10th edition of Karachi Literature Festival commences today

Here is all you need to know about the three-day event, scheduled to be held at Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.The 10th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) kicks-off in the city of lights today, that is, March 1 at the Beach Luxury Hotel. Like every year, the three-day festival will host literature enthusiasts, authors, critics, artists and literary figures such as writers Deborah Baker and Elena Nicolai from different parts of the world, excluding India due to the ongoing heightening, persistent tension between the two states.Starting from today 5:00 pm onwards with welcome and keynote speeches, KLF 2019 Day One will feature a performance by Sheema Kermani, called ‘Aao Humwatno Raqs Karo’ in the Main Garden. This will be followed by a discussion on ‘Pakistan Cinema – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow featuring Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Yasir Hussain, Munawar Saeed, Nabeel Qureshi and Asif Raza Mir on the panel.Simultaneously, Jawad Sharif’s documentary, titled Indus Blues that features Pakistani folk artists talking about their struggle to keep a fading art form alive will have its premiere with director-producer Jawad in attendance. The day will conclude with a theatrical performance, ‘Safr-e-Pakistan: Pakistan’s Travelogue in String Puppets’ by Thespianz Theatre which will be directed by Faisal Malik.Day Two will commence with a session called ‘Filmy Gaanay Aur Urdu Shairi’ that will take place in the Main Garden and will feature renowned playwright Haseena Moin, Arfa Sayeda Zehra and Sultan Arshad as panelists, followed by ‘Urdu Theatre: Kal Aaj Aur Kal’ featuring Sajid Hasan, Zain Ahmed, Kulsoom Aftab and Sheema Kermani.The second day will have sessions such ‘Beyond The Novel – Future Directions in Pakistani Writing’ featuring Taha Kehar, Sana Munir, Qazi Fasih and Faiqa Mansab; ‘Publishing 2020 And Beyond – New Trends, Digitization and Technology’ featuring Bilal Zahoor, Arshad Husain and Noman Said on the panel with Hoori Noorani moderating. Meanwhile, the LOL Waalay comedy troupe featuring Akbar Chaudhry, Syed Kumail, Zubair Tariq, Sannan Wastani and Ali Gul Pir will perform in the evening under ‘Filbadi Fun With LOL Waalay’ while Madiha Aijaz’s documentary These Silences Are All The Words will also be screened simultaneously.The final day of the festival will open with a session called ‘Is Today’s Media Informing Society or Dumbing it Down?’ with Ghazanfar Hashmi, Amna Khaishgi, Azhar Abbas, Fahd Husain and Ghazi Salahuddin on the panel. In the afternoon, there is a session on the state of television called ‘TV Drama ¬– Rise and Fall featuring Kaif Ghaznavi, Saife Hasan, Azfar Rehman and Marina Khan as panelists with Khaled Anam as moderator. This will be followed by ‘Kuch Bhi – A talk by Anwar Maqsood’ in the Main Garden.Some of the book launches that are scheduled to take place during the three day festival include Beyond The Fields by Aysha Baqir, Points of Entry – Encounters At the Origin-Sites of Pakistan by Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto – The Psychodynamics of his Rise and Fall by Shamim Ahmad, Adh Adhooray Lok by Hafeez Khan and Pakistaniat Kiya Hai? by Javed Jabbar, among others.To check out the complete schedule, visit Karachi Literature Festival’s official Facebook page. 

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Mahershala Ali to star in sci-fi film Sovereign

Fresh off his Oscar win for Green Book, Mahershala Ali is diving into the sci-fi world in the upcoming Entertainment One film Sovereign. Details about the plot are being kept under wraps, but it will be directed by Marc Munden (Utopia) and produced by eOne along with 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen.Munden will direct a screenplay from A Quiet Place scribes Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. An original draft was written by Greg Weidman and Geoff Tock, with revisions by Jack Thorne. eOne will also finance the film.“We have long loved this project and have been patiently waiting until we found the right leading actor, which we no doubt have found in the incredibly talented Mahershala Ali,” said Nick Meyer, eOne’s President of Film, in a release Wednesday. “The cast is clearly shaping up well and is backed by a creative team with a proven track record and the ability to tell a story that will resonate with audiences around the world.”“Much like our film Arrival, this project is for us a dream pairing of an inspired screenplay with a truly visionary director. Marc Munden has been an exceptional collaborator in shaping this singular story into one that jumps off the page and with the phenomenally talented Mahershala Ali at the heart of this film, we feel we now have the dream creative partners to tell a story that audiences won’t forget,” said Levy, Levine and Cohen. The trio also produced the Netflix’s uber-popular sci-fi ’80s romp Stranger Things.Ali is no stranger to the sci-fi and fantasy world. He most recently showcased his sci-fi chops in Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel and also starred in the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He also appeared in Luke Cage as well as The Hunger Games franchise. In addition to winning the Oscar for Green Book, he won the Academy Award for his role in Barry Jenkins’ Best Picture winner Moonlight.Ali is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. Beck and Woods are repped by ICM Partners and Anonymous Content. Munden is repped by WME and Independent Talent Group.– Courtesy: Deadline 

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In conversation with Sarmad Khoosat

There is no question that when it comes to acting and direction, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat is one of the finest – working across various mediums. He is masterful and moving in ways you can’t comprehend unless you watch one of his works, as director or actor.From his performance and direction in and as Manto in the Pakistani feature film to his 24-hour-long live act, No Time To Sleep to his direction of Humsafar (that may have been flawed but did create the country’s biggest onscreen couple, Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan) it seems Sarmad Khoosat is a man who understands both forms and has the courage to take on things others simply wouldn’t. In between all this, Sarmad Khoosat has also directed music videos, which means ‘Chandni Raat’ is not his first music video for Ali Sethi. The singer-songwriter and musician also featured on the soundtrack of Manto and that’s just off the top of my head. However, ‘Chandni Raat’ is easily Ali Sethi’s finest, since it’s (a) beautiful and (b) unlike his previous works, even as certain hints do exist. But while we will speak about the single at a later date, it has to be said that the music video qualifies as one of the strongest music videos to emerge, not just in 2019, but one of the strongest in all-time. While the music, production and lyrical credits belong to a bevy of people, beginning with Ali Sethi and by Noah Georgeson – who produced the title track of the hit TV series Narcos – the music video is co-directed by Sarmad Khoosat and music videos, for reasons past understanding, evoke different ideas in different people. Upon first viewing it, I assumed that it has to do with the pain of migration and a sense of longing. It brought to mind the refugees that are without home, suffering from separation but also how humanity exists even as people are strangers. It is diverse because it contains various ethnicities but it fits in the narrative of the video and doesn’t feel forced – as can be the case, particularly in Pakistan where social messages lack nuance. Instep got a hold of Sarmad Sultan Khoosat to ask him about his newest music video and what it’s really about… Instep: Everybody has their own interpretation of music. I thought it was about the pain of migration and refugees, humanity and diversity but very nuanced. Maybe I’m right, or wrong… Sarmad Sultan Khoosat (SSK): There is no right or wrong interpretation. Instep: You’ve worked with Ali on the music video of ‘Kithay Nain Na Jorin’ a couple of years back. He was featured on the soundtrack of Manto… SSK: This was before that. Collaboration-wise, yes, it’s my third time working with Ali. Somewhere in the middle, we have worked on OSTs; in one I was an actor, and there was a play I did and Ali and Zeb sang for it. But that’s not the same. Instep: What can you tell us about ‘Chandni Raat’?SSK: It’s very seldom that one gets an opportunity to indulge and only if there wasn’t this fear of sounding too self-important, it’s art. It inclines more towards following art than following what mainstream norms are. That’s why I call it artistic. I’m not calling myself artistic so perhaps the art element was kept supreme. Instep: Can you explain what you mean by ‘art’ element? SSK: With art, I feel it should be as open as fluid to interpretation as many people have access to it. Definitively, there has been some thought-process and a thin narrative in our head(s) which drove the full thing but I don’t want to explain it or impart meaning to it and I would much rather whatever and whichever people read it and look at it. It’s very interesting because you said partition and refugees because as I said the place is vague, we don’t know the geography of it, we don’t even know what time it is. That kind of ambiguity, I felt, was important, for us and as you said they look like an ensemble of milieu of people gathered here by chance. The other day, somebody said it looks like afterlife. For me, the refugee situation is much more tragic and extreme but isn’t that how airports are? Flights get delayed and it’s a bunch of strangers. I’ve had the experience several times when somebody would get up and crack a joke, people chatting to the person sitting next to them. There are three distinct acts to the whole video if you look at it. The first is the set-up where you do feel that they are strangers, there’s some kind of estrangement or a lack of connection. Then there is a connection and then some unification. And again, vaguely speaking, that’s what it is if you read it. Now, where we are, what’s the context, we can read it whichever way. It could be a dystopian time in the future or a part of our history. Certainly, the presence of brown people does give it a South Asian context but we have Sikhs living here, even Chinese people, so I’m just saying that the diversity you see needed to be organic and as a music video it could not be melodramatic. The ghazal is very delicate and the music is very delicate. The idea was to retain the delicacy of the whole thing. 

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Child brides

It is a grim fact that Pakistan has not been able to tackle the issue of child marriages. The cases of child marriages are also rampant due to economic or societal pressures. We ought to take steps to deal with this longstanding issue. The authorities concerned should take stern action against the practice of child marriages by launching an effective media campaign. Early marriages also act as a big deterrence towards a girl’s education. If the government takes swift action to resolve the issue, girls in Pakistan can have a better chance of completing their educations.Abbas R SiddiqiLahore

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Rising tensions

Pervez Musharraf has asked Pakistan to recognise Israel, but he didn’t mention a word about the suffering of the Palestinians. He also wants Pakistan to drop 20 A-bombs on India lest she eliminates Pakistan with 20.Musharraf’s current, and confusing, jargon doesn’t make any sense.Khalid Mas’oodIslamabad*****Unfortunately, nowadays, clouds of war are hovering in the South Asia region. Our belligerent neighbouring country neither wants to live in peace nor allows others to live in peace. Only during the times of peace can an economy turn vibrant.A country at war doesn’t have a strong and stable economy. The myopic Indian leadership must realise that war has horrendous effects. Armed conflict results in the deterioration of a country’s infrastructure, public healthcare and social order. These indirect consequences should not be overlooked and underappreciated. The Indians must ask their leadership to give peace a chance for the sake of humanity.Hashim AbroIslamabad*****A situation where tensions are high between Pakistan and India will not give any benefit to either country. An alarming security situation between Pakistan and India will harm economic activities of both countries. India should keep in mind that foreign investors will only come to invest in a country, if it guarantees a peaceful envrionemnt. If India has aggressive designs of war, no investor will take risk to come to India.The Indian government should think among these lines and try to promote peace in the region.Wakeel KhanRawalpindi

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Pakistan’s response

This refers to the news that our air force struck down two Indian air force planes who intruded into our air space. The entire nation supports the Pakistan Army. Our forces have, in clear words, told India that we are a peace loving country and that we have only responded to Indian aggression. Our army took a decision in the right direction to give India a responsible reply.Aamir AqilLahore*****As a response to India’s clear violation of the LoC, the PAF shot down two Indian air jets. Our leadership has shown great maturity while sending a clear message to the neighbouring country.India has been spewing lies and misinformation among its people to fuel the ongoing war hysteria. The Pakistani nation is proud of the response of its armed forces.Imran Khan BoranaKhushab

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Better products

This refers to the letter ‘Made in Pakistan’ (February 26) by Dr Najeeb A Khan. Pakistan can earn at least 300 percent more revenue from its products if it ensures that all products are manufactured in an even better manner. For this, the country needs to have well-equipped vocational training centres. We need tp ensure that these centres are situated near most of the manufacturing centres. This is exactly what Germany did after the war. It spent a lot on the training of its factory workers and this is why it makes the best products.With trained workers, Pakistan can manufacture products that are in line with Western standards.Asad A KhanLondon, UK

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