Kuch Ankahi anticipation hits fever pitch as the first episode is about to go on air this weekend. We talk to the person who is behind the narrative – Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation takes our questions!
Kashf Foundation is behind some very powerful narratives – from Udaari to Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi and everything in between, the foundation has changed the game for telling stories onscreen. Therefore, it is no wonder that audiences can keep anything but calm as the latest narrative is about to roll on out onto their TV screens this weekend!
Rishaneh Zafar from Kashf Foundation, the person behind the Kuch Ankahi narrative, very graciously takes my questions. And we start at the beginning, the question on my mind:
To package multiple social messages, sugar coated in comic relief, is to try and appeal to the lighter side of life, get in more viewership, spread a wider net and hope the messages are not diluted as we go along? I ask Roshaneh.
But she responds with a defiant no!
“We didn’t have to change any of our messages so people can relate to it. We have viewership in earlier dramas too, like Udaari, so Kuch Ankahi is about testing the waters. It’s a conscious effort to do things differently!” She explains.
That’s a tall order indeed, but can they do it?
Oh well, episode 1 drops tomorrow and we have all season to figure that one out. But they certainly have the magic formula in place. From Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan driving the narrative to Nadeem Baig of recently wrapped up block buster Sinfe Aahan adding his directorial prowess and then, Mohammad Ahmed as the writer who breathes life into characters with resounding clarity (and greyness) – does the drama need any further ticket to success? Apparently they did, because the makers have taken it up a notch by adding in a stellar ensemble cast, a family feel and an OST by none other than Azaan Sami Khan to take things to the next level!
But I press on, relentlessly.
But this time, you have ARY on board and was it easy to push through the social narrative without making it commercial?
“There was traction at all levels, the concept was to revive comedy and romcom on screen, it was a love story with an undertone of serious messages, we have learnt quite a bit on how to package things. We haven’t seen this kind of a story or narrative on our screens so we had ARY behind us immediately.” Responds Roshaneh, once again super confident with the work that’s gone behind this effort. I am told, it was over 18 months of the script going back and forth between all collaborators!
We didn’t have to change any of our messages, it’s a family oriented drama so people can relate to it
Roshaneh goes on to elaborate:
“The story is of any middle class family and since it’s positioned in such a light hearted manner, it made a lot of sense, we have worked with ARY before and the team we had with Mohammad Ahmed doing the script and Nadeem Baig at the helm and then Six Sigma involved, these projects are so collaborative. We all worked as a team over 18 months and discussed things so ARY, from the very beginning was on board. You have to get the channel on board from the very beginning.”
Did you make the switch from serious to humour to get more reach and soft messaging to masses?
“We’ve all grown up watching Haseena Moin’s plays, and I always felt that was the missing link in today’s dramas. We are not watching intelligent stories onscreen with strong female characters. We wanted to try something completely different. The moment any Kashf Foundation project comes up, people feel that this all very serious, it will be reality based and will hit you in the stomach, which we are known for. And even in Kuch Ankahi you will be able to relate to the characters. Every character has an arc, development. there’s a lot of grey. Every character has a struggle, a process, a journey, you will be seeing real characters but of course, we will use the brush of comedy and humour and situational issues where they confront challenges in a kind of humorous way, but there is an underlying serious message.”
We believe this formula can also draw audiences, we shouldn’t feel that audiences expect a certain genre or content, that’s isn’t true, we need to up our game, the audience is always ready for better content and narratives.
Roshaneh zafar, Kashf Foundation
“We have viewership in earlier dramas too, Udaari eg which also had a two track approach, one very serious and then Bushra Ansari’s track carried humour. In this case, it was a conscious effort to do somethings differently, we wanted to test the waters in a different way, having Haseena apa onboard was a no brainer. It wasn’t about getting more viewership, we got that from Udaari, it was about testing the waters. We believe this formula can also draw audiences, we shouldn’t feel that audiences expect a certain genre or content, that’s isn’t true, we need to up our game, the audience is always ready for better content and narratives.”
The idea of telling a story through humour and sending out social messages too is a signature Haseena Moin trait. How hard was it to find someone who could tell it in her voice and yet let his own pen shine through as well? I asked.
“It was tragic for us and the whole country to lose Haseena apa. We were going to sit with her and pen the story line. We were flummoxed when we lost her, and we weren’t sure how we’d find the writer. So we looked at quite a few dramas and projects penned over the past 20 odd years and we looked at the Dolly Ki Aeygi series. we spoke to some people who had been part of the series.”
Roshaneh’s passion and admiration for Mohammed Ahmed was palpable, visions of Dolly Ki Aegi Baraat flitted through my mind, even though I knew it’s not fair to compare two different genres!
She went on to explain: “Ahmed Sahab came up as the best in his approach. He understood the story very well, he could relate to it, it made sense, he was open to our ideas, he had the sensitivity we need, the timing, the humour, and his dialogues were phenomenal. We spent a lot of time on the characters and what they stood for, he totally understood that characters have to have grey, they have to start from a certain point and move to another level and all those points clicked. We spent almost 18 months on the script going backward and forward and this is the first time we didn’t have the script complete when we went into production. So we had worked on almost 16 to 17 of the episodes. usually we close the script and move forward. But that allowed us to get input from Nadeem Baig who had some excellent ideas.”
We haven’t seen this kind of a story or narrative on our screens so we had ARY behind us immediately
Roshaneh Zafar, Kashf Foundation
“Pakistan has so much talent and it’s so exciting to learn from all the talent in the media industry. Ahmed Sahab has such control over Urdu, dialogue delivery and writing. Initially we were concerned how we’ll find the writer but then after meeting Ahmed Sahab, it just clicked! We needed that sensitivity to gender issues as well, along with a good sense of humour combined with the ability to tell a good story. He was exactly the best choice and he has done a phenomenal job!”
And that brings us to the next point, I dream of the female leads who took over my world when Haseena Moin breathed life into them. They seemed to dance across, off the page, onto the screen, spilling off the screen, into my living room till many young girls like me at the time, lived, breathed and talked like anyone of her lovable heroines!
What could we expect here from our heroine(s)? I asked, hopeful and yet, holding my breath so as not to be disappointed over my gargantuan expectations!
“So technically all 4 female characters have their arc, they all have to undergo struggles and the process of self awareness and self reflection. So all 3 younger characters, the girls, will all have to learn through their own mistakes.
Secondly, the most important thing we dampen in our society is curiosity – you can’t ask questions, you can’t be curious, or go against the wave or the trend or the norm, the inherent curiosity to know! You will see this in all their roles; the ‘can do’ attitude, the intrepidness, the fearlessness, to take on issues, to not accept the current norms, to question the status quo, why is it this way, why can’t things be different?” Roshaneh spoke passionately, as if she too, were one of the many Haseena Moin characters that we love to imagine to be in real life. And I suspect somewhere, deep down, she is. But more on that in another conversation!
And that’s not all, she completed the picture for me: “Underlying all this is the compassion, the search for romance. That’s embodied in the main character especially, it’s not just a search to find a solution, but finding yourself to find a mate.:
Oh the magic word – Romance! She just made it all come true for many fans who will be glued to their screens this Saturday evening! She went on to explain how this project is different from the rest.
The moment any Kashf Foundation project comes up, people feel that this all very serious, it will be reality based and will hit you in the stomach, which we are known for
Roshaneh Zafar
“This narrative is different. It’s a take on family and the lighter side of life. “
Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is just love! Will Bilal Abbas essay the desi Mr. Darcy and Sajal as the middle daughter Elizabeth?
“The Pride & Prejudice is really what’s going on this family.” Responds Roshaneh. Three daughters, a mother and a father who are opposed and the search for an ideal match.
But she evades my question smartly, not wanting to give anything away!
“There is a Mr. Darcy in all of us and the lesson we can draw from his character is really him overcoming his own prejudices and biases. Our male character will also have to fight many of the inherent norms that he has imbibed from society about women and gender roles. That’s the Mr. Darcy that we are trying to show.” (Pssst, I did spot Mr. Sheheryar Munawar in one of the teasers, but let’s see if he’s the one, or not. My guess is as good as yours!)
“It’s a process of change that the main character will go through. On both sides, the female character too.”
And change is where it all begins, I think to myself. Kuch Ankahi will hopefully, bring about the change that we want to see in damas and the beginning of 2023 is a great way to kick off a new norm!
