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It is a good sign that films are being made in Karachi. This is revival of cinema because now people are working and making movies. I will make a film in Karachi, and if I feel that I should make one in Lahore or Swat, I will go there, because all cities are ours. This was said by filmmaker Syed Noor while speaking to journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday.

Mr Noor was at the KPC to announce his latest film project which is a story of five brothers. He said 30 per cent shooting for the movie will take place in Karachi.

Replying to a question, Mr Noor said the young generation was interested in entertainment. On the ban placed on the film Maalik, he said it was the director’s ‘good luck’ that the film was banned because earlier not many people had seen it, but after the ban many had the curiosity to see it. However, he said, one should not ban a film because in a way those who had banned Maalik were saying that the issues its story touched upon were right.

Responding to another query, Mr Noor said he wanted to show the beauty of Karachi and dispel the perception that the situation in Karachi was not conducive for living. He said: “I have a complaint against Karachi’s filmmakers. The city is so beautiful and yet they don’t seem to realise it. I will not show in my film any side of the city which is not good.”

Answering the question about the kind of talent that there is in the country, Mr Noor said those who said there was no shortage of talent were not correct. “There is a dearth of talent. You will not see anywhere a Waheed Murad, Lehri or a Mohammad Ali. But even when these guys came, they were not that perfect. It took them time to become ‘hit’ performers.”

He said Karachi was the hub of all activity which was why people from different backgrounds (advertising, television etc) were now making films in the city. “This is the revival that we talk about. I had said it in a press conference in the past that Karachi would be the city to revive cinema in the country.” He said he would not confine himself to Karachi though, because if he felt that there was a need to make a film in Lahore or Swat, he would go there.

Replying to a question about a recently released film Mah-i-Mir and the poetic language used in it, he said he hadn’t seen it, but was of the view that cinema was a visual medium and did not require too many dialogue to put a message across. He nonetheless acknowledged the importance of a strong screenplay.

Originally published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016