KARACHI: The fourth day of the International Urdu Conference started with the session, titled ‘A look at Urdu fiction’.
According to the organisers, the session was chaired by Asad Muhammad Khan, Hasan Manzar, Masood Ashar, Qazi Afzal Hussain, Zahida Hina and Neelum Ahmed Basher. In addition, Anees Ashfaq, Mirza Hamid Baig, Muhammad Hameed Shahid, Asif Farukhi and Akhlaq Ahmed also attended the session. The session was hosted by Iqbal Khursheed.
Asad Muhammad Khan welcomed the guests who came from other countries to attend the 10th International Urdu Conference.
He said that fiction was the name of understanding the society and it was related to our pasts, specifically short stories and novels which were a reflection of the post-partition era.
Hasan Manzar said that it was the era of a generation who migrated from their land and missed the places where they were brought up.
He said that Urdu novels were also trying to explore the new consequences of life in the country. In the past people were writing about their society and today we are still doing the same, he added. He also said that we cannot change the perceptions of the society, but we should acknowledge the fact that we are still connected with our history.
Masood Ashar that said philosophy and novels were interlinked, adding that novels could not be completed without philosophy. However, it depended on how much a writer was involved in the philosophy, he said.
Qazi Afzal Hussain said that many new novels and stories were more impressive and it was a good example to follow. He further said that novel should not be a documentary or a historical book as the novelist’s own touch should be felt in the writing.
Zahida Hina said that various aspects of fiction writing should be discussed. Neelam Ahmed Bashir said that our children appeared more interested in English literature at the expense of Urdu literature.
Anees Ashfaq was of the view that novel, history and philosophy were interrelated. A novel could not be completed without history and it should also have a touch of philosophy.
Arts Council organises “A journey of Urdu film” session: Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi organised a session on “A journey of Urdu film” for the fourth day of International Urdu Conference on Sunday.
Famous film director Syed Noor, senior actors Manawar Syed, Qavi Khan and recently successful director Nabeel Qureshi and writer Fiza Ali also attended the session.
Syed Noor said that he was seeing great and revolutionary changes in the film industry and today the future of film was better as compared to a few decades ago. “In the recent decades technology has changed the way people watched movies, and we have a new generation of viewers who have great knowledge of filmmaking. They can criticise our films and compare our standards with other leading industries of the world,” Noor said.
Qavi Khan predicted that it was not the film industry that destroyed actors, but it was the people of the film industry who have destroyed young talent.
“Each of us was pulling the legs of other and we were jealous of others successes which ended the industry,” senior actor Qavi Khan said. Manawar Saeed urged people to visit cinemas houses to support Pakistan’s film industry.
Nabeel Qureshi said, “We cannot deny the role of technology in the reemergence of the film industry in Pakistan. However, hard work and dedication is more important than using technology”.
