From the sets of London Nahi Jaunga

The cinema industry in Pakistan is all set for a resumption ahead of its most successful phase of Eid ul Azha. Most of the  highest-grossing films in Pakistan have been released during this period, and the audience is waiting for the festive occasion anxiously. With Cinemas across the country now fully operational for the first time since March 2020, this Eid will see the clash of two of the most-anticipated flicks – one of them being London Nahi Jaunga.

Nadeem Baig directorial suffered the most due to the pandemic since the makers weren’t able to travel to London and had to shelve the film until resumption of air travel. It took the longest pause until the travel and filming in the United Kingdom were completely relieved for foreign filmmakers.

The film stars Humayun Saeed, Mehwish Hayat and Kubra Khan in leading roles while Gohar Rasheed, Vasay Chaudhry, Sohail Ahmed, Iffat Omar and Saba Hameed play supporting characters.

The first spell of London Nahi Jaonga was shot in the historical city of Bahawalpur in the first quarter of 2020.  The southern city of the province was chosen as the story demanded to show the lords of Punjab with all their egos in giganticHavelis, and the town is abundant with those magnificent palaces.

I also had the chance to visit one of the Havelis , where the shoot of London Nahi Jaonga was taking place. It was a chilling night of the first week of March 2020 when I travelled to Bahawalpur from Karachi. . The next day after the sunset, and after contacting the production team, we reached the venue where the shooting was taking place at a Haveli with large gardens and beautifully constructed architecture which reminded me of the richness of the city.

The leading man of the film Humayun Saeed was gracious enough to greet us when we reached the place. He told us if we had come a day earlier, we could have had the opportunity to have more scoop from the shooting of a blazing dance number. I observed it was chillier than the last evening,  might be because of the open area spread over miles.

Humayun Saeed and Mehwish Hayat were supposed to do a rain sequence soon when the mercury went down to some 8 degree Celsius. I realised that an actor’s life is not a bed of roses as they work hard behind those scenes which we finally enjoy at the comfort of the cosy and comfortable seats of cinemas.

As I entered the palace everybody from set designer to lighting and camera teams and production staff, all were busy here and there.  Nadeem Baig, the director of the film, was the most stressed person around as just after greeting us, he ‘directed’ us to sit on the chairs around a dining table, where we were served with steaming hot tea. It was quite difficult for us to find and fit three chairs there properly as the room was cramped with wires, extra lights and other supporting materials. In an adjoining room, Mehwish Hayat and Vasay Chuadhry were recording their ‘confrontation’ scene, which the director wanted us to watch. It took a good half an hour before the director called ‘cut’ and the camera team moved on to the next scene.

Nadeem Baig, who is known for his highest-grossing films at the box office including Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (2015), Punjab Nahi Jaungi (2017), and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (2018) then left to prepare for the next scene, and I was left to mingle with the cast. In what seemed like a makeshift makeup room, the actors were both resting and rehearsing and although it seemed obvious from their eyes that they had not slept very well, yet they were excited for the next scene.

Mehwish Hayat was busy getting dressed up for her next act; her stylist was making sure that she was not missing anything in her looks for the scene. Kubra Khan was quite relaxed as her scene was not scheduled any sooner. Humayun Saeed was already in his getup and was continuously peeping in and out of the room, maybe in order to keep an eye on the on-goings as he was also one of the four producers of the project. The production team was on their toes in setting up a more difficult situation for the scene, which was to create an artificial rain under which the two leading stars had to stand, and deliver hard-hitting dialogues penned by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar.

I also encountered Irfan Malik, head of distribution, who told me that most of the part of the film (about 60 to 70 percent) was supposed to be shot in Bahawalpur as the story itself was set in the backdrop of the city. He further disclosed that the first spell was about to be packed soon in the next few days. They were lucky enough to get out unscathed from the upcoming drastic situation as just after a couple of weeks, the whole country went into lockdown. Otherwise, the film could have been delayed, had they not completed its larger chunk before the Covid-19 restrictions.

It was while I was talking to Irfanthat shooting for the next scene commenced. After the trail run, both Mehwish Hayat and Humayun Saeed had a wardrobe change and the routine continued until the scene was finally completed. I  went outside just to witness how it was going in that chilling post-midnight hours. Both the stars were completely in their characters till the end when Sara (Mehwish Hayat) left the scene with an umbrella leaving behind Chaudary Jameel (Humayun) soaking in the rain.

It was really chilling and I, who was coming from the spring’s warmth of Karachi, did not expect the weather to be that cold in Punjab. My clothing, a long jersey shirt with just a half stole was definitely not enough to cover me from chilling winds. I was told that it was unusual to be that cold in the month of March in Bahawalpur. Surprisingly it actually rained just the next day after the shoot. In the meantime, I also visited the whole palace and found many props and setups on different spots which could tell that place was well utilised for the shoot.

As for the shooting, the production team was relieved when the rain scene was finally over, and they all managed to take a well-deserved break. After exchanging good bye notes, I came back to my hotel just before dawn, and before going to sleep, I noted down the points of the whole experience, and waited for the right time to publish them, which was to me after the release of the trailer. I could not imagine in my wildest imagination that I would have to postpone it for a good two years. As for the rest of the film was shot in London in the beginning of this year (just after two years of first spell) in a weather more chilling than Bahawalpur.

London Nahi Jaonga is neither the sequel nor the prequel of Punjab Nahi Jaongi but according to Humayun Saeed is a part of the franchise, filmed in a particular setting, quite similar to each other. Now the film is finally coming to grace the screens, one hopes that the hard work of the entire team is lauded by the audience and the film is declared successful, like the team’s previous flicks.