Nazar Ul Hassan wins best actor for short film Kachrachi at Mumbai film fest
Pakistani short film Kachrachi won an award at the Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival (MSIFF) earlier this month.
The film's lead actor Nazar ul Hassan was awarded the Best Actor accolade in the International category.
Speaking to Images, the seasoned theatre actor revealed that he had no idea he was even nominated.
"It was when the director, Ali Mehdi, called me that I found out I won it... It feels amazing to have won the award. When I was chosen for the role I was actually in a play at the same time. So I had to leave for my shoots as soon as I would be done from rehearsals. The shoots were late at night so I knew I could manage, plus I understood the character well so I didn't have to prepare too much. "
The film has previously been screened at numerous film festivals, including Canada Shorts 2018 and the 2018 Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
According to Nazar, "The film is based on the pollution in Karachi. I play a person who has been driven to madness by the filth and is too particular about cleanliness around him. He has made his own space that people consider a trash heap and toss their waste in. This, of course, aggravates him a lot."
He added, "My character has a lot of different phases and takes on different personas like political leaders who make fake promises, he has imaginary dogs for companions whom he treats like followers. So the film does have a strong take on political conditions surrounding Karachi and how it affects the common man."
