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Hamza Ali Abbasi is learning how to fly for HUM TV's next film. Will he play a pilot?
In Mann Mayal, Hamza and Maya star as serious tutor and stubborn student, but then Cupid strikes…
If there's a TV serial that's being anticipated like it was a movie, it's Mann Mayal.
Maybe because it will bring the Pyaray Afzal hero back to our screens. Maybe because it features television's current sweetheart, Maya Ali. Maybe because the Diyar-e-Dil director is at its helm. Or maybe because the script has been penned by the writer of such popular titles as Dastaan, Mera Naseeb and Alvida.
Also read: The character I play is close to who I am, says Hamza about next TV role
Mann Mayal has a lot going for it, so expectations are sky-high. We talk to the director Haseeb Hasan and writer Samira Fazal to learn more about it.
Your upcoming project is now called Mann Mayal. Before that it was Dil e Janam and before that Tera Ghum Aur Hum. It almost seems as if the marketing team was not sure of the essence of the drama and how to encapsulate it. Why were there so many changes?
Haseeb Hasan: I personally feel it's the responsibility of the director to give the audience the best. If you look at my previous serials' titles, you'll notice they are all poetic and classic, e.g. Diyar-e-Dil, Sherdil, Tum Hoke Chup, Bol Meri Machli and Nanhi. It was not a marketing team but the entire creative team (including the producers) who were interested in finding the best title out of all the working titles. Tera Ghum Aur Hum and Dil e Janam were just working titles that we never officially announced. When Momina suggested Mann Mayal, everyone loved it and then it went viral.
Tell us something about Mann Mayal and why you chose to direct it ?
Haseeb: I always try to direct strong stories and Mann Mayal is a sensitive, romantic journey of two eternal lovers, which till make the viewer feel a range of emotions. It’s a beautiful love story.
I personally avoid typical Saas/Bahu stories or stories based on domestic violence or “villain type” hero characters. After reading Samira Fazal’s script, I found it was perfect for me.
I was fascinated by Salahuddin, Manno and Jeena’s characters and then the ambience of the script had many of the things l like.
As a director, what was the toughest part of making Mann Mayal?
Haseeb: I always choose tough projects and execute them with equal vigor. Mann Mayal is another project with a huge cast. Some parts of the shoot were tough, but after several experiences, it has become much easier. However, many of the emotions and situations in the story were very difficult and painful for me.
Compared to Diyar e Dil, this serial seems a lot more intimate with less of the beautiful exterior shots that made your previous serial so memorable. How will you keep the audience intrigued?
Haseeb: I'm shooting Mann Mayal in Karachi but as far as pictorial sense is concerned, it is technically better than Diyar e Dil. I tried to capture all these wonderful pre-partition houses and I got this one house with an amazing old structure which will definitely intrigue my audience.
Your last project had the benefit of a lot of great actors with a lot of chemistry. Osman Khalid Butt and Maya Ali, Sanam Saeed and Mikaal Zulfikar, Ali Rehman Khan and Hareem Farooq all made magic on the screen. How much of this screen chemistry is the director’s job?
Haseeb: The basic magician is the director. It’s a director’s job to achieve on-screen chemistry, even with a couple who is poles apart. Still, we can manage to show them completely in tune to each other’s mental frequencies.
You have made some very popular and significant serials like Nanhi, Bol Meri Machli, Tum Hoke Chup. Which one has been the most difficult?
Haseeb: Tum Hoke Chup was the most difficult because of its content and locations. We were talking about Baloch tribal customs and it was tough to shoot in London and Quetta at low temperatures.
Hamza and Maya rehearse as Haseeb looks on – Photo courtesy Mann Mayal's official Facebook page
The Mann Mayal promos are reminiscent of the style in which Pyarey Afzal was shot. Manoo’s traditional, affluent household, her way of dressing and the Salahuddin’s (at least initially) outsider status as a tutor. How is Mann Mayal different?
Haseeb: Honestly, this is my style. I made Bol Meri Machli in 2008 with an ambience similar to Mann Mayal and I think Pyarey Afzal came three years after that. I really have not seen Pyarey Afzal. I even thought about watching it on YouTube when I casted Hamza just to avoid any similarities but I never actually got the chance to see it. If you find any similarities, it would definitely be unintentional. I respect every director’s work and seriously don’t believe in any kind of copy paste even from an international film.
Tell us about the lead female characters. Are there any mazloom, bholi larkiyan or bad manipulative vixens to confuse the sweet and honest hero?
Haseeb: All the characters are reflection of our society. Mannu comes from a traditional family; she has her own voice and her own ideas. Jeena is another strong personality, a determined, daring kind of person who is not afraid to speak her mind.
In Mann Mayal, Hamza and Maya star as serious tutor and stubborn student, but then Cupid strikes…
If there's a TV serial that's being anticipated like it was a movie, it's Mann Mayal.
Maybe because it will bring the Pyaray Afzal hero back to our screens. Maybe because it features television's current sweetheart, Maya Ali. Maybe because the Diyar-e-Dil director is at its helm. Or maybe because the script has been penned by the writer of such popular titles as Dastaan, Mera Naseeb and Alvida.
Also read: The character I play is close to who I am, says Hamza about next TV role
Mann Mayal has a lot going for it, so expectations are sky-high. We talk to the director Haseeb Hasan and writer Samira Fazal to learn more about it.
Your upcoming project is now called Mann Mayal. Before that it was Dil e Janam and before that Tera Ghum Aur Hum. It almost seems as if the marketing team was not sure of the essence of the drama and how to encapsulate it. Why were there so many changes?
Haseeb Hasan: I personally feel it's the responsibility of the director to give the audience the best. If you look at my previous serials' titles, you'll notice they are all poetic and classic, e.g. Diyar-e-Dil, Sherdil, Tum Hoke Chup, Bol Meri Machli and Nanhi. It was not a marketing team but the entire creative team (including the producers) who were interested in finding the best title out of all the working titles. Tera Ghum Aur Hum and Dil e Janam were just working titles that we never officially announced. When Momina suggested Mann Mayal, everyone loved it and then it went viral.
Tell us something about Mann Mayal and why you chose to direct it ?
Haseeb: I always try to direct strong stories and Mann Mayal is a sensitive, romantic journey of two eternal lovers, which till make the viewer feel a range of emotions. It’s a beautiful love story.
I personally avoid typical Saas/Bahu stories or stories based on domestic violence or “villain type” hero characters. After reading Samira Fazal’s script, I found it was perfect for me.
I was fascinated by Salahuddin, Manno and Jeena’s characters and then the ambience of the script had many of the things l like.
As a director, what was the toughest part of making Mann Mayal?
Haseeb: I always choose tough projects and execute them with equal vigor. Mann Mayal is another project with a huge cast. Some parts of the shoot were tough, but after several experiences, it has become much easier. However, many of the emotions and situations in the story were very difficult and painful for me.
Compared to Diyar e Dil, this serial seems a lot more intimate with less of the beautiful exterior shots that made your previous serial so memorable. How will you keep the audience intrigued?
Haseeb: I'm shooting Mann Mayal in Karachi but as far as pictorial sense is concerned, it is technically better than Diyar e Dil. I tried to capture all these wonderful pre-partition houses and I got this one house with an amazing old structure which will definitely intrigue my audience.
Your last project had the benefit of a lot of great actors with a lot of chemistry. Osman Khalid Butt and Maya Ali, Sanam Saeed and Mikaal Zulfikar, Ali Rehman Khan and Hareem Farooq all made magic on the screen. How much of this screen chemistry is the director’s job?
Haseeb: The basic magician is the director. It’s a director’s job to achieve on-screen chemistry, even with a couple who is poles apart. Still, we can manage to show them completely in tune to each other’s mental frequencies.
You have made some very popular and significant serials like Nanhi, Bol Meri Machli, Tum Hoke Chup. Which one has been the most difficult?
Haseeb: Tum Hoke Chup was the most difficult because of its content and locations. We were talking about Baloch tribal customs and it was tough to shoot in London and Quetta at low temperatures.
Hamza and Maya rehearse as Haseeb looks on – Photo courtesy Mann Mayal's official Facebook page
The Mann Mayal promos are reminiscent of the style in which Pyarey Afzal was shot. Manoo’s traditional, affluent household, her way of dressing and the Salahuddin’s (at least initially) outsider status as a tutor. How is Mann Mayal different?
Haseeb: Honestly, this is my style. I made Bol Meri Machli in 2008 with an ambience similar to Mann Mayal and I think Pyarey Afzal came three years after that. I really have not seen Pyarey Afzal. I even thought about watching it on YouTube when I casted Hamza just to avoid any similarities but I never actually got the chance to see it. If you find any similarities, it would definitely be unintentional. I respect every director’s work and seriously don’t believe in any kind of copy paste even from an international film.
Tell us about the lead female characters. Are there any mazloom, bholi larkiyan or bad manipulative vixens to confuse the sweet and honest hero?
Haseeb: All the characters are reflection of our society. Mannu comes from a traditional family; she has her own voice and her own ideas. Jeena is another strong personality, a determined, daring kind of person who is not afraid to speak her mind.
