Q. Are you satisfied with Mohammad Ahmed’s work?
HM: Some of the characters that he introduced like Hakka who stammers, is not funny at all and the other character Apa Begum’s spirit, is senseless. Though he is a good writer, I regret to say that he has not been able to capture the essence of the original Tanhaiyan.
Q. How do you find Marina’s direction?
HM: Marina is not a very powerful director. Some of the scenes which required a climax such as the first one, and Marina’s entrance in the next episode, did not make the impact which was required as they were pivotal to the story. The story might improve later on but then Marina has never directed a serious comedy, which is very difficult to make. She has yet to make her mark as a director. But she is a very good actress, there can be no doubt about that.
Though I am hurt, my blessings are still with Marina Khan and her team.
Q. With increasing branding taking over television productions, what do you think of Olpers’ Tanhaiyan — Naye Silsilay?
HM: I didn’t like the title and asked them to change it which they didn’t agree to. Tanhaiyan is a prestigious serial, not a product. Literature and drama are different things and a dairy product is a different thing. Sponsoring it doesn’t mean you own it. Things have now become so commercialised that tradition, culture and refined taste have taken a backseat. Corporate sponsors can help a lot in promoting culture and literature, but not at the cost of cultural values.
Q. Your past serials had two directors and just one writer, that was you. In this sequel there are two writers and one director.
HM: For nearly 10 years I worked with two directors: Shireen Khan and Mohsin Ali, Zaheer Khan and Shireen Khan, Mohsin Ali and Shoaib Mansoor. The reason for this was that while one episode was being acted out and one of the directors was directing, the other would sit with me and prepare for the next episode as they had to be done very quickly. We gave each other the credit because we worked together as a team, and the result was good.
It’s not the same anymore. Today, a single person wants to take all the credit and thus there is no teamwork. The writer wants accolades, while the director feels he or she has done a good job. It is a very cut-throat situation. This serial could have been better if everyone had worked together. In the past, my directors consulted me at every step. There were no egos or complexes, and monetary gains were not all-important then.
