Umer Aalam might be the name doing the rounds in Tamasha earlier, but he’s also the fun bloke we saw in Shehnai, performing a range of characters over the past few months, we now see him as Chaudhary Kamran, the spoilt brat of an influential father in none other than the latest Pakistani cinematic release – Taxali Gate.
Umer Aalam is quite tongue in cheek when it comes to sharing his thoughts, and that’s why, candid is what you get with this young actor who has a promising career ahead of him. Here he takes our questions on his role choice and challenges in Taxali Gate. Read on!
Why, how did you land the role and did you say yes asap or … took you some time. If you had any reservations, what were they?
“I got a call from the director, he said that he has a project for me, a character. So you come over, he said, I’ll have a meeting with you. I went to him, he told me about the character. And I said, man, this will be a little too much for me. The reason is, that people see me in a very good, fun way, so this is a little bit too much, I feared.”
But I will tell you who you have to work with, responded the director. Yasir Hussain, Ayesha Umar, Nayyer Ijaz, Mehar Bano. “Then I thought,” responded Umer, contemplatively, “Yes, these are seasoned actors, if you work with them, then it is also a matter of doing something better. So I asked him, tell me, to what extent do you have to do that (the scene)? What will happen? He said, no, we won’t show anything. People will understand what we mean by simply visualizing.”
Umer went on to explain: “We won’t visualize anything. But this character is amazing.” So I said, explains Umer, “then let’s do it. I don’t have any problem. I had to work with these people. I had to work with the director. I had to work with the team. And I felt it’s a good opportunity, ” Wraps up Umer, explaining his reasons for taking on the very devious, and vile, if we may say so, Chaudhary Kamran!
Do you feel you might be getting typecast. We have seen the negative role played out before too, or it’s just a one off?
“Typecast, I don’t think I have done so much work that I have been typecast. I know that when I do negative, I enjoy it a lot. And when I do negative with more fun, people enjoy watching it too. And now I am doing a drama, in which I have a positive character. After that, what I am doing, there is a positive character in that too. Then there is another film, in which there is a positive character. So I don’t think people have typecast me yet, he responds confidently. “Maybe they will start doing it after this. You never know.”
Something interesting on the set, the shoot, the roof scene. Did you improvise at all, or went according to plan?
“There were many interesting and fun incidents on set. For example, the rain sequence was fun. The scene on the roof was fun too. When we were shooting on the roof, the boys came on the sides. They were the guests, I was there. And we had such scenes where we were coming closer and talking. And everyone was like, oh, oh, oh.”
Umer went on to explain…And this, we agree, is the scene to watch out for in the 95 minutes film.
“And then we had to do a dance for the guests. So we put a curtain on one side. Because the roof was high, we couldn’t see it. But we put a curtain on the other side where people were standing and watching. And then we recorded the dance for the guests. So this is it. The improvised scene. I think that scene, when we did it earlier, the director said that your expression is good, but I think there is a lack of chemistry between you. There is no current that should come, when a boy and a girl meet. So we did it again, improvised it, added moves. So that scene is a little more interesting.”
We went on to deconstruct the one mood defining fight scene in the film:
The fight scene and throwing you into the grave, was that really you. Practice ki thi, when fighting ya waise hi hogaya, ek ya do take mein?
The fight scene was fascinating,” explains Umer. “Our action choreographer, whose name escapes me, has worked on about 400-500 movies and is highly renowned in Lahore. When he instructed us, we couldn’t recall the moves, but the sound of his punches stuck with us.”
“When we initially performed the action sequence, there was feedback that we were too energetic. They advised me to maintain a specific tempo for a more enjoyable performance. Following their guidance, we nailed it the second time. The choreographer was pleased, saying, ‘Yes, it’s perfect.’ He tossed me aside, and then Yasir Bhai did the same.”
“As I fell, my back took a hit, then I was pinned against the wall. Nayyer sahib joined in, delivering his blows. I’ve taken quite a beating in this play; it was quite daunting.” Reveals Umer, and yes, we agree, the scenes were full on action, and it shows!
On feedback from his fans, Umer had this to tell us:
“Mere fans bhi mujhe kehte hain, aacha, is film mein bhi aap mar jate hain, waah! Aap har film mein taqreeban, aap mar rahe ho, har drama mein aapko taqreeban mar hi dete hain. … I have a lot of negative characters in my films.”
“Then another 22-23 year old student came to me on the night of the premiere. He came and said, we want to ask you something:”…
“I said, yes, ask. He said, how did you come out of the grave? I said, have you seen the film? He said, yes, I have seen it. You were so good that we started hating you. I said, thank you so much. I don’t know what to say, but I feel like that is a compliment. And he said, yes, it is.”
“I think these things really motivate you to work better.” Explains Umer.
Do you feel Kamran got away easy, he just died, should he have suffered in jail instead? Or do you feel what he suffered was bad enough?
“I don’t think that Kamran died that easily. I mean, he was buried alive in the grave. That was a different thing. Because when he fell down, he was hit on the head and fainted. But he didn’t die. He was alive and fainted. And they buried him. So what could be worse than this? What he did was very bad.”
Umer went on to explain if Chaudhary Kamran’s end was justified:
“Worse than death, I think, before that, he was not only killed, but his friend was also buried in front of him. And he is alive and he is seeing that this is wrong. Next time it is my turn. So that thought itself is a big torture for you, a big punishment. So I think it was absolutely right. What he did, what happened to him, to bury him alive is a big deal. It was justified.”
Is it hard to do such a character till you are comfortable with your co actor? Did you discuss the scene with Mehar Bano first?
“Definitely, if you two actors are not on the same page, then this can never happen. For that you should know how comfortable you are with each other. And this is a scene, our professional relation is professional. There is no such thing that it should be a cause of worry for you. So I had a talk with Meher Bano, We did all this in a very subtle way. And the rest of the scenes, it was good that we did that scene first, when I go to their house, after that we did the roof scene. We had shot it for a day or two…. We had a lot of conversations and that’s why we had a chemistry.”
“So, it didn’t feel so off, the scene on the roof.” reveals Umer.
What’s the plan for Umer Aalam now, going forward? What’s in the pipeline?
Well, Umar Alam’s film is in the process of being shot. I mean, he has two films. One is being shot and the other is in the edit. The one I am talking about is on Pindi Express. And the other is being shot. These are the two movies.
“After that I am doing a theatre, which will come after Eid. So, there are a lot of things, thanks to Allah. There are a lot of things on the plate, Alhamdulillah. And you see what happens next, Allah will do. I feel like doing more movies, dramas. I mean, it is there. But the movie has its own charm, it’s a process itself, promotions, premieres, then the excitement of the film release, then the feedback from the people. Drama is not that much. Drama has come and gone. This is how it is?
Oh well, is this a sign that we see more of Umer on the big screen?
How did you think the film would do, were you scared, first night release, or chill and cool?
“I knew that the topic of this film is very different, the content is very strong, the acting is also very good. But I was a little worried that people will say that it is very dry, very empty, people will not enjoy it. Later, we said so much in the promotion that the film is excellent. But when that film came and people saw it and then the way it took us with it and then related to it, then it was absolutely fine. Then it was set. I was a little confused. And I will tell you something interesting … ” Umer’s vocie trailed off to elaborate.
“When I saw my first scene, which is the first scene of the film, I said, man, what work have I done? Wow, wow, wow. I became my own fan. I’m not sure if you can see it. It’s very rare. But this scene is so natural…”
“Just Wow!”
Taxali Gate: Schooling Audiences On Consent and So Much More!
Taxali gate is written & directed by Abu Aleeha, Executive Producer Shabbir Shah, Producer Waqas Rizvi and Ayesha Omar. Official Media Partner Hum Network. The cast includes Ayesha Omar, Yasir Hussain, Umer Aalam, Mehar Bano, Iffat Omar, Nayyar Ejaz, Babar Ali, Alyy Khan. Iftikhar Thakur, Shehryar Cheema, Khalid Anum, Shehzad Khan and others.
