The Price of Freedom

What do a lawyer, a PR manager, an editor and an aspiring politician have in common? Well, it's not the set up for a punch line, far from it. These four represent the subjects of a documentary titled Made in Pakistan.

It features a raw, unedited and a verbatim look into the lives of these four Pakistanis and how they react to the ever volatile situations around them. Volatile situations that had led Pakistan to be labelled by a magazine as "the most dangerous nation on earth."

Nasir Khan, the writer and director, recalls his reaction when he read the infamous article. "I read it from start to finish—each and every word, and I had an instant emotional reaction, and that reaction is this documentary." Immediately Nasir began to work on the documentary which would become Made in Pakistan, and Nasir is no stranger to filmmaking, especially documentaries. A graduate from McGill University in Canada, Khan started work in television at the World Affairs TV Production shortly after he returned to Pakistan and established a production house, Talking Filmain. His first documentary was Muslim Gear, which documented Muslim fashion in the western world. In Pakistan, his reality television show “Pounds” was aired on a local satellite channel in 2008 and his serial “Na Jane Kyun” is currently on air on national television channel.

In Made in Pakistan, almost immediately, one can figure out that the two men and two women show a distinct bifurcation of Pakistan as a whole. The working class man and the struggling, minority—yet growing—working woman. In this case, its two working women, Tara Mahmood, the PR manager and Rabia Aamir, the teacher and magazine editor. They represent the modern Pakistani, the glamorous elite whose worlds are either hidden from prying eyes or at the forefront of 21st century Pakistan. Tara's world is perhaps the most modern of them all. She casually admits how socially advanced the parties are but at the same time, she's dedicated to her work, which she carries through many hurdles.

Rabia is Tara's complete polar opposite—save the fact that they are both dedicated to their jobs. As a magazine editor, she carefully manages her team and as a working mother, she takes care of her young daughter. Together Rabia and Tara show that while it may not be easy being a woman in man's world, they both are quite comfortable in their shoes. Hence, their lives do not reflect the true struggle of the Pakistani woman working in a Pakistani man's world. "We went in not knowing how Rabia or Tara would be, it was by pure chance that we got two women whose lives were successful and they overcame all the obstacles," said Nasir Khan, also agreeing that the documentary missed out the opportunity to highlight the difficulties. And though the documentary does miss out on this key aspect, there are many others that it covers at the same time.

Mohsin Warriach, the aspiring politician, and Waleed Khalid, the lawyer, represent the real Pakistan—at the grass roots level. They are the struggling class and the ruling class; the two of the largest and powerful classes in Pakistan. Warriach's political aspiration is captured at every moment, from him meeting with reluctant and hesitant voters to him meeting the people living in destitute areas. The look on people's faces range from hope to hopelessness. They either trust him or do not—whatever the case, Warriach keeps his head high.

As a lawyer amidst a situation of lawlessness, Waleed is probably the most interesting of the lot. His determination shows with every scene he's in—someone truly affected by the crisis of the emergency rule on a personal level and wanting to do something about it. Waleed can best be described as the everyman who wants to make a difference. Not only is he a practicing lawyer, he also teaches law, and it is his discussions with his students that we are privy to are the some of the most interesting moments on film.

Nasir Khan captures many galvanizing moments from each of the individuals in this documentary, against the backdrop of the nation under a state of emergency. And from the start it's pretty clear that these subjects were not chosen at a random. Each of them had their purpose and each of them makes this documentary interesting to watch. As a Pakistani myself, I found myself smiling to the ironies presented here and often thinking about the all too familiar troubles faced by each of the subjects. Thankfully, Nasir steers clear from mimicking Michael Moore's guerrilla style documentary filmmaking and only lets the subjects speak for themselves.

One might think that Made in Pakistan paints a very rosy and serene picture of the country, even with all the trials and tribulation, a fact that Nasir quickly addressed. "The thing is, we wanted to portray everything, even the negativity, but our subjects were so positive, their tone was so positive, that at the end of the day, when you look at it, they really are the spirit of Pakistan—and show that no matter what, they, us, we'll all get through this."

The only downside to the whole documentary screening was perhaps the lack of enthusiasm shown by the audience. After a much hyped first day, Karachi showed a muted response to the documentary during its remaining days and missed out on a great documentary. Nasir said, "Sadly, we don't have much of a documentary culture going on here, perhaps it'll pick up because of this, at least we hope so."

The production house, Talking Filmain and Nasir's team, have had tremendous support from the production company that have released the documentary across the three cities, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. "I can't stress enough how much Still Waters Production have helped us carry this through," said Nasir Khan. "Their support has made these shows possible—and we're looking forward to showing the film in Lahore and Islamabad."

Speaking about the release of Made in Pakistan, Head of Productions at Still Waters, Naad-e-Ali Zaidi has said, "Made in Pakistan brings forward Pakistan's upper middle class in a documentary which explores the country through four individuals. It allows us to perceive this under-represented class as a realistic part of our social fabric, which despite modern misconceptions, co-exists within the same space as the stereotypes of terror and fundamentalism with which Pakistan has come to be associated. Made in Pakistan accepts that we are living amidst social, political, religious and economic unrest from one situation to another, and shows that life goes on."

Made In Pakistan is a tremendous effort that speaks for itself in volumes. Easily one of the better if not best documentaries made, it is neither shocking or unsettling, in fact, it provokes the viewer into thinking, as a good documentary should, about what it really means to live in Pakistan and to be made in Pakistan.

The Magic of Music and Politics

Music and politics make nitroglycerine cocktail. It is nothing short of explosive, spreading like wildfire and fueled by the controversy it carries.

Whether it was the rhyme and satire of the bard or the pop song that rallied a returning politician, the combination of music and politics always brings out the best and worst in the masses.

And although we may think this is a relatively new concept, it has been around for quite some time now. Take the example of nursery rhymes, particularly the case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Yankee Doodle Came to Town. Both rhyme and song are deeply political in their meaning, and became embedded within the culture of their respective nations, namely Great Britain and the United States of America. And now it has become a part of their history.

Ultimately, the controversially political songs of today will shape the history of tomorrow. The more popular the song, the more it will shape history. Hence it is important for the song to strike a cord with the masses, such as Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud) by James Brown. During the racial turmoil of the ’60s, Brown came up with this theme that has empowered Black Americans for decades. Say it Loud dictates the need for respect and black self-reliance. This made Brown not only an icon in music, but the face of a movement that defined that era. Later on, Marvin Gaye’s 1971 hit, What’s Going On, depicted a nation’s division over the Vietnam War, racism and inner city struggle.

The ’60s and ’70s were ripe for political songs. Issues such as war and racism provided much ammunition to the ever-ready politically charged musician. As these times went by, old issues gave way to new ones, but war would remain constant for all musicians.

The Cold War era had its fair share of hits, too. Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror (1988) and 99 Luftballoons by Nena (1983) depicted a bleak future devastated by nuclear war.

Jackson’s venture into songs filled with political statements was short lived. Instead, he delved more towards social commentary and making statements about the current state of affairs. Songs like Black and White (1991) and Heal the World (1992) talked about issues like racism and ultimately the new issue at that time, global warming.

Now in this day and age, political forces have made use of music too. Take 1997’s Labour Party victory in England for example. The party re-branded itself as New Labour and more importantly it carried a theme song. D:Ream provided its song, Things Can Only Get Better, for the party’s soundtrack and ultimately it made more and more people aware of it. The song gave it a sense of accessibility to the people towards the Labour Party, something it’s opponents — the Conservative Party — didn’t have. And some say that it’s because of the song, Things Can Only Get Better, that the Labour Party won its first election in nearly 18 years!

Closer to home, music and politics have a different relationship. Some mixes are good, whereas others not so good. Columnist and music journalist Nadeem F. Paracha recalls that first ever incident: “Nazia and Zoheb Hasan’s first album, Disco Deewane (1980). It was a massive hit but soon attracted the wrath of the information ministry of Gen Ziaul Haq and the Jamat-i-Islami. Accusing the brother-sister duo and their music of ‘misleading the youth of Pakistan’ and as ‘un-Islamic’, both Nazia and Zoheb were banned from performing on the state-run PTV and Radio Pakistan. The ban was only lifted in 1982 after they met with Gen Zia and promised to “keep their music within the confines of acceptability.”

Ultimately, it would be songs like Dil Dil Pakistan by Vital Signs (1987) that would pave the way for a smooth relationship between music and politics. But in 1988, when Benazir Bhutto returned from exile, she brought with her a powerful weapon that would literally unclamp the clamped environment of Military rule. That weapon was a song called Jiye, Jiye Bhutto Benazir. Shazia Khushk recorded the famous Balochi song in a rundown studio in Karachi’s Lyari area. “The song became a massive hit and became an important part of the PPP election campaign for the November 1988 elections,” remembers NFP. This was perhaps the first-ever incident where local politics used the sway of music to turn the tide of an era. Political parties have not looked back since, and over the years many more soundtracks have accompanied various political marches and campaigns.

Junoon is perhaps the pinnacle of Pakistani music bands. Along with Vital Signs, few have ever achieved the level of fame these two bands have. Junoon’s politically-influenced songs seemed like they would be the band’s undoing. Their songs were often subject to censorship, which led to their eventual ban from the state-run electronic media. Songs like Ehtesab (1997) hardly even saw the light of day as music videos, though now thanks to the likes of YouTube it can be remembered as a historical piece of commentary on those times.

Though we came to see the might of military rule once again in October 1999, this time around there was more leeway in terms of what was acceptable and what wasn’t. What was acceptable and what did do incredibly well was Shehzad Roy’s Laga Reh. Roy’s track from the album Qismat Apnay Haath Mein, is a satire that pokes fun at the establishment and bluntly attacks it too. The song received a moderate airing, but was quickly spread through portals like YouTube and became the talk of the town and ultimately the nation. He has since recorded a new video of the title track from the same album, which picks up exactly where the last one left off. Again, the tones of the video are sharply political and satirical.

Both Roy and director Ahsan Rahim continue exactly where they left off in Laga Reh, when the former is surrounded by a group of armed guards that look like a cross between men in black and a Swat team. In it, Roy is captured and brought to prison where it seems that he is joined by others who share his views and opinions. Like all prison stories, ultimately there is rebellion and then a prison break. The short action sequences — with almost over-the-top violence — reflects how desensitised society has become, and how news items like prison breaks or riots have been the norm.

Finally, in the video, Roy meets the men incharge, who decided his fate. And just when we think that Roy has escaped their clutches, Ahsan shows that he may be able to run but thanks to state-of-the art drones and military intelligence, he can’t hide.

The video is almost immediately compared to the numerous prison videos that have come before it, such as Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock or the comedic number from the Austen Powers’ film. The production of the video is elaborate and doesn’t seem like a cardboard cut-out of a prison. Ahsan creates a stark comparison between the all-black establishment and the brightly-coloured orange boiler suits of the prisoners.

As conditions and state of affairs continue to deteriorate all around, Roy remains determined to get his message across. It’s interesting to see what he will do next, but from the looks of his previous work it surely will stir up controversy and debate… and be the talk of the town.

It is too soon to see the ramifications of such videos yet, but if current popularity has any say in the outcome of history, music and politics will mix even more yet. In an era where politics uses as many avenues it can to reach the people, it is ultimately the words of song and rhyme that will attract the attention more, than speeches ever will.

It is a matter of relation between the human psyche and the written/spoken word and perhaps it is comic book writer Alan Moore who describes this relationship the best. In his documentary on his views about the modern world, writing, art and entertainment, he states: “Words when written or spoken well can have an almost magic-like effect on the listener. They are literally the spells that conjure up images and feelings within the human psyche.”

Indeed, if anything, the combination of music and politics can be described as magic. Whether it is good or bad remains for history to judge.

Who watches the Watchmen?

Published the same year as Miller's Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen was a year long, twelve part, epic graphic novel published from 1986 to 1987. It tells the story of an alternate earth, where although the year is 1985, Richard Nixon is still the President of the United States of America, a country locked in a bitter cold war with the amassing power of the Soviet Union, and there are masked heroes running about fighting crime. The times are bleak and the future is looking even worse as these two giants stare each other down with tremendous nuclear weapons on either side.

It is in the midst of these dark times that Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) discovers that the recent murder of one of his comrades (otherwise known as Watchmen) isn’t as simple as it seems to be. Rorschach discovers that somebody is out to kill the remaining Watchmen, Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), and Nite Owl II (Dan Dreiberg).

The idea of adapting Watchmen started in the early 90s and there were many casting rumors attached to it. These included Robin Williams as Rorschach, Jamie Lee Curtis as Silk Spectre, Gary Busey as the Comedian, and both Richard Gere and Kevin Costner considered for the role of Nite Owl. The project underwent numerous rewrites under director Terry Gilliam but it was eventually shelved. Gilliam declared that the project was unfilmable as a feature production and instead was interested to direct it as a five hour miniseries.

However, as time went on, another director, Darren Aronofsky was attached to the project. Aronofsky did express interest in the project, but found the original story dated. He opted to adapt the story to recent times and make changes accordingly. But the studio was uncomfortable with the direction Aronofsky wanted to take so Zack Snyder was hired to helm the project instead.

Snyder is known for his faithful adaptations, he has done it twice before, with Miller’s 300 and with George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Both movies reflect their original works and yet at the same time have enough originality in them to make them stand on their own. Snyder’s attention to detail and commitment to the source material has made him a hit with the fans: and with the Watchmen it was no different.

Production began with casting in July 2007 for look-alikes of the era's famous names for the film – all of whom appear in the graphic novel – including Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Annie Leibovitz, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Fidel Castro, Albert Einstein, Norman Rockwell, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy and Andy Warhol to name a few.

But these are all background characters, to give audiences a feel of the times and the era. It is however, the main characters, that drive the story and in the case of Watchmen, the title characters are as colorful as they can get.

Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) can best be described as Detective Columbo on drugs and with every single psychological problem you can imagine. Dressed in a fedora, trench coat and pin striped trousers; this masked vigilante leaves no stone unturned and no criminal unpunished. To him, every iota of society has become degenerated and desolate.

Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson) can best be described as the domesticated Batman. Though as eager as Batman to fight crime, somewhere along the line, Nite Owl or Dan Dreiberg, he quit. Wilson described Dreiberg as a soldier who had returned home after a war, unable to fit in society again.

Adrian Veidt or Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) was believed to be the most intelligent man alive. He retired as a superhero and set up a business empire worth billions of dollars. Veidt’s demeanor – completely nonchalant to the happenings around him –surprises many of his teammates.

The Comedian (Jeffery Dean Morgan) is one of the most important characters in the movie. He is the only one who realizes who the real mastermind is but is unable to tell his comrades in time. He is cruel, harsh and sometimes downright sadistic; a sight which is interesting to see considering Morgan’s claim to acting fame has been TV series such as Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy.

Silk Spectre II or Laurie Juspeczyk (Malin Åkerman) is a second generation super heroine, and the only female in the group of super powered heroes. The love triangle between Laurie and Dan and Jon, reflects the choice of Laurie between the man she used to love and the man she could have loved. Her relationship with her mother, the original Sill Spectre (Carla Gugino) is volatile especially when Laurie discovers a dark secret.

Dr Manhattan or Jon Osterman (Billy Crudup) is the only proper superpowers in the group. Transformed into an almost omnipotent being by an experiment gone wrong, his teammates often feel that the Osterman the man slowly gave up his humanity and became more of an almost alien like being by becoming Dr Manhattan. His relationship with Laurie (Malin Åkerman) – like many of his past relationships – is slowly crumbling as he becomes less and less human.

At almost 162 minutes, watching the Watchmen can prove to be a tedious experience for some cinemagoers, considering most of the movie is actually told through intricate and inter-twining flashbacks which often end up being quite confusing if you haven’t read the original graphic novel.

There will be obvious comparisons to last year’s The Dark Knight, although to be fair, both movies have their edges. The Dark Knight had Heath Ledger’s memorable last performance in a motion picture. A feat only overshadowed by his unfortunate demise, a drum that Warner Brothers – the studio that produced the movie – regrettably continues to beat. Watchmen has tremendous visual effects and an impeccable soundtrack to go with it. Every moment on screen is carefully in sync with music from

Nat King Cole, The Times They Are A-Changin’, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, KC & The Sunshine Band, Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen, Jimi Hendrix and Nina Simone.

The Watchmen is truly an incredible piece of cinema that will surely be remembered for time to come. For now, though, its fate lies with audiences that continue to go to the cinemas to watch it and thanks to them it has already earned over $80 million dollars worldwide since its opening. Proving that there are people out there who are watching the Watchmen.