Koolmuzone: Pakistani Underground & Mainstream Media

Coke Studio Season 5 Episode 5 (BTS Videos)
Adnan Malik Talks About His Profession, Upcoming Projects & Coke Studio [Interview]
Mangoes Episode 2 – The FOB (Video)

Coke Studio Season 5 Episode 5 (BTS Videos)

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:51 AM PDT

Dasht-e-Tanhai Behind The Scene, Meesha Shafi, Coke Studio, Season 5, Episode 5

Koi Labda Behind The Scene, SYMT feat. Sanam Marvi, Coke Studio, Season 5, Episode 5

Mahi Behind The Scene, Overload, Coke Studio, Season 5, Episode 5

Wah Wah Jhulara Behind The Scene, Chakwal Group, Coke Studio, Season 5, Episode 5

Seher Behind The Scene, Farhan Rais Khan, Coke Studio, Season 5, Episode 5

Coke Studio Season 5 Episode 5 (BTS Videos) is a post from: Koolmuzone

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Adnan Malik Talks About His Profession, Upcoming Projects & Coke Studio [Interview]

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 07:58 AM PDT

By Hasan Faridi

Adnan Malik may not always be in the limelight, but he's definitely one of the people who brings things into the light. He is the director of AMP, a Video Producer at Pakistan's renowned music platform Coke Studio, a television host/model and an Asia Society Young Leader of the World.

I got the chance to interview him and ask him about his profession, his work at Coke Studio, and his current (and upcoming) projects.

1. So Adnan, can you give us a introduction about yourself?

My career is linked with Pakistan. It is just who I am – all my hopes, all my stories, and all my interests are linked to this country. I believe there is no better way to share my very rich, untold heritage on the international stage, than through the moving image. As a Pakistani filmmaker and a director, I hope to become an ambassador between my culture and the world.

My career goal continues to be to make Pakistan "contemporary." In the current global context, we are inundated by international media on all our screens, while at the same time we are undergoing increased religious polarization at a local level. I hope to help bridge this crisis of identity, by fostering a sense of ownership, through my work on Pakistan's dynamic folk and popular cultures. Along with my colleagues in the field, I intend to set foundations for a responsible media, engaged in developing a cosmopolitan and self-reliant cultural ethos.

2. How long have you been in the entertainment industry now?

I was always destined to enter this field. I interned at Miramax and Ridley Scott America while I was in the US, worked on a documentary called 'Why We Fight' on the rise of the military industrial complex, that won the best American Documentary at Sundance. I even had a T-shirt company called 'Urban Turban' in NYC. I came back and directed a documentary called 'Bhuli Hui Hoon Daastan', which is the first feature length documentary on Pakistani Cinema. Concurrently, I also did a few photo shoots and some TV ads.

Technically I have been shape shifting in the industry in Pakistan since 2005, when I moved back from New York. I started off making documentaries (Bijli, which won Best Short Film at the Kara Film Festival, Delhi Digital Film Festival and was a finalist at the Student Academy Awards in the US/'Bhuli Hui Hoon Dastaan' which is the first feature length documentary on the demise of Pakistani cinema culture, and is part of curriculums in TV & film universities across the country), then got sidetracked into modeling and VJ-ing and over the last 3 years have got involved with commercials, music videos and of course, Coke Studio. I opened my boutique production house, AMP this year as well.

3. You're recently been the Video Producer at Coke Studio, how has it been like?

It's a fantastic project. Probably the best one I have worked on in Pakistan. It's got very pure energy. Working on the project has given me a healthy dose of technological savvy and spiritual satisfaction.

This is my fourth year on the project, and it just keeps getting better! I remember when I saw the first season on TV 4 years ago, I thought to myself that Coke Studio was exactly the kind of thing I wanted o be involved with. It was a calling. I felt very deep about it when I saw and heard it and I was also at a crossroads in my life, and the gorgeous sound, cutting edge sensibility and visual experience all appealed to my aesthetic. I had set the intention to work on it, and low and behold, a few weeks later I got a phone call from a friend, Anisa Shaikh, who asked me if I would be interested in working on the project as the Behind the Scenes Producer, and I jumped on the idea!

I believe everything happens for a reason, and I know that Rohail and Umber were hesitant to hire me, but I kept knocking at their door and finally they got me on board. Right after, I also joined Zeeshan Parwez as an Assistant Video Producer. There was a very small team initially. I remember post-production used to be Rohail, Umber and myself. It was very in-house and small and its grown organically and beautifully.

4. What have been your highlights at Coke Studio?

The best part of working on Coke Studio is the organizational/musical/spiritual knowledge that Rohail brings to the project. He has set a dense and well-planned infrastructure in place, and then allows us to play inside it. Coke Studio has been created as a platform, and has taken on its own energy.

Highlights include Rohail trusting me with the look of the show, developing the BTS look, as well as the video look, Season 2, the Noori moment, making friends with Rohail and developing a family, learning about myself and the world, Meesha and Arif Lohar, and the actual video shoot days. Such a high!

5. As well as video producing at Coke Studio, have you been involved in other projects as well?

My earlier works include working on the topic of Islam and sexuality (I was an Associate Producer on 'A Jihad For Love'), Pakistan's sidelined cinema culture (Director of Pakistan's first feature length documentary on Cinema, 'The Forgotten Song'), and class consciousness in the performing arts ('Social Circus').

I want to use this visual language to bring subjects and cultures that are considered "peripheral" into the mainstream. My recent work includes working as an Associate Producer and Cinematographer on the soon to be released indie flick, 'Slackistan', and as Producer Behind the Scenes and Associate Video Producer on the highly acclaimed musical platform Coke Studio, which has been viewed by millions of people around the world and was the 22nd most viewed channel on Youtube at one point last year. I strongly believe that films and television programming can be provocative and inclusive at the same time. The goal of my work is to educate, enlighten, to broaden perspectives and to entertain. In the future, I plan to create fictional work that incorporates documentation and historic analysis of the relatively liberal decade of the 1970s, in Pakistan.

6. Can people make an easy living from video production?

I believe that you can make money from whatever you love to do, as long as that's not your focus. Good intentions.

7. And finally, have you got any interesting plans coming up?

A music video.

I am particularly passionate about popular culture and the role it has to play in shaping identities. Countries like the US, the UK, India, Japan and even Iran are distinctly recognized by their popular culture. We have always struggled to identify who we are and I think popular culture has a very important role to play in shaping our identities. Hence, I try and work on projects that are directly involved in identity building. I believe that youth channels have a very important role to play and hence became a VJ.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Adnan Malik Talks About His Profession, Upcoming Projects & Coke Studio [Interview] is a post from: Koolmuzone

Mangoes Episode 2 – The FOB (Video)

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 06:15 AM PDT

Watch Mangoes Full Episode 2 – The FOB.

Synopsis: Rakay meets his childhood sweetheart, Kiran, after 12 long years and makes a surprising discovery about himself. Sami fills in the blanks for Rakay while Asha is stalked by the over friendly Mark.

What did you like about the second episode? Did Rakay make a good first impression? Can Sami be notorious sometimes? Did Asha teach Mark a lesson to not stalk South Asian girls?

Director: Khurram Suhrwardy

Producer/Writer: Adeel & Khurram Suhrwardy

Cast: Adeel Suhrwardy, Khurram Suhrwardy, Maha Warsi, Anokhi Dalvi, Shoba Hatte, Sohail Hashmi, Jessica Siegner, Sharjeel Arif Butt

A SUHRWARDY BROTHERS series.

Presented by mobilicity.

Mangoes Episode 2 – The FOB (Video) is a post from: Koolmuzone

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

online paki

Friday, July 6, 2012