It was an emotionally draining experience: Adnan Jaffer on filming family drama Chotay Shah

The head of a once rich family desperately tries to cling on to the last vestiges of their wealth in Sabiha Sumar's short film Chotay Shah.

The story, written by Uns Mufti, follows the man, Mohammad Asghar (played by Adnan Jaffer) as he grapples with a broken marriage, an ailing mother and the imminent loss of the family's last kothi and ultimately ends up making rash decisions with surprising outcomes.

Chotay Shah is intended to travel across India's film festival circuit as part of Zee Zindagi's Zeal for Unity initiative.

"Playing the character was an emotionally draining experience," recalls Jaffer, in conversation with Images. "Sabiha Sumar made sure we had enough rehearsals before diving in. I have personally seen characters like Chotay Shah go through such a phase. The character is caught between a rock and a hard place. Naveed Shehzad, a true thespian, plays my mother. Khalid Malik has a colorful appearance in [the film] along with Maira Khan and Tara Mehmood."

Maira Khan said of her role, "I play the family maid, who is real chamak chalo (firecracker)," said Maira Khan. "Working with Sabiha was a treat and the entire cast amazed with their performance."

Five other films from Pakistan are being screened in the Zeal For Unity initiative, including Mehreen Jabbar's Lala Begum, Shahbaz Sumar's Khaemae Mein Matt Jhankain, Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi's Jeewan Hathi and works by Khalid Ahmad and Siraj Ul Haq.