In conversation with Shehryar Munawar on his directorial debu

Just as life imitates many shades and colours, human beings also push their limits to unravel new potential and discover new skills. Shehryar Munawar is among those who have quickly shot to fame and embodies the characteristics of an immensely talented star. With his quintessential mesmerizing looks, charismatic personality, and of course with his impressive talent; he has sown the seeds of his presence in the entertainment industry, grasped the roots strongly, and nurtured his skills, which is why now we are seeing many branches emerging on the surface.

Recently he marked his directorial debut with Sprite's new TVC and as per the actor, directing TV commercials is his passion.

The advertisement is produced by Asim Raza's The Vision Factory, who is also the director of Ho Mann Jahaan in which Munawar is playing one of the lead roles. It's the first time ever that Munawar has directed a TVC along with Shaan Sheikh.

"I consider myself lucky to make my TVC direction debut with a brand like Sprite. Working behind the cameras was a different and an amazing experience."

Of course, when something is different and new, but it is done wholeheartedly, it evidently reflects passion.

"Yes, it's true that I am more passionate about directing commercials. It was this passion because of which we shot this advertisement within 2 days. It was difficult to pull off on such a short notice, but we did it."

Munawar also walked us through the entire experience and execution of his commercial;

"From music to colouring and from props to background, I paid attention to every intricate detail. I worked closely with the music director and spent nights with him working on this TVC. I wanted to do something new-age and youthful. Previously, Sprite TVCs used to have Punjabi music scores and I decided to change this mode and wanted to bring an upbeat number as the background music and that is the part I enjoyed the most."

He spoke about the prerequisites of his phenomenal directorial debut, and said,

"Your homework should be very strong when it comes to direction. You just cannot go to sets and then think what to do and how to direct a particular scene."

He also told us about a booklet that he made before starting that project saying;

"I used to take a booklet with me on the sets; it was thick and had all the information that I needed to direct Sprite's ad. From my mood boards, to props to costume, you need to prepare everything beforehand."

This 27-year-old young man takes his work so seriously that he has his own rules that he abides by:

"I have a rule when it comes to direction; I do not ask my characters to do something that I myself cannot do,"

When he says he cannot ask his characters to do something which he himself would not prefer; does it mean he can perform the featured stunts in Sprite's TVC?

"Yes, I first performed this stunt myself and then asked Bilal and Yasir to do that. Initially, I wanted to feature another stunt, but it was a tough one; I even injured myself a bit when I was testing that stunt, so I eventually decided to drop that and opt for a simple one, I am proud of Bilal that he did the stunt himself and he did it quite perfectly."

With his amazing directorial debut displayed in Sprite's TVC, let's not forget that he is also co-producing (with Asim Raza), one of the most anticipated movie of next year, Ho Mann Jahaan. Speaking on his co-production Munawar says;

"We have given this project our heart and soul and tried our best to make this movie a top notch production. We have utilized the services of world's top colourist and we went to India for mixing; all these efforts were done to bring finesse to the final picture."

An avid fan of the director himself, Munawar sings nothing but praise for Asim Raza;

"He is an amazing director and a perfectionist. Working with him was a tall task as he pays immense emphasis on each and every detail."

Munawar gave full credit to Asim Raza who trusted him and let him show his directorial skills.

"He trained me so well over the period of time. Now I feel confident to take directorial projects independently."

With acting, direction, and co-production, one might think juggling so many roles and responsibilities is a huge task, but the actor has well-thought out plans and a clear path ahead of him.

"I want to do one or two films in a year. My focus would be more on directing advertisements. As far as dramas are concerned, I will opt for it if an interesting script comes up," says Munawar.

Clearly Sheheryar Munawar is proving his mettle in different areas and succeeding. With all that is ahead of him, we wish the actor the best of luck and look forward to all of his projects in the future.

http://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/1148079