Slice of life
Pakistani actress Sanam Saeed talks to tabloid! about her contemporary drama ‘Cake’, out on Thursday. Plus, Amina Shaikh and Adnan Malik on the tale of a dysfunctional family
There’s something fascinating about watching dysfunctional families fight out their resentment and scratch at festering old wounds.
And Cake, the latest Pakistani drama directed by Asim Abbasi out in the UAE on Thursday, will appease your need for some voyeurism.
Starring Sanam Saeed, Amina Shaikh and Adnan Malik, the drama centres around three siblings who return to their native Pakistan when their old parents fall ill.
“We are a family of five. I come back from the UK when my parents fall ill and now she has to live with her family again after some 10 years. When five adults come under one roof, there’s a clash of personalities, emotions and all those nakhras [tantrums] coming in. We just have to learn how to adjust to living with each other again,” said Saeed in an interview with tabloid!.
The film paints a contemporary portrait of a family grappling with their shared past and their disparate present.
“This family is as dysfunctional as my family or yours … So you have a set of parents who have their own aspirations on how their children should have been raised … And the kids have their own hopes,” said Saeed.
According to the Zindagi Gulzaar Hai actress, she drew from her own personal experiences while playing her character. Saeed used to live in Dubai and work simultaneously on her TV dramas and films, but had to return to Pakistan when her mother became ill.
“When I read the script I knew this was my story … What is also different about Cake is that it shows the romance and love between the ageing parents. In films, usually we see romantic relationships between a hero and a heroine all the time. But we rarely see love between the older generations. In Pakistan, we haven’t had a film like this,” said Saeed.
The stars also got along famously well. There were no catfights or dramas on the sets, claim the actors who have worked with each other in the past.
Malik, who plays Romeo in Cake, says they had built a strong network and were supportive of each other. Shaikh, who plays the dominant sibling, is the captain of the ship in this family drama.
“It’s a layered story and hence the name Cake. I play the middle child and
she is holding the fort at home by caring for her parents and running their business. She is watching her parents age on a daily basis and it has had an effect on her … The title is like a metaphor or an analogy to how like Cake — it looks different from the outside and tastes different when eaten,” said Shaikh.
While Shaikh plays the resentful sibling, Saeed plays someone who’s troubled by an incident in her past. They also have an elder brother who is now married and the sisters constantly rib him about being a henpecked husband. The dynamics and sparring among them seem organic, claim the actors.
BEING HONEST
Director Abbasi’s brief to them was painfully simple.
“Be free to fail,” said Abbasi to his talented cast.
“Sometimes, actors especially those who have acted in TV dramas have predetermined notions on how to react during a scene. For instance, they are somehow convinced that they have to cry in an emotional scene. But I know that I have been in a hospital where I laughed … I always tell my actors to be honest to their situation,” said Abbasi.
The actors had extensive workshops along with therapy sessions, where they were asked to speak about their vulnerabilities. It was a trust-building exercise to build rapport and an aid to look like siblings on-screen.
“It was also helpful in finding out each other’s triggers and applying it in our film … So we put ourselves in a vulnerable space so that we build a comfortable space with each other. We found each other to be a lot more similar after this process … We were also living together for a while,” said Shaikh.
Cake also spells the beginning of experimentation of genres in the burgeoning Pakistani film industry, which is experiencing a robust revival of sorts.
“In the last four to five years, Pakistani [cinema] has come up in a strong way and we are trying to find our unique voice with each and every film. Cake is going to give Pakistani cinema a unique face,” said actor Malik, adding that up until 1974 there were at least 124 films that were made before it went through a slump due to political tensions.
Cake comes at an opportune time as it will also resonate with the young and the old alike, said the actors.
“There will be moments exchanged between family members in the film where you feel a sense of connection … Family drama is a genre that you don’t see much in Pakistani films. Cake goes against the formula and the grain. It will pull at your heart strings,” said Saeed.