By Faisal Quraishi
Ready everyone? The call reverberated on the sets of Afreen Baig’s under-production musical serial Kya yehi pyar hai in the gardens of a local hotel situated by the waterfront, with the elegant lush mangrove forest providing a becoming backdrop.
The cast comprises Sana, Moammar Rana, Ayesha Khan, Adnan Siddiqui, Noman Ejaz, Seemi Pasha and Hassam Qazi. Almost everyone was there except Moammar Rana and Noman Ejaz who have completed their respective shooting spells and gone back to Lahore.
The set for the last song and last scene was made up of tall, imposing pillars and a staircase all done in elegant white against a pitch-black backdrop, which appeared breathtaking. The audience seated in the lawn area and consisting of family and friends of the Baig’s as well as members of the press, was eager to witness the proceedings.
Finally, Sana was spotted making her way to the set, and Afreen fussing over her. She looked absolutely dazzling in a flowing white silk sari. It seems the young lady had been through a hectic schedule since morning with fasting and all, and was now feeling a bit under the weather. However, she was quite generous and accommodating when approached by this scribe for a brief tete-a-tete and some snaps.
Let’s get one thing straight, Sana is a real looker who looks absolutely stunning in real life. It’s a pity the camera does not do justice to her. Speaking to her about her character in Kya yehi pyar hai, Sana, unwilling to lift the curtain on the story of this mega-serial, chose her words after careful consideration.
“My character is basically that of a girl who has a beautiful voice and sings very well. But due to certain restrictions, she does so as a background singer, lending her voice to others. What we are shooting here today is actually her ‘coming out’ scene and I am required to look confused and shy for her public debut. I had been looking for such a role in a serial and when this opportunity came along. I was only too eager to take it.”
She excused herself as the studio hand approached her to take her cue. Having put on her lenses, she posed for a couple of snaps before she was led away by Afreen to the set.
In the time it took to have all the things lined up, Ayesha Khan had made her presence felt in her glittery two-piece black ensemble with a train and a shocking-red feather stole, all designed by Afreen. Her views: “My role is that of Laila, a spoilt, rich brat who only thinks of herself but finally redeems herself. She has been a top model, but now she wants to make a transition as a successful singer. But trouble kicks in when Momy, Adnan Siddiqui, Noman Ejaz and Sana all find themselves the victims of overwhelming emotions of love and unavoidable circumstances.”
We asked Ayesha about how helpful Kya yehi pyar hai will be in boosting her career graph.
“That is the least of all my worries for now as someone who is quite close to my heart does not want me in showbiz anymore and I might be calling it quits.”
Stunned, we inquired if she would drop everything she’s worked so hard for just like that. “Yes, I probably will,” she disclosed.
At this time, a quick look around revealed that things were ready and the director was asking everybody to hush up on the set.
The tall and statuesque Sana looking every bit the filmstar that she is started to lip-synch to the song - a light, breezy number sung by Shabnum Majeed. Coupled with the cool breeze blowing in from the sea and the lilting song of Sana’s character, the overall effect was so soothing that it lulled everyone into a surreal world. The song was shot and then re-shot quite a few times.
In the meantime, Afreen Baig made her way towards our table. “Kya yehi pyar hai is a fine-tuned, big-budget musical drama serial, the theme of which is based on a love triangle. It is basically female oriented. I’ve tried to highlight the issues concerning women and as you must have seen, from the looks of things, its going to really make waves,” explained Afreen.
“There are many firsts in this serial, too,” Afreen continued, "Such as this is the first serial that has two directors: S. Suleman for the drama and Sohail Javed for the music. Since Kya yehi pyar hai has five songs, it also has two music composers - Amjad Bobby for the drama score and Arshad Mehmood for the songs. We have been working on it for about six months now and we’ll be wrapping up in a couple of days. Afterwards, the serial goes into editing and will be on screen soon."The shooting spells of KYPH have been executed in Karachi along with extensive coverage in the picturesque northern areas such as Swat, Kalam, Kaghan and Naran. The soundtrack will be available in the market and assisting Shabnam Majeed with the vocals is Ahmed Jehanzeb. The script is by Seema Ghazal and the concept is, of course, by Afreen Baig.