Pakistan’s first found footage film, Aksbandh is all set to hit theatres on May 20. We spoke to the film writer and director, Emraan Hussain, to know what made him experiment with this new genre. Excerpts:
For those who don’t know about you and your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?
A lot of my family members were associated with advertising field and I used to go for commercials shoot since the age of 5. So, there was a natural inclination towards this field and after doing my intermediate, I joined Orient Advertising Agency.
With the advent of private channels in Pakistan, I decided to shift my attention towards television and started directing telefilms. I worked at Indus Vision for a year and then joined Geo Television. Geo’s popular travel adventure drama series Satraangi starring Fawad Khan was produced and directed by me.
How did Aksbandh happen?
I like to watch horror films and even on television most of my projects are mystery based. When I decided to venture into movies I thought to explore my favorite film genre, i.e. horror movies.
Aksbandh is going to be the first found footage film. Was it risky to make a directorial debut in this genre?
No, it wasn’t risky for me as a director because I am sure that once my film is completed I’ll have more work to do. Our film industry is going through a revival and it is an excellent time for us to experiment with different ideas – no matter what outcome we get.
When we took up this project we knew that this genre hadn’t explored in Pakistan. We took up the challenge because we knew that if we would offer something different to the audience it would definitely get noticed.
What is the main plot of the movie?
Just like other found footage film our story also revolves around the camera. The film starts with news package about a lost camera found in Larkana. To know the mystery behind that camera you have to watch the film in theatres.
I have heard that your film doesn’t have any song and only background music has been used to create the right feel for scenes. Is it really true?
We don’t have background music too in the film. It has a song sung by Shuja Hyder which will run in end credit and it has already been released.
What according to you will be the USP of the film?
I think the main attraction is the film genre because so far only seven countries have made found footage films. So the biggest appeal for the audience will be that how we have treated this sub-genre in Pakistan.
What are your top five favorite horror movies of all time?
My all time favorite movies included The Exorcist, The Shining, The Ring, Evil Death, The Eye and Paranormal activity. But let me also quote here that all the horror movies made in America have actually adopted from Malaysian and Korean horror movies. I am a huge fan of all the Malaysian horror flicks.
