After his noteworthy performance in popular television drama O Rangreza — where he played the character of Sajal Aly’s elder brother (Tipu) and his promising role as a Hindu in the period play Gughi, Hamza Firdous has proven through his few yet solid acts that he knows his craft. Now the actor is foraying into direction with his upcoming mini web-series, Chaal.
In an exclusive conversation with Something Haute, the actor spoke in detail about his two new projects including Chaal and his debut feature film, Aashiq.
Hamza will be seen acting in Chaal alongside directing the web-series. We inquired why he took up the role of a director?
“I am not directing it to prove a point. We have some of the best directors who can perhaps tell better stories and I am blessed to be working with some of the most talented directors. However, the reason for directing (Chaal) was that it’s just a story which has been with me for over a year and I wanted to express it in my way,” he said.
Does that mean you will continue directing? “No, It doesn’t mean that I will take up the job of directing; I am very much happy with acting. I am blessed to be working with some of the best directors,” he added.
Source: Hamza Firdous Instagram
We were intrigued by the poster of Chaal, that shows a silhouette of a man juxtaposed with a chess pawn. Hamza spilled some beans to satisfy out curiosity.
“Chaal is a murder mystery and it is based in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad. We have shot at some of the most exotic locations such as Ibrahim Hyderi and Jam Chakro which is a landfill site outside of Karachi. The sequences are designed in such a way because we wanted to explore the city,” Hamza revealed.
When asked why he decided to opt for a web-series rather than a TV drama or a feature film to tell the story, Hamza shared that web series are exciting.
“We get to see so many series from the West or India and the format is enticing. It gives you leverage in order to go out and experiment. Whereas you can experiment in a film as well but you somehow have to be conscious of the format of a film. In a web-series, you can design the story in such a way that the first one can lead up to the next one. We have written it in such a way that the last scene of this series can lead up to the big show,” he said.
Are we going to see a Chaal 2.0? “Yeah, definitely. For sure,” he added.
The shoot begins next month and the series will star Firdous Jamal in a cameo, Hamza as an intelligence officer, Noman Masood and Mahir Kamal who has also written the script. However, the female stars are being finalized as of now and the cast will be reveal soon.
Source: Hamza Firdous Instagram
Moving on to Hamza’s first feature film, Aashiq which shows a child on its poster and a directorial venture of Asad Mumtaz Malik.
“The film addresses the taboo topic of street children. People have this opinion that it is maybe an artsy film, but it’s not. It is a completely commercial script. All the characters of the film revolve around this child’s character and are connected through him. So, I would say it is an ensemble piece but at the same time, it has that grit in it which one is looking for. It is that ‘content-based cinema’ we talk about,” he shared.
Hamza will be seen donning the character of a journalist in Aashiq. “It is an interesting mix. All the characters are very well carved out and written by Ali Moeen. It is a story you would want to see on the screen,” he added.
The film which is expected to release by the end of this year will star Hajra Yamin, Adnan Shah Tipu, Saleem Mairaj and others. An official announcement for the upcoming projects is expected in mid-march once the cast is finalized. Keep checking Something Haute for more information about these projects.
