Shaan Shahid has a dual personality. In reel life he wields firearms or brandishes fighting sticks, rides horseback and wreaks havoc and bloody vengeance, making him the hot favourite of every chaiwalla, paanwalla and tongawalla who watches Punjabi films. But in real life he has outstanding character traits, an intense desire to serve his country, his deep-rooted love for his family and a genuine passion to make good films.

Much like his father, film-maker Riaz Shahid, Shaan prides himself in being somewhat of a philosopher, thinker and evaluator. Among his prized possessions are books by celebrated writers and titles such as Great Painters of the Italian Renaissance, First Films by Jain Bernard, Stanislavski and the Actor by Jean Benedetti, Egypt by Nobel-winner Naguib Mehfooz as well as the literary works of poets Saghir Siddiqi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Amir Khusrau and the fictional works of Ismat Chughtai. Besides denoting a keen interest in such studies, his personality also reflects in his logic-based discourse: he rarely engages the media, but whenever he does it’s thought-provoking.

Shaan’s life is a blend of both Eastern norms and values but his dressing, communication and choice of entertainment are largely Western-oriented. Stylish cars and heavy bikes further describe his debonair lifestyle.

The decline of Lollywood

“It’s a failure of intellectuals, not artists. When people like Ahmad Rahi, Ahmad Faraz, Habib Jalib, Masood Pervaiz, Riaz Shahid, Qateel Shifai were in the field, the standard of the films was sublime in all the departments of story, lyrics, music, etc. All over the world there is a tradition of intellectuals and their generations transforming literary heritage into celluloid material. But such people here consider us the least educated class and maintain a safe distance.

“The decline set in when national-level films ceased production. In India, regional films are quite strong. If you visit their states you would find house-full cinemas in regional language productions. In Hollywood, John Wayne kept on playing the same character that he did in his first film. And he remained hugely popular throughout his career,” says Shaan.

So the question arises that is a revival really possible? “No renaissance can be possible until there is a cultural policy firmly in place. Until then, we’ll keep on producing third-rate films. I genuinely wonder at some of my colleagues’ unrealistic demands from the government in terms of additional funds, fully-equipped film processing laboratory, academies or even overhauling of the film Censor Board.

“Government ka kaam fund dena nahin. It is to frame a cultural policy that could pave the way for long-lasting success. What if the government allocates billions of rupees to Lollywood. Do you think a revival is possible in the presence of an outdated, uneducated class that currently dominates our film industry? Without proper infrastructure even churning out 800 films per year won’t suffice.

“First and foremost, the government should announce a cultural policy. Secondly, besides other major issues it should direct all of its attention towards minor issues, of which the film industry is one. Since the present government has an inclination towards boosting trade with India, I have the idea that it should set up the Punjab Development Film Corporation (PDFC) between the Punjabs of both the countries. This way both would be able to follow the barter system. If Pakistani films would have access to 0.4 billion (four crores) market then India can also access our 0.8 billion population. It will be between Punjab to Punjab, and not at federal levels.”

Does this mean films will remain restricted to the Punjabi-speaking populace, I wonder. Shaan explains, “No. I don’t mean that Urdu films should cease production. The barter system cannot be applied at the federal level as the Indian film industry has become an empire. And right now at such a critical juncture we now need oxygen for our dying industry. That’s the solution that we can collect more revenue and thus be capable of more production of Urdu films that is symbolic of national unity.”

On the issue of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government imposing tax on foreign films and dramas he says it’s a good decision. “Better late than never! Our previous rulers failed to implement any such thing, losing out on a huge source of revenue and ultimately bringing about the end of Lollywood and other related fine arts’ institutions. I also suggest that the tax collected through foreign films and dramas should directly go to the PDFC fund to be spent on the promotion of local art and culture,” he adds.

Shaan is on record for being dead against the screening of Bollywood films in cinemas across Pakistan but of late he seems to have made a switch. I ask him why. “I have a solid enough reason. In the past our production in quantity and quality was sufficient. But now the situation is quite different as only a few films per annum are produced. Under such circumstances, one should do away with prejudice. Some of my colleagues want the government to stop screening Indian films in Pakistan. I ask them if they have a road map for the survival of our film industry? Everyone wants to be a philosopher but there are hardly any policy-makers. While our businessmen discard nationalism by importing Indian films, I cannot criticise their actions until there is a clear-cut cultural policy in place.”

What about his refusal to play the title role in Amir Khan’s Ghajni? “I was offered the villain’s character but I told AK that I’ll charge the same amount that was being offered to Surya Sivakumar. He accepted but I asked him to wait for my final answer. After thinking over it for a week I finally had to refuse and that surprised Amir. I humbly thanked him and told him that in playing the villain’s role I would be subjected to humiliation by an Indian hero, and it would mean humiliating both me and Pakistan.”

Films with an agenda

“Both the US and India (Hollywood, Bollywood) are basically fulfilling their national agenda through films. India depicts herself as a peaceful and democratic country but the truth is that there are human rights violations occurring there that are hardly depicted in their films.

“On the other hand, the US often propagates its political/military designs tactfully through the medium. I’ll give you an example here: when the US failed to sell its latest weapons, it produced Top Gun. The film had such an immense impact that some 82 Arab princes made the weapons’ purchase.

“We have largely become a dumb and deaf nation and the world now considers Pakistan a terrorist country despite our rich history and heritage. America has produced a feature film, Zero Dark Thirty, on Osama bin Laden’s capture in Pakistan. One should ask our previous rulers why the then government did not respond through a feature or a documentary highlighting the fact that Osama was a reaction of America’s political injustice,” argues Shaan.

Back to Lollywood, directors constantly complain about Shaan’s punctuality and interference in shooting. I ask him to explain. “When a director asked me to reach the set at 9am, I remained punctual for almost six months. You see, the dilemma of film-makers is that most of them reach the set quite late. If perchance the shooting starts then there is break for dinner, tea, etc.

“As far as interference is concerned, let me clear one thing once and for all. Often, directors tell me to use vulgar dialogues/scenes which I refuse because it’s against our values. A situation had emerged when a director asked me to forcefully drag a person playing a judge after he passes a sentence on my character, a badmash. I objected on moral grounds and offered an alternative which they considered ‘interference’.”

Shaan has also been against the idea of big-screen stars working on television while he himself went ahead and did a morning show. His answer is, “My objection was aimed towards working in TV dramas where one’s identity is lost. I believe megastars should play larger-than-life characters. As for hosting the morning show, it was my intention to make our young generation aware of their rights awarded to them in the Constitution of Pakistan. In a nutshell, it was message-oriented.”

Listening to Shaan’s lofty ideals, I wonder why Lollywood hawks have not approached the new government to appoint Shaan as a cultural advisor? When I tell him this, he replies, “It’s up to them. I would welcome such an opportunity to serve Pakistan, especially in the field of art and culture.”