Instep: What is Seedlings all about?

Mansoor Mujahid: Seedlings is a film about coping with the loss of a loved one and all that is left in the wake of such a tragedy. The story picks up on the lives of three individuals a year after a terrible event that binds them together. It focuses on their attempts to piece their lives together and forgive each other for the wrongs they may have committed.

Instep: What's your approach to directing such a film?

Mansoor Mujahid: I wanted the film to be very real. I wanted the characters to be people I knew or could relate to. Keeping it understated was key, avoiding the mirch masala that is so common in cinema in the Sub-continent was of paramount concern. The film is raw and organic, which is what I feel independent cinema all over the world should be about. Beyond that, I was very influenced by Krzysztof Kielowski and his Three Colours Trilogy, Blue in particular.

Instep: Did you allow the actors to improvise?

Mansoor Mujahid: Letting the actors bring something to their characters, something personal, was at the heart of our film. I loved every second of rehearsing with the entire cast (even though they probably hated me by the end of it) and really loved watching them make these characters their own. I just wanted to shape what I knew they were already going to bring to these characters. The film on paper is very different from the actual film, which was constantly evolving on the set.

Instep: Do you have the screenwriter on the set, constantly rewriting?

Mansoor Mujahid: I prefer to have the luxury of improvising and having room within the script for my vision from the get go. Hence in essence, the script is being rewritten from the start. Keeping up with these rewrites can prove to be insanity but as it goes on, everyone gets comfortable with the idea of common goals and how to achieve them. The rewrites happen automatically as the performances of the actors and input from other key crew members such as producers and directors of photography comes in. But I prefer to have it happen before we get to set, so that we still have the ability to improvise if need be but also have a structure to it.

Seedlings

Seedlings, the first feature film by Bodhicitta Works has just wrapped production. With this film, Bodhicitta Works hope to make significant contribution towards the revival of cinema in Pakistan. Seedlings revolves around the story of a couple who struggle to come to terms with changes in the wake of a tragedy.

Seedlings stars Aamina Sheikh, Mohib Mirza and Gohar Rasheed as the leads with Hira Tareen, Mehreen Rafi and Tara Mahmood.

Directed by Mansoor Mujahid, and produced by Meher Jaffri, Summer Nicks and Craig Peter Jones; Seedlings' screenplay has been written by Summer Nicks. To further add to the feathers in Seedlings' cap, the soundtrack has been composed by the fantastically talented Usman Riaz.

Seedlings leads Aamina Sheikh and Mohib Mirza; and director Mansoor Mujahid give Instep the lowdown on their film as well as the method to their opus.

By Faiz Rohani

“It's totally different performing for theatre, TV and film. If an actor is prepared mentally and is aware of the technicalities of the three different mediums, the transition is easy.” - Mohib Mirza Instep: Tell us about the character you play in the film? Mohib Mirza: I play Raza, an ardent photographer who loses himself and his direction in life after tragic circumstances tear apart his family.

Hiding under a shell and illuminating his life with work and in particular, a colleague, he struggles with temptation and his plight to normalize his life once more.  Instep: Have you signed other films as well? Mohib Mirza: My first feature film was Insha Allah (2009), which won the Best Foreign Film Award at the International Filmmakers Festival at Kent, UK along with the Best Actor Award that I bagged as well. In addition to Seedlings, other films that I signed in 2011 include Josh and Kanebaaz, all expected to release in 2012.  Instep: How difficult is the transition between film and television? Mohib Mirza: Well, that's a technical question. Though most people think it's just about acting, it's totally different performing for theatre, TV and film. If an actor is prepared mentally and is aware of the technicalities of the three different mediums, the transition is easy. In the other case, it is usually difficult. 

FUTURE FILMS

“I find Mohib and myself in sync with the passion and wonders of performing and its limitless technicalities.”
- Aamina Sheikh

Instep: Tell us about the character you play in the film?

Aamina Sheikh: Maliha - with a vibrant, youthful, loving past, is now stuck in limbo. Struck by loss, grief, tragedy, and countless questions....she is now frozen in a time warp. Maliha struggles internally to pass time and push through her days. She wants to deal, but doesn't know how to do so without damaging those around her and her fading spirit.

Instep: Is this your first feature film?

Aamina Sheikh: This is my first. I have just completed my second feature, which will take longer to release. [I feel] blessed to have Seedlings as my first in line.

Instep: You've acted with Mohib on television but now you're sharing the big screen; is the experience any different?

Aamina Sheikh: As actors, the emotional process of dramatic interaction between actors is not affected by the medium; even though the execution of each performance varies depending on the different technicalities of each medium. For example, for theatre, if Mohib and I were to explain our process it would be more physical, exaggerated, more pronounced - sustainable performances which can live through one long uninterrupted graph created by the action-reaction of these two characters. For TV, it is more interrupted. It is broken down into sub-parts, which is further broken down depending on the stance of the camera. In which case, actors depend on each other to repeatedly pick up the emotion from any given point of the scene. In film, in my opinion, it is a kind of a mix of the two. Film is about the scale, the larger than life shots, emotions...yet at the same time when it gets intimate with the characters, it has the potential to go much further in, than TV. Therefore, the actor again needs to work according to the stance of the camera. When it is huge, larger than life, then the theatrical processes of an actor can come into play, when it is close and intimate, then the TV training to underplay comes handy. It’s a juggling act which varies with the role, the character requirement, the director's requirement and cinematic requirements, sometimes the location dictates the performance of the actors. Having said all that, I find Mohib and myself in sync with the passion and wonders of performing and its limitless technicalities. It's an absolute joy each time!

Instep: With exceptions like Bol and Khuda Kay Liye, most Pakistani films sink without a trace. What sets Seedlings apart from other independent film projects?

Aamina Sheikh: What sets it apart is its team. They are not part of 'the system' so to speak. They are the new, the global, and the youth-spirited: they are revolutionary. Each member of the team believes in true global means of communication. This comes through in the story, in its making and its performances. The team is fearless and so is its work, they are not fearful of taking on guerrilla action for self-distribution locally, in case they do not get the system's support. That said, every piece of work has a life span. The idea is not to harp on a one-hit wonder, the idea is for one piece of sincere, creative work to go out there, make a difference and create opportunities for multiplication. It should trigger more collaborations, more honest work. That's the ultimate objective.