Superstars matter. With their massive audience reach and unmatched fan following, they have the unique ability to enable a film industry to achieve a brand status and receive global recognition. With their box office muscle, these screen gods ensure handsome returns for films and in turn are lavishly compensated for their work. Often times, such stars help the industry transition from one phase of filmmaking to another — as was seen in Hollywood when the golden era of the 60s ended, and more recently across the border as well. Superstars, in short, ensure the survival of an industry.
The pertinent question is: Five years down the road of full-on cinema revival, where is the next Pakistani superstar?
Where we stand
Since the revival happened, many movies have worked at the box office, most with actors making their cinema debut. With the exception of one or two actors, no one has emerged who truly has the star muscle to draw in the audience. That is not to say the opportunity does not exist. Following restrictions on certain foreign content, a new window has now opened up for Pakistani filmmakers, and importantly, for Pakistani stars to capitalize on a rarely available 180 screen multiplex circuit to showcase their films and capture an eager audience.
Around 40 or so ventures are under production at this point, and it seems the initiative is actually there to cater to this need. While it is true that content is the key to a successful film, the need of the hour is for a star to emerge with that magnetic pull to ignite sagging audience interest and pull the paying public back to the theaters.
The tough question is, does anyone from the current crop have what it takes to capitalize on the potential opportunity for stardom? In the past, the Pakistani film industry has been no stranger to churning out movie icons. Waheed Murad, Mohammad Ali, Nadeem, Shabnam, and Rani Begum are cinema legends who reigned over the masses during the golden era and continue to exert enormous influence today.
It would not be wrong to say that the destiny of Pakistan’s film world is inextricably tied to its ability to churn out stars.
Experimental vs. commercial cinema
A strong film industry is just as important for producing stars as are stars towards sustaining it. While the Pakistani film revival has picked up momentum since 2015, and the frequency of well-made films and production standards have risen considerably as well, the overall pattern has been of a hit and miss. The current year has seen a few good films and a lot of experimental content out there much of which sadly has not received much audience endorsement. Recently, films such as Durj, Talash, Kaaf Kangana and Ready Steady No have hit the theaters. Excluding Kaaf Kangana, the rest were largely experimental fares that predictably bombed.
In their quest to produce groundbreaking work, are local filmmakers ignoring commercial cinema crucial to churning out stars? 2013’s blockbuster Waar was an experimental film of sorts but it had a very unique theme and came at a time when there were practically no Pakistani films. Now, with more choice, the audience has time and again sent a firm signal to the filmmakers about what it wants to see.
A page from the history books
In the 90s, Shaan was churning out hit after hit and the main reason was the star power he had amassed. The Mujhe Chand Chahiye star had the audience’s stamp of approval and was able to draw the masses and the well to do crowd to the single screens regardless of the content or quality of his films. He went on to become the face of the Lahore-based industry and gave a certain image and name recognition to the film industry.
Barring rare exceptions, in recent years, that kind of pull has been missing in action.
The next big guns?
After back to back blockbuster serials Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Dastaan, as well as films across the border (in particular Khoobsurat and Kapoor and Sons), expectations have been high that Fawad Khan would mesmerize crowds in his homeland as well. These hopes are still waiting for fulfillment as The Legend of Maula Jatt shows no signs of release for the past 2 years now. The film has been under production since 2014.
It seems Fawad has now realized the importance of working in more quality commercial projects, his upcoming film Money Back Guarantee being a good example. The production is touted to have all it takes to catapult him to the next level of stardom, and only time will tell if and how fortune favors this potential superstar. Another Mahira-Fawad film is said to be in the works too, and it seems like a promising project that might be able to draw in crowds based on star power.
Ali Zafar also gave one of the biggest hits of recent times with Teefa in Trouble but the star has since gone dormant since and we have received no news about him working on an upcoming film, although that might be changing soon. Ali carries the charm of a streetwise lady’s man — something that he put to ample display in Teefa and which should enable him to carve his own niche in the film industry. With his film production house Lightingale productions, he has also demonstrated muscle to produce cutting edge content. This is one performer on every filmmaker’s radar.
Another hit-maker is Fahad Mustafa, who has churned out one successful project after another but the only slight glitch, if we can call it that is that he’s been set into director Nabeel Qureshi’s mold and with their joint venture Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad releasing next year, he doesn’t seem too eager to change that. Fahad excels at playing the everyman and has proven with the blockbuster success of his films that the audience totally endorses his talent and script-choices. Will another filmmaker match Nabeel Qureshi’s abilities in extracting the best out of this promising superstar?
On the contrary, Humayun Saeed is the reigning superstar who has been the most active actor on the film scene and has been using his star power to pull in crowds. He sets a much-needed example for what the stars in Pakistan ought to be doing — producing and acting in audience-pleasing commercial crowd-pullers that keep the exhibitors and distributors as happy as Humayun’s innumerable fans. The superstar has no grand illusions about himself or the kind of cinema that will work — and his knack at selecting screenplays that suit him to the hilt has propelled him to superstardom.
Fresh Talent
While the aforementioned stars definitely have what it takes to claim the mantle of screen gods, we wonder if there’s any new talent on the horizon that has the ability to create the kind of hype necessary to be considered a superstar and have crowds worshipping them and following their every move.
If there is some talent like that, now would be the time for them to step forward and make their claim to fame, with the current lull — as well as a vacuum of sorts in starville!
Final Word
Successful films sometimes work on the backing of that rare quality of star power, the charisma, and charm of screen gods and goddesses to draw in the audience. In order to have an industry on firmer footing, we desperately need our stars in action. Will any of the potential contenders for the superstar slot step forward and seize the opportunity to become the country’s next film icon? We are keeping our fingers crossed.
Do you have any views on who the next superstar should be? Let us know in the comments below!
