KalPoint.com (KPDC): Please tell us something yourself, your education, family background and brought up?
Mr. Javed Raza (JR): I started working as an assistant editor. I first became a student of Ali, one of the top film editors. Then when I saw that a director is the captain of the team. I changed my focus toward film direction. In direction, I became apprentice of Mr. Rangila. I did many films as his assistant like, “Rangila”, “Dou Rangilay”, “Dil aur Dunya” etc. In 1980 I got my first film as director, namely “Visa Dubai Daa”. It was a super hit film. After “Visa Dubai Daa”, I did films like “Akbara”, “Mutthi Mai Rumaal”, “Dakoo Haseena”, “Piyasa Saavan”, “Kurri Munda Raazi” and “Amanat”. Amanat was a film in which I worked with Mr. Rangila. Then I didn’t do any film in the last 2 or 3 years because of the films that have been produced during that period were not of my type. I have always tried to be a part of films that I can be proud of, and which are according to our social and cultural norms. I am satisfied with whatever work I have done so far. I have just finished my new movie “Kabhi Pyar na Karna” and it is going to be released shortly.
As regards my education, I would like to say that in our field education has very little impact. In the films, its all about the talent, creativity, and skills. For example, the greatest director of India and Pakistan is Mr. Mehboob; one of his masterpieces is ‘Mother India’. This great director was not a well-educated person. Nevertheless, education is very important especially today. I have done FA and then I joined this field.
As regards my family, I have 2 sisters and 4 brothers. I haven’t got married as yet. I have been totally involved in films. My father had a spare part shop in Lahore. When I entered into this field, my family firmly opposed this act. But with sheer hard work, commitment and a little bit of luck I got success in this field. Then afterwards, when they realized that film industry is my passion, my family accepted it.
KPDC: Please tell us something about your association with Mr. Rangila?
JR: Mr. Rangila was a great academy in his self, he was a great director, actor, writer, singer, producer, musician, and lyricist; all these 7 titles belonged to him. He was such a great comedian that people would start laughing even before he would speak. I have learnt a lot from him. In recognition of his greatness I named my production house after him, i.e. “Rangila Production House”. I think that whatever position I have today, Mr. Rangila has contributed a lot to it.
KPDC: You are about to release your new film “Kabhi Pyar Na Karna”. Please share some feelings about it?
JR: It’s a film which is produced by using the latest technology. I shot this film in India and Pakistan. I have also included an Indian actress in the cast. The singers are all from India. All the songs and music is recorded in India. The film was completed in a very friendly atmosphere. It is going to be released in Pakistan first and then in India and UK. Because if it is released in India first, it would be recorded on CDs and then would be shown illegally in Pakistan and this will affect our business.
I have used latest technology called DTS. In addition to Pakistan it’s going to be released in India, USA, and Europe. Most of our cinemas don’t support DTS systems but we have to use this system to cater to the international market. Unfortunately, our different associations, like Producer Association, Distributor Association, Writers Association etc., are not doing anything for the industry. I tell you that in India, their Producer Association explores new markets for their films all over the world. We need to learn a lot from the Indian industry in this regard.
KPDC: You have been a senior director of Pakistan film industry. What difference do you see between the film industry of 80s and the current one?
JR: I think a lot has changed now especially the technology has made a significant impact. Our film industry also needs to go for the latest technology and equipment. For example, earlier we used to have NE1 camera, then came the cinema scope, and now we have much more modern cameras. The film editing is also done with the help of computer. The whole production and recording system has gone digital. We should also make use of this technology if we want to survive. Earlier, we used to compete effectively with the Indian films. Today, you can see that even Indian films lack genuine stories. But they produce a lot more films than we do. And they use much better technology than us.
KPDC: What we have seen over the years is that once an artist leaves the industry, the industry forgets him or her and they live in a very pitiable condition. What would you say about it?
JR: I think these actors should also be, to some extent, blamed for this situation. Because when they are at their peak, they should look ahead and make arrangements to secure the later stages of their lives. Film industry doesn’t care for anyone one he or she leaves the industry or who doesn’t lose his or her value in the market. It’s a ground reality that the industry doesn’t support any artist after they leave the industry. Neither any association nor government supports them. So, I think one should think for himself or herself at the time when they are at the peak of their careers. No single situation lasts forever. Ups and downs are the part of life. We should be prepared for any bad time.
KPDC: How do you see the future of the film industry?
JR: I believe that there are always ups and downs in the industries. But looking at the current situation I don’t see any future for our industry. One reason is that now, there is an Indian mafia that is active in our country. They are bringing Indian films in Pakistan. This mafia also includes cinema owners and they say that they are doing this for the survival of cinemas. But the fact is that this is bringing disaster to the Pakistani film industry. Now what’s happening is that we can’t find any cinema where we can release our film. The cinemas don’t let Pakistani films to screen for a longer period because they have Indian films waiting for release. I am waiting to release my film for a long time now. Earlier, if a film is doing business of 25,000 per week, the cinema would let it do business. But now even if a film is doing 5, 00,000 per week, they stop showing the film after a certain time period because they get a new film, mostly Indian, to release. So this is hurting the Pakistan film industry very bad. I would say that today the cinema owners are earning plenty of money unlawfully. Producers make films after spending millions of rupees and the cinemas only screen the film and they charge 30% of the film’s business in the first week, 2nd week they charge 40% and then from the 3rd week onward they charge 50% of the business. Apart from this sharing of business, they take some extra charges from us. And before our film could do a sufficient business and bring profit to us, they stop screening our film and say they have other films waiting for the release. They are neglecting Pakistani films. The cinema owners are showing their greed for money. This will bring end to the film industry of Pakistan and will cause unemployment to thousands of people associated with the industry. They say that they want the survival of the cinemas, but they don’t think for the Pakistan and our industry. Instead of bringing films from India they should produce films in Pakistan to support our industry.
KPDC: Your new film, “Kabhi Pyar Na Karna” is produced in India. What have you learned and achieved with this experience?
JR: First thing that I would tell about the Indian artists is that
