20 minutes with Badar Mehmood

Starting his career at the age of 19, Badar Mehmood accomplished so much in such a short span of time that one could only dream of. He entered the field as a video-editor and gradually become one of the most famous directors of Pakistan. He has numerous soaps and telefilms to his credit. He has always touched on sensitive social issues through his dramas which are often brushed under the carpet. Directing super-hit serials including Cheekh, Dunk and Ishqiya, the super-talented, veteran and brilliant Badar Mehmood is in conversation with BOLD.

What’s your creative process?

There isn’t a certain set of rules that I follow. I just make sure that the story and the characters are very strong, the rest I adjust with the flow of the story.

Directors sometime lose their cool at the set during shoots, is this the case with you also?

I don’t believe in shouting and creating unnecessary panic. When I am on a shoot, my team is my family. I only get bothered if the set gets loud. I try to gel in with the team and prefer working in a friendly way.

You received a lot of criticism on your dramas, Dunk and Cheekh for instance, people had a lot of reservations on the themes and subject matter. How do you deal with it?

Creative art isn’t something that everyone will love or hate, people even find flaws in God’s creations also so critiquing a man’s work is no big deal. Yes, there’s been harsh criticism, sometimes it’s even below the belt, but like I said it varies from person to person, making something that every single person on the planet will love and approve of is impossible. People will find faults at the end of the day, so I don’t really worry about the criticism, I just give my 100% and the rest is for people to judge.

As a director, are there any grievances that you have?

I am very blessed in that aspect as a director, whatever I wanted to do I achieved it. Fahad Mustafa too guided me a lot. Just getting things approved is a tedious process in itself but I would again say that when my name gets attached to projects, they are approved instantly and I feel blessed in this regard.

If I talk about the content in general then I think directors need to work on the quality of the content, there are certain topics that directors steer clear from, topics like crime thrillers, they don’t get approved that easily, channels feel a little hesitant but it’s time that directors explore different genres.

A lot of dramas usually start strong but disappoint in the end and vice versa, they don’t maintain that benchmark throughout the course of their run-time, why is it so?

Dramas are subjective, the beginning and the endings are also subjective, some would like it, and some wouldn’t be too impressed. The quality of the script has nothing to do with new or old writers, it just varies from person to person and what they make of it, how they perceive it. I do agree that dramas begin on a strong note and then along the way loses its strength but writers and producers are focusing on this now and I am hoping that this will change very soon.

Journalist and critiques often get a little too harsh when it comes to their reviews, some I would say write the reviews to point out the negatives only, what are your views on it?

Everyone wants their project to do well, no one would intentionally make a sub-par project. Of course there are flaws at a lot of places, and I am not saying that you shouldn’t point out the negatives, you should, but where there are negatives, there are positives too, and I think the positives should be mentioned too. I’ve read a ton of reviews that state both the negatives and positives, it is impossible that you watch a 40 minute episode and don’t even find a single positive thing and vice versa. I think the journalists should not include their personal point of views in the reviews, whether they agree or disagree with the stance.

Any movies in the pipeline?

Nothing in the pipeline as of yet, but I do plan on making a movie once I feel like I am polished enough to produce or direct it. I don’t just want to make a movie for the sake of it, I want to polish my craft and then put it to good use when making a film.

Are you working on something currently?

There’s nothing yet but I am working on a script that will take about 2-3 months to go in the shooting process.

Can we expect any dramas like Dunk or Bala?

I’ve been trying my best to produce something that the audiences like, and while it’s in work I can’t say anything. Only the audience will decide if it becomes the talk of the town or not but I will try my best to meet the expectations.

8 Dramas Directed By Badar Mehmood That Should Be On Your Watch List

Balaa

A story of an obsessive women Nigar who crosses all limits to win her love interests which just marks the beginning of the worst that is yet to come. Featuring Bilal Abbas Khan and Ushna Shah in pivotal roles, the drama stands true to its name.

Dunk

Starring Bilal Abbas Khan, Sana Javed and Nauman Ijaz, the story is inspired by an incident that took place in Sargodha, where a professor committed suicide over false harassment allegations by a student and it was later revealed that the professor was not guilty.

Cheekh

The plot showcases the trials and tribulations of a woman, Mannat who seeks justice for the murder of her friend, Nayyab. Graced by Saba Qamar, Ushna Shah and Bilal Abbas Khan, the drama also touches on the themes of harassment, murder, internalized misogyny and injustice.

Aisi Hai Tanhai

Featuring Sonya Hussyn and Sami Khan, the story revolves around the grave issue of leaking personal pictures and how the society blames the victim, sparking a whole host of problems for her and her family. The shame attached to the pictures going viral leads the victim’s mother to try and kill her.

Ishqiya

The serial tells a tale of love, trust and betrayal which revolves around two sisters, Roomi and Hamna, played by Hania Aamir and Ramsha Khan. Hesitant to tell her father about the man she loves, Hamna’s actions cause both the sisters to pay a heavy price.

Meri Beti

Based on the social issues of family and relationships, the story revolves around three women fighting for true love, integrity, justice, equality, genuineness and liberty.

Zinda Dargor

The protagonist of the drama, played by Saniya Jamshed, is a surrounded by a plethora of agonies. In love with a character played by Nauman Aijaz, she considers herself the most unfortunate and miserable woman and deems killing herself is the most viable solution for her because she has nothing to live for.

Koi Nahi Apna

With Sarwat Gilani and Fahad Mustafa playing lovebirds belonging to different classes, the rich longs for a loving, caring marital life, while the middle class man yearns for money and a successful career. Things go south when scheming parents finally end up splitting the two.