzzamil Inayat comments “ I liked the film ‘The System’ but I felt that you followed Salman Khan a lot. Why”
I did not follow anyobody.I acted just the way I am. If someone felt that I resembled anyone then that was not a conscious decision.
Ahmed Sarym wants to know “ What kind of films would you like to work in the future?”
I personally like films that challenge one as an actor. A role that has some challenge for me, well I shall like to do that. I don’t want to just do action films and want to experiment with different genres. Even “The System” was quite a challenging role for me as we had to show a transformation in the film. So it may seem easy on screen but a lot of work goes on behind the screens!
Any last words Shehraz?
Ill say this one thing that I have noticed a lot here in Pakistan.I have seen that we all like to sit in our homes and issue a fatwa that so and so thing is good and so and so thing is bad. People should get out of their houses , go to the cinemas, see the film and then comment whether its good or bad! We all claim to be Pakistani’s but if you are a true Pakistani then go support your content, go to the cinemas see it and then comment. Films will only work if people go to the cinemas. This will mean more revenue which will have a domino effect and will result in better equipment, better technology, new people will come and the industry will prosper. So support your content is all Ill say!
