Humayun ’I am not a casanova’

Humayun 'I'm not a casanova'

Pinning down Humayun Saeed for an interview these days is no mean task, not because he likes to fuss or play hard to get, but because he is genuinely tied down with too many commitments.

However, when he does manage to spare time between shoots, family commitments and break-neck Ramazan schedules, he allows himself to sit back, relax and chat about the direction his life is taking, of course with him at the wheel.

Having just returned from a shoot of his production, Shiddath, directed by Jawed Fazil and co-produced by Mahnoor Baloch, Humayun talks about his latest venture - a new production company initiated with Abdullah Kadwani called 7th Sky with popular serials like Moorat to its credit.

"We haven't formally launched it yet but our first project was Ana and Shiddath is another venture together." Ana is the first Indo-Pak serial with five Indian actors including Aamna Sharif (of Kashish fame), Nausheen Ali Sardar (Kusum) and Pariskhit Sahani (Balraj Sahani's son).

The local cast includes Samina Peerzada, Talat Hussain, Aijazz Aslam, Javeria Jaleel, Munawar Saeed and Shehzad Nawaz. The expensive serial has been shot in Dubai and will be telecast in both Pakistan and India.

Speaking about serials with big budgets and every other producer concentrating more on glamorous locales and designer clothes, Humayun has an interesting theory. "Our plays now bank on a lot of young, raw talent as there are very few seasoned actors left, who are again difficult to get hold of since they are overbooked.

Therefore, we rely on good costumes and locales to make up for what we lack in other departments. Also, we are now in competition with Indian soaps, which tend to be very glamorous so we have no choice but to try and package our products in a similar fashion.

But plays are expensive these days because actors have increased their rates substantially. And we have to budget for items that were taken for granted or were free in earlier days.

For instance, we never had to pay for locales - people would offer their homes without expecting remuneration for it. Now, whether it is a home or a hotel, everyone expects to be paid. Similarly, if we needed extras we used family members. Now we have to pay for them, too, even if we want to shoot a wedding scene."

He runs his hands over his thick crop of hair, something he frequently does during the course of the interview. "But having said that, in the long run there isn't that much of a cost difference between the PTV plays of yore and the plays of today.

Admittedly, we are spending on things that we didn't have to in the past, but PTV sets were by no means cheap. It is besides the point that they are typical and we are no longer interested in using such backdrops, but it would be unaffordable for private productions to hire their studios and facilities. It is far cheaper for us to open our own studios. It's a myth that old PTV plays were inexpensive."

What about the growing trend among TV artistes to become designers, although the two genres are quite apart? "I don't know about others, but I was into garment production before I took up acting.

I worked as a general manager in Nadeem Ahmed's (Neshmia's husband) factory and took up acting for kicks in 1996. It so happened that I struck it big as an actor and people got to know me more as an artiste, although I had opened an outlet within a couple of years of taking up acting. In any case, as long as I am managing well, I don't see the harm in diversifying," Humayun justifies.

But what of the accusations levelled at him that he is merely selling his name and is not really involved in the designing aspect at all in his numerous outlets?

"True. Nowadays. But not initially. When financiers started approaching me to let them run the outlets and I knew I couldn't individually handle designs for so many shops, I agreed," comes the immediate and unruffled reply.

However, he claims that he does try to ensure that the designs are worthy of his name by personally selecting designers and supervising their work. When quizzed about his growing reputation of being a casanova, he handles the charge with similar equanimity. "People seem to have nothing better to do than conjure up stories. I, on the other hand, am always so much on the run that I have no time to talk about anyone.

Fact is that I am happily married and no matter what time in the night I finish my work, I always go out with my wife. In fact, we move in a group comprising a few couples and hang out together.

I am very friendly with all my old colleagues - Sanya, Marina, Nadya - and they know my nature, and my relationship with my wife. But the young girls who come in the field have no idea and they tend to jump to conclusions. I think the fact that I am mostly do romantic roles has something to do with the image they have of me."

But, doesn't his wife, Samina, have a problem dealing with that? "She used to get very upset before and initially would come to the sets to see what was happening. But, as she became familiar with the people and realized that the environment was healthy and friendly, she became more relaxed.

She also realizes that the profession is no longer frowned upon, and in fact artistes receive a lot of respect today. I've even roped her in to help me with my productions and she organizes my work and handles all the minute details and finances. She's become my greatest supporter and it would be impossible for me to achieve much without her."

With three huge productions underway simultaneously - one in the US with Mehreen Jabbar, one with Javed Fazil and the last with Kamran Qureshi - Saeed and his wife have no doubt come a long way. According to Saeed, she has even learnt to handle the crank calls that female fans keep making at all odd hours.

But it seems that the chemistry and rapport Saeed shares with the older crop of actors is definitely missing with the younger lot that has taken to acting. He is thankful that he started his career when he did, and got the opportunity to do leads opposite some very seasoned artistes.

Much as he would like to make his artistes do rehearsals, as a producer, Saeed admits he has no choice but to settle for shoots without practice. However, he proudly claims that he is practically the only producer who does ensure that all the cast and crew meet one another at least a couple of times prior to the shoot, maybe over dinner, and get a reading done.

Lucky for Saeed, he feels he has no rivals. All his competitors - Adnan Siddiqui and Aijazz Aslam to name a couple - are his friends and each recognizes the other's strengths and weaknesses.

He cites the example of Mehndi in which all three had acted and the other two actually rang him up to appreciate his performance in it. And did bagging the Lux Style Awards further boost his career in any way?

"Certainly. Awards always do and I am always keen to bag them. When I acted in my first movie, I got the national award. I feel it makes a lot of difference in the way people look at you.

Three or four years ago, I won the PTV World award for my performance in Kangan, although I felt that Faisal Qureshi, one of the nominees, deserved it more and I mentioned that on stage in my speech.

Sometimes viewers' choose you because it sticks in their mind that you act well and so assume that you deserve the award. But this time, I am really looking forward to the LSA because having received it two years running, I am keen to score a hat-trick. And I feel that I have every chance of getting it for my performance in Jaisay Jantey Nahin."