Director Ahsan Rahim (extreme right) during the film’s Lahore shooting spell | Omer Khalid Butt
For all the high energy and the complicated nature of shooting car chases and stunts, there’s an endearing quality to the small size of the crew. A sort-of tent has been pitched up by the side and after every completed take, the crew convenes under it to watch the playback. This gives off a sense of unity, as there’s no real hierarchy. Everyone is in it just as much as the next guy or girl. I’ve been on sets before where, even though everything is going according to plan, the atmosphere is stifled, joyless. Here, while everyone is doubtlessly focused and determined, there’s also camaraderie and a sense of fun. Especially between the four or five Pakistani members of the crew.
One can only hope that all this translates on screen. The chase scene goes on, now in another setup. We were in the open before, but now we’re inside the actual “warehouse.” Stacks of cardboard boxes can be found all over the site and metallic objects complete the structure. If I could paint a picture and choose a cinematic equivalent to what I’m seeing before me, I’m reminded of the last shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark, that vast space where a crate is stored among countless similar ones.
Blue light is everywhere, as police cars follow a motorbike. Round and round they go, until the chase comes to an abrupt, crashing halt. This shot is repeated several times over the next few hours. In the film, it will amount to just a few seconds. And I have no idea whether Teefa is still in trouble at this point or whether the police is chasing him at the beginning, or whether this is already the climax and he is about to ride away from trouble forever. My guess is as good as anyone’s and I look forward to seeing the finished product.
And so we’ve come to the end. The director has called “pack up.” The crew has a day off now and there’s a certain sense of excitement in the air. And it’s been exciting for me too, to get insights into contemporary Pakistani cinema.
Even though this sounds beside the point, I mean this as a compliment: Teefa in Trouble doesn’t feel like a Pakistani production. I’m aware that whatever I’ve seen is a mere glimpse, a small snippet. There’s an entire schedule in Lahore already wrapped. But when I leave, I leave in high spirits, happy that such a film exists, this most unusual cocktail of Pakistan and Poland, an ambitious action, romance, comedy and drama adventure with its heart in the right place. I’m curious to see how it all pans out.
Published in Dawn, ICON, September 24th, 2017