Playing a bad boy was very interesting: Shehzad Roy

Shehzad Roy's latest music video 'Jind Jaan' has been in a the works for a long time — so was it worth the wait?

The video sees Roy playing a bad boy with a thing for fast cars and beautiful women... like Iman Ali, who plays his love interest. With Zoe Viccaji accompanying Roy on vocals, this song is about betrayal and the trials of love.

So what prompted music's perennial do-gooder to take a walk on the wild side? And what's going on with the film he said he's starring in?

Read on.

Images: We've been looking forward to this video for so long. Tell us about how this collaboration with Zoe came about, and how you decided to film a video that basically just about a romance?

Shehzad Roy: To be very honest there was very little planning involved. And I [thought of] Zoe since its a girl's point of view, and it's a Punjabi song and I thought Zoe's voice would be interesting. And back then everyone asked me, 'Why her'? She doesn't know Punjabi. So when she would sing in Punjabi, it would be pretty fun. It was entertaining, interesting and very raw. And she sang very well too. Her pronunciation was very good as well. So the song with her voice was amusing, very good, so then we got together and recorded it.

Like this song, a lot of things I've recorded and kept with me. So from Zoe, I'd get pretty funny texts from her like 'yaar will this video be released while we're alive?' or 'will this video ever be recorded?' She's very funny. Even all this happened like two years ago.

Then I thought, let's make a video for this song. Saqib Khan came on as the director. And he said, 'the video is about love and betrayal, about how someone betrays you over and over again and even then you trust them, you love them.'

Until now, so many of my songs were political in nature or had social commentary involved. So many people would ask me 'why don't you ever make a romantic song?'

And I thought, okay, let's just make this video.

Images: What's your favourite part of the video?

Shehzad Roy: There's a 65 Mustang in this video, which is a personal favorite of mine. Actually I'm a biker myself. In fact I did a whole program Chal Para in which I went around all of Pakistan on a bike, on that Harley Davidson that I had... no bike like that had ever gone where I took her.

I mean, I took her to Khunjerab, the lake there, Attabad jheel, at that time you needed something you could float across on, some huge flotation devices because boats just weren't present there! So with a lot of difficulty we took my bike there. So my ultimate fave, the Mustang 65 is in this video. It's all about cars and gangsters and all that jazz.

I felt Iman Ali would be able to handle this interesting role [of the love interest] and she did a good job. She's a very good actor.

Images: Okay, where'd you find the Mustang from?

Shehzad Roy: Someone I know, it belongs to him.

Images: In Pakistan?

Shehzad Roy: In Pakistan, in Karachi. And the interesting part is that I found it on the internet and looked up this guy and we had mutual friends. He had the body of the bike, without the engine or anything, because that's all that he could find available here. Then he customized it by ordering all the proper parts from abroad and reconstructed it.

And I just couldn't believe it, he did such a great job, with the customizing with the interior. This was a very interesting thing for me that happened in the video, which has a lot of cars and all. I never acted the way I did with this video, I don't know what people will think of it though.

Images: Because you're acting the part of a bad boy, basically.

Shehzad Roy: Yeah. I've never been like this. It was interesting for me. I mean, because I was doing a film, and Saqib was like 'come on let's act and make something' so I thought let's give it a try.

Images: Tell me a little bit about your upcoming film. The film is written by Anwer Maqsood, right?

Shehzad Roy: Well, I can't say much but the film will be a commercial one as I said before. I'm excited because where a song gives you a three-minute slot to tell a story, a film gives you a good hour and a half. I'm excited for that hour and a half because there's a lot we can say and we can get creative.

Images: And obviously because it's Anwer Maqsood, the movie will have a strong social message... right?

Shehzad Roy: Oh that'll happen. 100%. Because what I do, I try my best. But it's not preachy. It's something a layman will find interesting and I think people who are willing to understand a lot, they'll be fascinated as well. I feel like people from every walk of life can relate to it. You'll relate to it. I'll relate to it.

Images: And how did you come to the decision that it's time for you to do a film?

A: Unfortunately because I am not the most organized guy around, so I don't really plan much. When my album Qismat Apne Haath mai came out in 2008, it was a critical album and we were very nervous about how it'll do but it did pretty well. After that I met Wassu and he inspired me a lot, and that drew me near Balochistan.

Then we did a whole program together, theChal Para program, and then here and there I kept doing work, like a song for Toyota and so on, but I didn't do anything myself.

Then after all that I started reforming this government school. I realized that if you have power or if people recognize you and you can actually make a dent in the system, then you should play your part, that part that can make an impact on society.

I feel just music can't bring that change. Music can only trigger any movement, but in itself, you can't release an album and bring a revolution, that's not how it works.

I feel like, my purpose of doing a film is that it'll give me the power to push issues further and gain power for a good purpose. At least that's what I think.

Images: And also, making a movie is fun.

Shehzad Roy: Obviously (laughs). I mean you aren't working just for blessings [sawab] your whole life.

So what you do, you need to enjoy it.

Nothing is permanent but change. If you were to ask me my ultimate goals it would be difficult to reply because I could be saying something right now but in five years it could be completely different. People take change here in a very negative manner.

That's why I thought of this film. It's a good change on my part because it's about time we talk for more than three minutes. We don't even have music companies in Pakistan. Like, where are they? Nowhere. So how will you create music and how will you spread it ahead? You'll have to find sponsors.

The music I did before was with Telenor or Ufone, and that was their stuff not mine. So film, I think, would be a very good medium to say all that we want to.

Images: There were so many Pakistani films released last year, which films did you like the best?

Shehzad Roy: The fascinating thing is that we are comparing our films with ourselves, which is good. But there will be a time when we'll start comparing our films with international films. Right now this, this is a sensitive stage, but I feel that time will come soon, maybe in one or two years.

I've seen most of the films, and some had some tracks which were interesting, some made me laugh, they all had something. I won't criticise any film because I feel like, well, at least they're being made and that's the important thing.