7 Days in Coney Island from Green Entertainment is now streaming on YouTube and if it’s not on your radar, this is what we can tell you about the project that was conceived, shot and wrapped up in a largely “desi” neighbourhood in the south section of New York, an hour’s drive away from busy Manhattan. Read on as we chat with director Mehreen Jabbar about the project that held its own unique challenges, of filming and casting abroad, post covid unpredictabilities and a budget that fell short, and hence, demanded creativity, improvisation and a great deal of nerves – something Pakistanis are never in short supply of! However, pulling a rabbit out of a hat is after all, no minor feat, and here’s how it all came together!
So let’s begin at the beginning and give you some insights on the neighbourhood where it all begins, and possibly ends …
Coney Island – The Desis Home Away From Home
The area boasts sun, sand and lots of amusement options, marking a kind of touristy hub with a signature boardwalk to soak in the sun and fun. But more significantly, it is also home to an Asian-brown people diaspora from first, second, third generation immigrants whose lives intersect and often, influence the everyday experiences they share alone, or with each other. And that, dear folks, is the backdrop that makes up a 3 part story penned by Shah Yasir of Jurm, Contractors and more. 7 Days in Coney Island is directed by Mehreen Jabbar who lives in New York, hence, we expect subtle insights into the neighbourhood and its residents from the director’s personal lens.
Our first question, of course,…
Why New York, and why Coney Island as the backdrop to your story?
Mehreen: “Well, I live in New York and this was a series about a group of Pakistanis and a section of Coney Island is popularly known as “Little Pakistan”, so we decided to place the story there.”
My friends who love the kebabs and the halims and the niharis and the desi grocery stores get to shop there. So it’s a strong, vibrant Pakistani community which was affected by 9-11 because a lot of people were deported and sent off, but it’s still very thriving.
Mehreen Jabbar on 7 days In Coney island, the backdrop to her story
How did the name 7 Days in … come about?
Mehreen: “So the name seven days is basically because it’s a slice of life in about four to five characters lives who live in and around Coney Island. The story kind of unfolds gradually.” Explains Mehreen. “You see bits of it in the first episode, and then you follow them again in the second, and the third. It’s literally called that because it’s a slice of life over seven days in these characters’ lives.”
And that probably tells us this one will be short and sweet. No lingering OSTs or unnecessarily prolonged story lines. What you see is what you get, 7 days over 3 episodes. Sounds like a pretty good deal for the average Pakistani drama audience who is ahem, habitually delivered a 35 episodes (plus) saga?
We had to ask this next one, post Jurm, Contractors and now 7 Days in Coney Island – all limited episodes series.
Is Mehreen Jabbar getting a “short series” addiction? This is the third in a row if we remember correctly.
Mehreen: “Well, I prefer short stories currently only because they don’t go on and on forever.” Tell us about it!
“Whether it’s shooting days or the number of episodes, as you know that channels end up stretching serials to 30-35 episodes. Usually, serials take 5-6 months to complete. And so…”, Mehreen continues, “wherever I can, I prefer shorter formats. I feel it’s more concise and you can tell a story and then kind of move on.”
And just when we think she wraps that up in a nutshell, the director’s dream rises up from the ashes as she contemplates: “However, you know, I might just end up doing a serial. I haven’t done one in six, seven years now.” Yeah, never say never Mehreen. Your Pakistani drama fans are still fangirling over Jackson Heights so another story up your sleeve will, undoubtedly, be welcomed with open arms!
Crime, romance, brown communities living in America. What drives the narrative primarily?
Mehreen: “So 7 Days in Coney Island has been written by Shah Yasir who’s done a few projects with me. He did Jurm, he did Mere Dost Mere Yaar season 2. He also co-wrote Contractors with Mohammad Ahmed Sahab. And I think we had decided that this was going to be a story of a range of economic backgrounds and professions who live in the same area.”
Mehreen continues to give insight on the real life feel of the stories that reside in Coney Island:
“Whether it is a delivery boy who’s just kind of moved from Punjab a few months ago, or a woman who is a therapist or a woman who is recently married, and is just settling down in New York and has a secret. And also an ABCD (American born confused desi), a woman who’s born and raised in Coney Island, whose father runs a deli. So these were working class characters. And I would say, it’s not too heavy on dramatic plot lines, but as I mentioned before, the story is more about the characters’ daily struggles and daily challenges that these characters face.”
On Casting
Mehreen: “So I just want to say something about the cast because I really feel it’s a wide variety of people. Whether it’s Aizzah Fatima who’s playing the therapist and she’s a well-known comedian and writer based in New York. Recently Aizzah’s film American-ish came out in theaters here. And she’s done a couple of plays of mine also – Matai Jaan, and some others back in the day.
Then there is Sabeen Sadiq who’s playing the college going student Maddie, she is also a comedian and is an American born Pakistani, and this was her first drama serial. Then there’s Hussain who has a huge following of his own in the form of Dhoom Bros on YouTube that became really popular. They’re based out of Houston I think, doing dance numbers and comedic sketches and stuff. And then there’s Sidra Batool as Sana, of course, who had done a few plays on Pakistan TV (Daagh, Bin Roye, to name a few) and had relocated here with her husband. And then there is Noor Sahab, Noor Naghmi as Haider, who’s a sweetheart actor based in DC. He has also done a couple of my projects, and he came in from DC. Then there is a couple of local hires who are playing the American lead.”
Scroll down to check full casting credits below.
Mehreen goes on to explain the casting dynamics when shooting a Pakistani project outside Pakistan
“It’s always fun and it’s always a new experience to cast in America for Pakistani content. I’ve done it over the last 15-20 years when I used to do a lot of serials here whether it was Deepti Gupta in Malal or there was Ismail Bashir. There were a lot of people who actually did a bunch of TV series in Pakistan.”
But Mehreen continued with present day casting challenges: “Now, because it doesn’t happen as much, the challenge for all of us is to actually find people who can speak the language fluently – Urdu. Because a lot of South Asian actors are born here and Urdu’s not their first language. So sometimes it shows, and in this also you’ll see that a couple of characters do struggle with their Urdu, but that’s natural to the character because they have been, let’s say, born and bred here. So it makes sense and probably comes off as more relatable. And yeah, so the cast is 100% challenging, especially finding different age groups because again, there’s not a huge roster of Pakistani actors who live in and around New York and who can speak the language. So it’s definitely always a challenge.”
“7 Days in Coney island was a real experiment in guerrilla-style filmmaking! … I was shooting with a crew of maybe four people or five people whereas in Pakistan you have 40 plus crew on any regular drama set at least. And then the cold, it was freezing cold as always in December-January.”
Mehreen Jabbar on shooting 7 Days In Coney Island
Do you expect to woo a different kind of audience. More expat Indians Pakistanis? Those who don’t watch typical Pakistani dramas?
Mehreen: “I think the audience for this, yeah, I have a feeling it will be a different diaspora because there’s more English also mixed in because that was natural, considering where the drama is set and the struggles and issues or the plots that are shown. Obviously people who live here will be able to relate to it more but on a human level, I feel It is a universal story of belonging, of dealing with trauma, of starting again in one’s life. So these are the themes that are also universal. So I’m hoping it’s not just restricted to the diaspora experience.”
Mehreen is confident about her latest offering and looking at recent efforts in the Pakistani drama entertainment blend, we’d say, this is a great time to experiment and unleash, breakout content that’s set apart from the rest! Case in point, Gumn, a crime thriller, also from Green Entertainment, Standup Girl and 22 Qadam on women’s cricket, to name a few.
There is a road in Coney island named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The neighbourhood is popularly known as Little Pakistan
Mehreen Jabbar Director, 7 Days In Coney Island
On Shooting Challenges
Mehreen: “So this shoot was fraught with a lot of problems. We, you know, the crew, we often call it the jinxed project. For some reason, we were shooting, I think, right after Covid, and this project is about two and a half, three years old, I would say. COVID had kind of died down, but not really. And it was plagued by several roadblocks, like a couple of people getting COVID on set, so the shoot kept getting delayed. Some people had flown in; the production team, the DOP, an actor from other parts of the US, just to get them back together again after a couple of weeks was very challenging.” Reveals Mehreen, stating this was “one of her toughest shoots.”
Mehreen went on to elaborate…
“Then one of our actresses Sidra Batool recently had a baby – Wo bhi hua beech mein. Then there were technical issues with some scenes. Yeh bhi tragedy hui. We lost like five, six scenes which had to be re-shot. So, yeah, this was, I think, a really, really challenging project. And main thing is, that the dollar is great but it doesn’t give you much when you’re spending in PKR and you convert it into dollars – it is an extremely low budget shoot.” Ouch, that hurts, we get it Mehreen.
“So I’ll give you an example:” Mehreen continues …”I was shooting with a crew of maybe four people or five people whereas in Pakistan you have 40 plus crew on any regular drama set at least. And then the cold, it was freezing cold as always in December-January. So with a five people crew, extremely low budget, very physically gruelling and taxing, and you have to have actors who are kind enough to do this physically exhausting labor as well. There’s no such scene.”
And Mehreen caps it off with a final her thoughts that say it all: “7 Days in Coney island was a real experiment in guerrilla-style filmmaking!”
Final words
“In the end, I’ll just say that, take this as a window into some of the lives that live in and around Coney Island. Again, Coney Island is very well known to New Yorkers and Pakistanis because it has all the desi restaurants of where people can get a taste of home. My friends who love the kebabs and the halims and the niharis and the desi grocery stores get to shop there. So it’s a strong, vibrant Pakistani community which was affected by 9-11 because a lot of people were deported and sent off, but it’s still very thriving. There is a road that is called the Muhammad Ali Jinnah Avenue or road, one of the two. So yeah, when you enter that part, you feel you haven’t left Pakistan. And this, I would say, despite all the challenges of this production, I do wish we had more budget and all of that. But despite all of that and the challenges, I feel people really worked hard and put in everything they had. And they were troopers. And it’s three episodes short, so hopefully an easy watch, it’s only 30 minutes so I hope people will take something out of it.”
And we hope so too. Go watch 7 days In Coney Island and tell us if the 3 episodes X 30 minutes is a worthwhile watch! The upside? You’ll be done and dusted in under 2 hours, how’s that for a weekend watch experience?
Catch The Trailer For 7 Days In Coney Island Below!
7 Day In Coney Island will be airing on Green Entertainment from Fri-Sun. It is directed by Mehreen Jabbar and penned by Shah Yasir. The cast features:
Aizzah Fatima as Ghazala
Sidra Batool as Sana
Ahmad Razvi as Salman
Hussain Asif as Salek
Noor Naghmi as Haider Sahab
Sabeen Sadiq as Maddie
Carol Zoccoli as Rosa
Shyloh Boursiquot as Andre
The show is produced by Khurram Azim, Ahmad Razvi and Erum Shahid. DOP credits: Raza Arif
