Other than Gulzar, Humayun has had occasions to work with Vishal Bhardawaj, Anu Malik and screenwriter Javed Siddiqui. His earlier escapades also include fetching some of Indian TV’s biggest and most expensive soap actors like Amna Shariff, Rajeev Khandelwal, Nosheen Sardar and Juhi Parmar, for different drama serials produced under his banner, 7th Sky Entertainment, which he runs in partnership with long-time companion Abdullah Kidwani. His wide repertoire of productions - Sunn Leyna, Doraha, Ishq Junoon Deewangi and others - prove that he has a penchant for multi-starrers and a sharp eye for potboilers.

Humayun has an equally eclectic taste in other things in life. His newly constructed mansion in Defence, Karachi, famously built on a budget of (a staggering) Rs 90 million, is literally the talk of the town - with its exotic waterfalls, a mini-theatre and what not. Though, it is his wife Samina who wears the proverbial pants in the house, Humayun looks after work for the most part.

Currently finishing off Meri Zaat Zarra e Bey Nishan, a multi-starrer, again, shot in Thailand and Spain, Humayun intends to make a motion picture next. He is very conscious of the fact that out of the five films he has done so far - Inteha, No Paisa No Problem, Khuley Aasman Key Neechey, Inteha, Main Ik Din Laut Ke Aaoon Ga and, now, Jashnn. - only one has been a ‘hit’. But this doesn’t put him down. He knows his strengths - and weaknesses - fully well. He has often been likened to Shahrukh Khan, a comparison he finds "unfair". "I don’t ham," he says, cheekily. Period.

Excerpts from an exclusive interview follow:

What are your feelings, post-Jashnn?
I am on a high (smiles). Honestly, whatever the fate of the film, it has only done me good; people in India have noticed me.

What precisely do you think went wrong with the film?
See, for all its flaws, I believe the film would’ve done better if it had been promoted well. A lot of people who went to see the film didn’t even know I was there too. Can you beat that?

Then, Jashnn was released in Lahore only. But I am still happy. I’m planning a premiere in Karachi, in collaboration with Geo TV. Hopefully, Bhatt sahib will be joining us too.

Apparently, Aamir Khan had offered you the villain’s part in Ghajini. Do you regret not taking that up and opting for Jashnn instead?

Not at all. In fact, if I had done Ghajini I’d have regretted it, because it was a smallish role and the villain in the film had to act and look hideous. Jashnn’s negative character is presented in a very humane and glamorous way.

You are a hugely successful TV star. But somehow your film choices haven’t proved right for you. Do you agree?

Well, for one thing, there aren’t many good movies being made here (in Pakistan), so there’s no question of having a choice. I mean, other than Khuda Kay Liye, we haven’t created anything commendable in ages, have we?

Yet, I consider myself lucky that I was always offered the biggest films in Lollywood - ‘biggest’ in terms of budget and banner; whether it was Evernew’s No Paisa No Problem, Javed Fazil’s Main Ik Din Laut Key Aaoon Ga, Samina Peerzada’s Inteha or Jawed Sheikh’s Khuley Asmaan Key Neechey.

Main Ik Din… was a cheesy rip-off of Subhash Ghai’s Karz. What made you sign on the movie?

You know, even I was not convinced about the story, but I signed on firstly because Javed is a close friend and secondly, because I thought the film would be shot entirely in Hyderabad (India) and have good production values. I did it for experience’s sake.

Ever considered buying a flat or hiring an agent in India, like Javed Sheikh?

No. Though a couple of people have contacted me, I don’t want to get into this agent thing. I am not used to working with them. I can’t trust easily.

But you agree that if you must do film, it has to be in Mumbai?

I didn’t say that. My point is, do we have a choice? Where are those talented new film makers we keep hearing about? Why are they not producing anything? What about the Saqib Maliks and Jamis?

I honestly think it takes one great acting role, one great movie to take you to another league altogether. Look at Shaan. He wasn’t such a cult before ‘Khamaj’ and Khuda Kay Liye and all those creative Mobilink ads happened. As an actor I crave that kind of immortality.

Whatever happened to your home production, Tere Liye?

It’s been shelved for now, because I feel the story has become kind of dated.

Those who’ve had a sneak preview of the film’s soundtrack can’t stop praising the songs.
Yes, we recorded three songs with Anu Malik. Gulzar sahib wrote the lyrics. They have turned out to be fabulous. All of us agree that Anu hasn’t created such melodies in ages.

Jashnn gets pulled out of Lahore’s DHA cinema
DHA cinema says: "It was so horrible we can’t blame anybody for not watching it."

By Hani Taha Salim
Jashnn seems to have resulted in no jashnn at all; contrary to the praise Humayun Saeed has been receiving for his recent Bollywood crossover attempt. The DHA cinema in Lahore put it up quite suddenly, without any fanfare or even a premiere to speak of. It
unobtrusively ventured onto the big screen the past week and was put off in an appalling six days - the shortest that any film has done thus far! The film is so sore that a member of the cinema’s management - who spoke on condition of anonymity - had to concede: "It was so horrible we can’t blame anybody for not watching it."

When questioned that Kambakkht Ishq has also been termed unpalatable by many critics and avid cinemagoers, he retorted, "Well, at least you can laugh or make fun of Kambakkht Ishq. With Jashnn you can’t laugh, you can’t cry, there’s nothing to talk about or comment on."

To their horror only a hundred people averaged each of the six days that the movie was put up and even though Humayun Saeed has been receiving praise for his role in Jashnn, the film itself is: "Quite pathetic. Humayun Saeed’s acting could perhaps be its saving grace if people are willing to be bold enough to watch it."

In the film’s defence though, the distributors did not create enough of a hype of market the movie well for it to even garner any audiences. Films like Kambakkht Ishq, Love Aaj Kal, Transformers 2 and Ice Age 3 have all been marketed heavily, with trailers that were shown in cinemas since the beginning of the year. A little effort at publicity would have ensured that the distributor would have not incurred the heavy loss that he now probably has and would have instead perhaps recovered some of his investment. With no billboards or even posters outside cinema halls or any news in the media of its imminent release Jashnn was really putting too much on fate and as luck would have it, its ironically being replaced by Imran Khan’s much talked about summer fare, Luck.

Only time will tell however if this movie lives up to its name for the actors and distributors involved.