Sheheryar Munawar is the celebrity our industry needs today. In the ten odd years since Munawar has been around, he has displayed tremendous growth – with his TV comeback in Pehli Si Muhabbat and narrative-driven directorial debut, Prince Charming under his belt, Munawar is convinced that as an artist, one must constantly keep evolving.

The dedication was evident, when Munawar recently made time in between a very packed schedule and spoke to Instep about his latest professional undertakings. “An artist’s death is ego and pride,” is how he began the conversation. This was his way of explaining how learning can happen anywhere, through anyone, and one must be humble and down-to-earth enough to recognize that.

It’s easy to say something like that but Munawar walks the talk. Recently, photos of him next to Sarwat Gilani at her husband’s 40^th birthday bash went viral when COVID-19 was at an all-time high in Pakistan, and nobody seemed to be wearing a mask or following other SOPs. Munawar was quick to take responsibility, something most celebrities shy away from. Not only did he apologize, but it was also a very well-worded apology. Munawar also now uses his social media platforms to create awareness about socio-political issues, especially issues that concern women and their vulnerability to violence in Pakistan.

He claims his return to TV comeback with Pehli Si Muhabbat, therefore, is his attempt to keep working so that his craft doesn’t stagnate. He has the time, now that COVID-19 has put an indefinite halt to traditional cinema as we knew it. And he loves going on TV, even though the pace and production of TV serials is hugely different from the way films are made.

Despite the difference, Munawar approached Pehli Si Muhabbat like he would any other film project. He was involved in the pre-production and paid close attention to the script. “My scripts look like they have keeray makoray on them because I make so many notes. I really give attention to detail.”

This much one can already say about him, even if they have never actually spoken to Munawar. Prince Charming, starring Mahira Khan and Zahid Ahmed, has been directed and written by him and the 11-minute-long short film confirms that Munawar really puts a lot of thought in his work.

Providing a snapshot of an unhappy marriage between a woman suffering from depression and a man who simply has no time for her, Prince Charming brings to life the realities of marriages that lose their spark along the way, while shedding light on mental health and how it is often looked at in our society. While Mahira’s performance is one of the best she has ever delivered to date, credit must also be given to the smaller nuances that Munawar has made the effort of including.

For instance, Mahira’s movement in the film. Munawar says that the constant movement within the apartment, from one room to another and the back and forth between the corridors, is meant to help us visualize how she’s trapped within the confines of her mind. The restlessness, the sadness – none of it had to be verbally communicated by Mahira. The claustrophobia, that is evoked while watching the camera movement and the physical space in which this narrative has been set, is not something that rises in you by accident.

Providing a snapshot of an unhappy marriage between a woman suffering from depression and a man who simply has no time for her, Prince Charming brings to life the realities of marriages that lose their spark along the way, while shedding light on mental health and how it is often looked at in our society. While Mahira’s performance is one of the best she has ever delivered to date, credit must also be given to the smaller nuances that Munawar has made the effort of including.

Munawar says that he also drew parallels between Mahira’s daughter and husband’s behaviour, making a commentary on how “the Pakistani man is like a child. He doesn’t want a wife; he wants a mother to look after him.” We can’t say we don’t agree.

What’s exemplary is the fact that Munawar wrote the script only a few months ago and shot the film in two days. “We completed 101 shots in just two days. It’s unheard of.” The filmmaking process can often be marred with delays. In a place like Pakistan where it’s not normal to work at such speed, the entertainment industry has proven time and again to have issues with punctuality and the ability to stick to deadlines. In such a scenario, it’s refreshing to see how proactive Munawar and his team were, and he credits his team’s youth and freshness as the reason for this achievement. “They were all youngsters and were very eager.”

He also explains the reason behind the tight schedule. “When I wrote this, it just started out as a small story and I randomly gave Mahira a narration and she loved it. One day she called me and said ‘acha listen I have two days free,’ and that gave me roughly ten days to prepare the script, storyboard and art direction but we made it happen because Mahira’s availability was an opportunity.” Despite that, Zahid and Mahira both gave time for rehearsals, also unheard of for short films.

The encouragement has been pouring in. “This was my first attempt at writing and what I’m happy about is that the people in the industry were so kind to me. All the directors I’ve looked up to called me. People from around the world are sharing the film.”

But Munawar claims that he hasn’t been able to enjoy the success and has been feeling scared instead. “The pressure is mounting because everyone is asking me when I’m making the next one.”

The silver lining is that this attention has also given him confidence in his ability to write, and therefore he’s spending a lot of his time nowadays writing stories, which is all he cares about when producing content. “I just want to tell stories,” he claimed.

Munawar claims that he is now simply focusing on the narrative and isn’t writing according to any specific medium at the moment, also because the bifurcation between cinema and TV is becoming less evident thanks to OTT platforms. “It’s all about how quickly Pakistanis are able to keep up with the rest of the world.”

Eventually, Munawar would love to direct a long-format film but right now he’s pacing himself and setting realistic targets. But what does he foresee in terms of the next few years of Pakistani cinema? COVID-19 has put a break on an already struggling film industry that had finally started seeing some success, with films like Jawani Phir Nai Aani and the near future doesn’t look too promising. We have only recently experienced the fourth wave in Pakistan and the Delta and Lamda variants are on the rise. It doesn’t seem as though the constant opening and shutting of business and outdoor spaces will be able to provide a sustainable future for cinemas.

“Honestly, I don’t know. God knows better. One thing I’ve learnt recently is that we can’t plan anything. We are nothing but a speck in the universe. So, what we can do is keep working and not let our mind and our craft rot. We can simply remain hope that one day, things will go back to normal.”