Uns Mufti and Ali Jafri of Rola speak on 'Jaan Jaye', future plans
and… grape juice
Instep:The 'Jaan Jaye' video is quite different from your previous
videos, what brought the
idea for this video on?
Rola: The genre of music in any video can influence how it turns
out in the end. The previous three videos we did were more rock
oriented songs. 'Jaan Jaye' is predominantly dance/pop so naturally
it would look different right away… do we get any marks for
answering questions correctly?
Instep: Was the concept a joint effort, or is there just one person
behind it?
Rola: Actually, the concept of this video was thought up quite a
while ago inspired by what actually happens when any house is left
alone to servants and domestic help. It's probably not too far from
real life. Install hidden surveillance cameras in your home and
make your own instant 'Jaan Jaye' video! Vasi Hasan had this idea
for 'Machera Trance', one of our earlier music tracks. The idea
has since evolved quite a bit due to the various people that were
involved in the 'Jaan Jaye' video and the song itself.
Instep: In the past, apart from co-VEN and Joey Paracha, ROLA hasn't
really made videos for any other artist, is there a reason behind
that?
Rola: We love making videos, it's a fun experience and we're armed
to the teeth with ideas even for songs that have yet to be made!
What we don't have, though, is a video-making assembly line that
churns out shiny, plastic videos. What we don't do is take any old
song, add one instance of instant video mix, and cha-ching! For
us music video-ing is a creative process and we like to hand-carve
each video and watch it grow and nourish. Rather like vintage…
err… grape juice.
Instep: The co-VEN videos were all fast and choppy, almost seeming
like random experiments at times - deliberate or just a happy accident?
Rola: Again, the song and its energy pretty much drive the pace
of the video. We probably wouldn't do a 200-kilometer-per-hour video
for a soft ballad. Nothing is an accident. Everything is deliberate.
We are all happy.
Instep: There seems to be a sort of "one video per year"
thing happening. Is this Rola policy, or are other more complex
reasons behind this?
Rola: It's not a policy, nothing is policy. We come across an interesting
artist or song, and we want to make a video for that. It just so
happens that there seems to be a "one good song per year"
thing happening so far. Hopefully that will change soon. We want
to be making one video per month. Bring it on!
Instep: Don't shoot me, but bits of 'Jaan Jaye' are eerily reminiscent
of the 'Load the Cannon' (Hashim) video. Was it a video that you
particularly liked?
Rola: You got us! That's exactly right. We must admit that 'Jaan
Jaye' is a frame-by-frame facsimile of Hashim's 'Load the Cannon'.
You have uncovered the deep, dark secret. Clever girl.
Instep: If you had to pick and choose, whom would you say is your
favourite amongst video directors in Pakistan right now?
Rola: All of them! We love them all. And we love us too! Love all
around.
Instep: And what do you think of newcomers, such as Bilal Lashari?
Rola: Bilal Lashari isn't really a newcomer. It's just that the
consumer market is getting to know him now through his recent work,
which is rather good actually.
Instep: Apart from the Rola duo, who else got involved in the project,
and how would you say these people's contribution was important?
Rola: Everyone's contribution is important. Or they wouldn't be
there in the first place. For 'Jaan Jaye' we had the fabulous Nida
Butt who helped choreograph all the dance sequences performed by
the girls, and we were fortunate enough to have a cameo by the very
handsome Begum Nawazish Ali. We had the wonderful Feeha Jamshed
help out in all the costumes and the amazing Beenish Parvez did
an excellent job in the hair and makeup department. The Kostal boys,
Omran and Taha were excited about their acting stints and in the
end everything gelled together to make this fun-filled video!
Instep: What other exciting projects from you can we hope from in
the future? In an ideal world, what would that project be?
Rola: More of the same. A movie if we're lucky. A good budget for
the movie would be ideal! We could go on and on but…
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