Good thing going

Last month, a beautiful and diverse three-episode music series, called Dharti, was released, with each part delving into traditional, folk music while also keeping its true essence intact. It introduces artists who aren’t known to many but are some of the best ones to watch out for. While Juman Latif and Group, led by Fakir Juman Shah, feature in the first part, the second episode sees Yousuf Faqir, a blind faqir from the Thar Desert, who performs Sindhi Folk music, followed by Nehaal Naeem lending vocals to ‘Piplaan Di Chaan’ in the recently released final part.

Presented in collaboration with Patari, the series was directed by Ali Sattar, who is CEO of 33 Productions, and was produced by Usama Naeem, who is CEO of UN Entertainment Group – both of whom are based in Islamabad. Instep caught up with this dynamic duo, that has been associated with theatre and music for some years, to find out more about this and other projects they are currently engaged in.

“Dharti is a project for Patari which showcases the raw and hidden talent throughout Pakistan,” Ali Sattar, who has directed these beautiful videos, shared. “We have captured the sound of our dharti, from the desert in Sindh, to the soulful voices at the shrine of Bhit Shah, and a young emerging talent of the twin-cities.”

Reflecting on the experience, producer of the project Usama Naeem noted, “It was an enlightening experience. While we were working on it, we met people who were very hospitable and visited places that were beautiful. It is a brilliant decision by Patari to promote the unsung heroes of traditional folk music and to support new artists. All the artists featured in the three episodes are not much recognized; they all have limited fan base but it’s time the whole country knows them too.”

Ali and Usama have been working together for some time and one of their recent joint ventures include a campaign for SIUT they worked on in collaboration with Jami Mehmood, who directed it. Currently, Ali Sattar is gearing up for his next musical film, called ‘Saqi-e-Bawafa’, the upcoming debut single by Islamabad-based music group Saakin. The teaser is out already and features band members Parham Faraid, Varqa Faraid, Ali Hamdani, Usman Shakeel and Ibrahim Akhtar.

“It’s a very special project for us where we delve into the surrealism and spiritual subtext that is deep rooted into the melody and lyrics of this prolific Persian composition,” noted Ali, the director and colorist behind the project.

Ali brings with him the experience of theatre, TV, music as well as films. He has been associated with a range of projects, from documentaries to theatrical plays, from TV and print campaigns, to music videos.

Usama, who also have a background in theatre, recently got done with the Islamabad run of theatre play Aapka Matlooba Number and is soon to bring it to Karachi. Directed by Atif Siddique, the play is a fun take on miscommunications in the present era and features Mariam Saleem Nawaz, Marjaan Fatima, Salmaan Shaukat and others including Moid Aslam, Omer Khan, Israr ul haq and Bushra Yameen.

“Aapka Matlooba Number is beyond doubt the most accomplished scripted performance I’ve ever engaged with,” Usama observed. “The response by the citizens of Islamabad was overwhelming. We will be performing in Karachi in the coming months. And for that, we have improvised it according to the audience and I’m confident that they’ll love it too.”

Aside from this, Usama is working on a series of short films that he plans to release soon after Eid. “In past years, I have observed a lot of incidents, real life stories and worked on some concepts along the line. The ideas come to me as I ponder more into the situations around me and within me. Any work I do is to highlight a social cause; I work on message-oriented concepts whether through comedy or any other genre. On that thought, my upcoming short film is multidimensional. It will have all the elements including music, drama, art, fashion, action as well as comedy,” he concluded.