The promotions for Shaan Shahid’s upcoming film Arth – The Destination (Arth 2) are in full swing. From Lahore to Karachi the team is burning the midnight oil with promotions before the movie hits the cinema on 21st December 2017.
Shot in Lahore, London, Bristol and Scotland, the movie is a contemporary take on Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth that was released in 1982. The cast comprises of Shaan himself, Humaima Malick, Mohib Mirza and Uzma Hassan in the lead roles.
Pakistan Today had a chance to chat with Humaima Malick and Shaan Shahid about the movie and their respective roles. With little resemblance to the style of the original, the upcoming version radiates a style that screams ‘modernism’ in every scene.
As the nation eagerly waits for the movie to hit the cinemas, the snippets from the conversation will give the audience a hint of what to expect from the movie.
While talking about the movie Humaima said that she was hesitant to take the role as the original Arth is the story about ‘Parveen Bibi’.
“I did not want to be criticised for the role by anyone as I am on good terms with Mahesh Bhatt and his family,” she said.
After a year when Humaima agreed to do the role, despite the media comparisons to the original she said, “When I agreed to do the role, Shaan told me that I am not made for this character, the character was made for me,” she added, saying, “This motivated me to play my namesake who is fearless and a little crazy like me.”
“Apart from being crazy, my character and I both are very emotional, very spontaneous, dramatic and sometimes even hysterical,” added Humaima.
Shaan, who has also written the screenplay told Pakistan Today, “We’ve picked up 10-20% of the original film and rewrote the screenplay,” explaining that fictitious elements have been added to the story as telling the same story again isn’t creative.
“As a writer, for me, it was challenging to take that film out of a condensed art form, add flavour to it and make it into something new that will keep the audience entertained as well,” Shaan added.
Contrary to Humaima’s emotionally crazy character, Shaan plays a rather intense role of Ali.
“Ali, who is a divorcee returns to Pakistan after 10 years from the UK to make a professional comeback.”
“A person who once had everything is left with nothing, on unknown and strange streets. This is where he finds a friend; so the film is all about human relationships and the good things in life.”
Shaan has made a name for himself in the Pakistani industry with his graceful acting skills and charming personality; he has won the love of his fans and critics. Similarly, Humaima, in a short time has made a name for herself both in Lollywood and Bollywood. Her transformation for every role has been appreciated by the audience. From a conservative girl in Bol to a bold character in Raja Natwarlal, this girl knows what she is doing.
Unlike Humaima who has worked across the border, Shaan known to be a patriot said he that he is not interested in doing any work abroad. “Being a Pakistani, I feel like I have a lot of responsibility as a citizen of my country. Bollywood and Hollywood are doing really good for themselves, but it is not the time for me to leave my homeland as yet,” he said.
Humaima while talking about working with Shaan said, “He has been a mentor to me throughout. From teaching me to feeding me and making me laugh, Arth has been a roller-coaster,” adding that “Shaan is an institution himself and I am very lucky to have worked with him.”
The actors seemed very excited for the movie to release and each gave us their viewpoint on why people should go watch Arth and what to expect from it.
Humaima said, “Being Desi’s we love emotional dramas, which is why people should go watch it.”
“Movies are art and art itself is an intoxication. Thus, the nation as a whole should look to promote Pakistani cinema,” said Shaan, adding that, “there is a lot of substance in the movie, the music, the dialogues and the acting; this should definitely make the people go watch the movie.”
Arth 2 is set to release later this month.
Humaima Malick and Shaan Shahid’s next projects Maula Jutt and Zarrar are expected to release in 2018 respectively.