‘We’re actors playing characters’: Sheheryar Munawar discusses concept behind recent shoot with Sajal Aly

Being a celebrity comes with a massive fan following but sometimes fans forget to see past the faces in a project to appreciate the concept they’re representing. Sheheryar Munawar reminded netizens that the photoshoot he recently did with Sajal Aly was an artistic piece of work that had a concept behind it and revealed the inspiration for the shoot.

On Wednesday, he posted some more pictures of the duo and wrote, “Sharing the last bunch of shots I really admire from this shoot. Very film noir (after the advent of colour), very old world. That’s why I love them. Please keep in mind we’re actors playing characters — enjoy them for what they are — art.”

He revealed what the art of photography was trying to convey without the use of words. “The concept behind the shoot was to follow the story of a self-indulgent, narcissistic and emotionally unavailable artist, and his muse. [It was] to show the repercussions of being in an emotionally abusive relationship, inspired by true life events (the courtship and later marriages of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe, and Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari),” he said.

The Sinf-e-Aahan actor said they’d dropped some hints in the photos as well. “For example, in the sculpture sequence even though it seems like the artist is making his lover’s sculpture, it’s actually his own sculpture — a male sculpture (hinting at his love [for himself]). In the fashion film from the shoot, the man’s character shoots someone at the end — this is a metaphor for the abuser metaphorically killing the abused, [by being] in a toxic relationship [that includes] emotional abuse.”

Munawar ended the note with the hope that fans enjoyed browsing through the pictures as much as the team enjoyed working on them.