Bakhtawar Mazhar: In Flames of Glory

A day before the awards were announced, declaring In Flames the best film, at the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), I was face–to-face with Bakhtawar Mazhar, one of the protagonists of In Flames, her feature debut, a film that had made a tremendous impression on me. This, a face-to-face with a Pakistani actress, had never happened before, and I was not going to let this opportunity go by. We got into a car, and started talking.

“My first film was Dia, which was the basis of In Flames, was also written and directed by Zarrar Khan. It was the precursor of In Flames.” In the longer version, the prize winner film, medical student Mariam (Ramesha Nawal, debut, after audition), is determined to escape her conservative family, by pursuing a secret romance, online. She’s still dealing with the fresh loss of her grandfather, and doing her best to support her grieving mother (Bakhtawar Mazhar) and brother (Jibraan Khan), while preparing for her upcoming exams. An estranged uncle (Adnan Shah Tipu) re-enters their lives, and declares himself their new patriarch, making noises about handling their finances.

In Flames is a gripping drama about trauma, internalised abuse, and the misogyny woven into the fabric of any fundamentalist culture, with a streak of Guillermo del Toro’s empathetic ghost stories, in which spirits return with agendas the living cannot fully comprehend. In his feature directorial debut, Zarrar Kahn tells a story of women — not just Mariam, but her mother as well — forced to navigate the random violence of their oppressive, patriarchal society.

Bakhtawar watched the film for the first time ever, after its completion, at the Cannes Film Festival itself. “The response was tremendous; many women actually cried. Very few Pakistani men would be able to make a film with feminine sensibilities, female protagonists, and their point of view, and so well researched…all credit goes to Zarrar Kahn. He has brought to the fore the generation gap and the growing lack of communication between the generations, in any family, in these times.”

Anurag Kashyap, among India’s most famous directors, had this to say after he saw In Flames at Cannes, "In Flames is so much more than a moody horror film. It talks about society, pulls out everything, and shows it bare, naked. That hits you so hard in the gut.”  The film was shot in 25 days in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, in February last year

Asked about the genre of horror and scary movies in Pakistan, she replied, “There are barely any scary movies made in Pakistan, that are also set here,” she said. On her gut feeling when doing this film, she revealed, "During the shoot and recording for In Flames, I knew that this story will definitely get world fame.” It is not easy making films in Pakistan these days. Even this film has been made with the collaboration of Pakistanis settled in Canada. In Flames was supposed to be completed in 2019, but due to Covid, their post-production got delayed.”

Since then, Bakhtawar has acted in The Queen of My Dreams (2023) and Wakhri (One of a Kind) (2023), films that have been premièred at prestigious film festivals. Wakhri and In Flames were shown at RSIFF. She describes In Flames thus, “It says that you have to deal with your own problems and families should tackle them as a unit. Nobody from the outside is going to come and solve your problems.”

Bakhtawar Mazhar is a trained theatre practitioner, film actress, poet, acting teacher and aspiring writer. She has acted in several theatre productions, with renowned theatre directors, like Zia Mohiuddin (a legend; her mentor, and a man who stood by her in difficult times), Gregory Thomas, Rahat Kazmi, Khalid Ahmed, and Sunil Shankar. Her involvement in feature films has been with the likes of Shoaib Mansoor, Hamza Bangash, Iram Parveen Bilal, and Fawzia Mirza. Bakhtawar co-wrote and co-directed a feminist version of the legendary, doomed lovers’ tale, Heer Ranjha, titled ‘The Heer Project’, for National Institute of Performing Arts (NAPA)’s International Theatre Festival. For a period, she also worked with the NAPA Repertory. She currently teaches at the Arts Council Theatre Academy, Karachi. And believe it or not, she has performed a play at the National School of Drama, in New Delhi, India, some years ago, at their invitation. It was a play directed by Zia Mohiuddin, and they had three shows. That was her only visit to India, so far. She looks forward to coming here again and again.

Mohammed Qavi was among her most favourite theatre directors. She wanted to work with him, at least once in her life, and, last year, almost did, for Iram Parveen Bilal and Abid Aziz Merchant’s project, but it was too late. “What a privilege it was, to watch him perform all those characters, which only came to life, because he was playing them. A truly nuanced, layered and vulnerable performer with a deep understanding of rare combination of life and art! May his soul rest in peace!”

A Begum Akhtar and Ustaad Jumman fan, her hobbies are Travel, Politics, Music and Movies.

Asked about her favourite Indian films, she cites Chashm-e-Buddoor as an all-time favourite. She loves Anurag Kashap’s work. And she raves about Irrfan Khan. “What a pity he went away so early. I would have been delighted to work with him. I wish I had a time machine and could travel to a time when we could work together. And of course, Naseeruddin Shah. Among the actresses, Sridevi, Tabu, Neena Gupta…” Coming to her favourite Indian films, she named Maqbool, Sadma, Masoom and Namkeen. “And almost all the films of Yash Chopra and Karan Johar.” And when it came to to Hollywood, she named Bodyguard as one of her teenage years’ favourite. “The Great Gatsby…it was so ‘Hollywood’ Hollywood. And I must mention Australia. I like films that are more real, that have something to teach you, to shape you up.

Talking about Pakistani cinema, she says that there were many good films made in the in the 60s and 70s. Then, the two shiftings of the film-making hubs, from Karachi to Lahore, and back again to Karachi, hurt the industry. “Then there was a period when very strict censorship was imposed, which curtailed the creativity of sensitive directors. After all, scripts emerge from societies, and such films could not be made in that era. We ḥave great writers, great actors, great TV, great radio, but our films have not made the progress they deserved.”

On most Pakistani films following the entertainment, masala route, she opined, “Entertainment is necessary, but it is not all. Films are not made just for you to come out of the cinema, doing ‘Ha Ha Hee Hee’. There are so many burning issues and themes in Pakistani society today that our cinema could highlight, and make the audiences think.”

What about Pakistani cinema of the 60s and 70s? “It is a pity that the teens and twenties of Pakistan have no knowledge of the Pakistani cinema of that period. But when I talk to Indian girls of that age, they are very familiar, and some even name Sadhana, who worked in the 60s and 70s, as their favourite actress

Talking about RSIFF, she said this was her second visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and she cannot believe what she is seeing. Women, who had very limited roles to play in Saudi Society till very recently, are to the forefront today. Some of them are making films too. I hope the trend continues and the RSIFF keeps on growing, with even greater participation of women.”

Incidentally, Bakhtawar arries in her soul a 5,000 years old civilisation, being half-Sindhi. (Remember Mohenjo Daro?). The other half is Baloch. And she is married to a Punjabi. Speaks all three languages fluently, besides Urdu (which she learnt from Indian migrants, who tutored and mentored her) and English. But the two languages that she is most proficient in are the languages of theatre and cinema.

Dia, Trailer: https://youtu.be/IBBryCryzVc