Armeena’s laughter resonates in the room like a sweet melody filling it with innocence; she teases Ali about the wardrobe he has meticulously chosen so that he gives nothing except perfect, swoon-worthy shots. From the moment one lays eyes on them, their great chemistry becomes apparent indulging one in their pranks and jokes. As these two young actors get ready to sway the audience the second time around with their upcoming film Janaan, MAG asks them about their growing friendship, professional aspiration and personal journey throughout their short span of career as artistes.

The pair gets seated opposite me, exhausted from doing continuous promotional activities all over the country; it is almost sunset and they haven’t eaten anything yet. As they relentlessly gorge on food, we engage in a candid conversation - one which felt as if between old friends. It is obvious that they can’t wait to talk about their movie, the only film buzzing on social media these days. So, I ask them to describe their forthcoming characters for the readers. “I play Meena, a Canadian-Pashtun girl who is visiting her family in Swat. She is the kind of girl you turn to when you are in trouble,” Armeena Rana Khan shares, while Ali admits that his character (Daniyal) is closer to his real self than anything else he has played earlier. “I might not come across as one, but I am a fun-loving, party animal kind of a guy.”

It begs the question what image make-over have they undergone this time; the last project Armeena was seen in was Bin Roye, whereas Ali Rehman Khan won over everyone’s heart in the smashing hit serial Diyar-e-Dil. “The biggest difference between Meena and Saman is that Meena remains alive [throughout the movie] unlike Saman in Bin Roye, who unfortunately suffered two deaths – once in the film and secondly on the editing floor. With Meena, I have been given the freedom to develop her more and the storyboarding and script imbues her as a multifaceted, strong female,” the actress says exuding confidence that the audience is sure to relate more with her this time. For Ali, however, playing a Pashtun is a lot more than mere acting. Being one himself, he clearly feels inclined towards shedding light on the community. “I am a Pashtun myself so, of course, I look the part, which makes half my job easier. But I am really close to this culture from the very beginning and am tired of people all over the world, even in Pakistan, trying to show them in a light which casts them as aggressive and narrow-minded. I want to do serious work towards changing their image and I am glad I am able to do that through my work as an actor,” he quips with rock solid determination while adding, “I realise that mediums such as cinema can be most effective for this cause. This movie helps me prove that Pashtuns are regular people with the same family traditions and values like any other. It also gives a really important message that I don’t want to reveal just yet.”

For the Canadian-born, London-based actress, this has been as challenging as it has been easy for Ali. “Sometimes, it is difficult for me to get a grip on Pakistani things. So, the privacies involved in Pashtun culture were even more opaque. In my favour, however, was the fact that the cast comprised of enough Pashtuns to guide and educate me on the specifics I needed.”

The trailer hints at a love triangle and shows wedding sequences among many other intriguing scenes, so, one wonders if the duo was able to perform scenes involving dance, action and romance easily. While Armeena is quick to label the film as ‘a more cerebral and cultural sympathetic reflection of Pakistani society’, the blue-eyed actor with looks to kill jumps right in to agree that since Pakistani actors are not used to opening themselves in certain ways, these scenes could get uncomfortable, but claims that he found everything to be very easy. Although, he opines, that it is an entirely different thing when it comes to delivering a comedy scene. “Actors say that comedy is harder to perform than drama, and they are right. Doing dramatic scenes is difficult in its own right, but with comedy, you have to have that comic timing and fluent delivery of lines. You need to be on the same wavelength as your co-actors and have chemistry with them, or your work would not have the desired impact. I am lucky to have had a great team behind and in front of the camera that made my job easy.” With a deliberate absence of steamy romantic scenes, gruesome, blood-shedding action sequences and inappropriate humour, the aim of team Janaan is clear. The pair can hardly contain themselves and immediately share how proud they feel to have been a part of something that is for the entire family to watch and enjoy together. “The film combines different elements like romance, drama and comedy etc. It is a complete entertainment package.”

The team also comprises of actors Bilal Ashraf, Hareem Farooq (producer) and Osman Khalid Butt (writer) among others. With such dynamic personalities on the sets, one can only imagine how much fun work must have been.

“The only problem was with fight scenes that we shot somewhere near Islamabad and Swat. It was extremely cold; we were shivering terribly but had to show as if it were summers so, we had dressed accordingly. I remember we would jump up and down to warm ourselves up after every few minutes,” the Slackistan star says sharing his favourite memory. Armeena is quick to follow suit. “Someone had left an egg sandwich under the seat in one of the vehicles. After a couple of days you can imagine the smell,” the hazel-eyed beauty finds it hard to complete the story between the laughter, but continues, “We all piled in and drove off to the sets. Within minutes we are thinking, ‘someone has an upset stomach’, but we were all too polite to say anything. Instead, we just opened the windows and passed comments on how lovely the breeze was. We were convinced that it was the producer because he loves spicy food. He insisted that he was fine. We later found out the truth when we saw the driver throw that sandwich away.” The actress confesses that she has a great bond with both, Ali and Bilal having worked with them before, while the Austria-based actor who is also involved with the UN for relief work calls Hareem his support system and admits with a mischievous smirk that if he were to marry someone from his team, it would be Osman.

I take Ali back to his last project and ask him if he feels the pressure to deliver constant hits just yet. The actor with a tendency to feel both, angry and home-sick easily, never denies the fact that there is pressure to perform well with each project, but says that Diyar-e-Dil has made him more passionate and dedicated towards his work. “I want to do my best and give my audience something that they can enjoy and appreciate.” He has resolved to taking up more work now as opposed to doing one project per year earlier. Turning my attention to the wanderlust in the room, I query how she has changed as an artiste since MAG last spoke to her last year while she also happened to be enrolled in acting classes. “I passed [the acting courses] with flying colours but they did not help one bit while working in Pakistan. You see, acting is subjective and I came to realise that it was not my acting that was the issue,” she clarifies and adds, “The issue was that I was a new face and I brought a different style of acting. I come from a tradition of stillness and introspection, subtlety and control. In the years to come, shaking your head uncontrollably, losing control of your emotions and behaving like a maniac will look dated and a higher standard will be demanded by film-makers and audiences alike.” The actress has had quite an adventurous, and some might say risky journey up till now; she left her medical studies incomplete in Canada in pursuit of Business Studies and travelled all the way to London for some added fun on the side. From there she started modelling and acting for enjoyment, and she hasn’t looked back since. “Look if you wake up one day and you are not excited about your life then make a change. Do something different. Life is too short. Whether I am choosing a dress or making a major decision about career shift, I ask myself ‘Am I excited by this?’ Apply this to your life and it will make things easier,” Armeena explains her life’s mantra. Surely, this ride couldn’t have been without bumps. “I was subjected to reactions that raged from supportive to outright hostile. But what is the role of family and friends? They are your safety net. They help you mitigate risk and find a path to what makes you happy. There are too many people who think that the sky is about to fall down and impose their horizons onto you. So I have learnt to eliminate those people [from my life] and made more room for the ones who wish to share my journey with me.” Today, the workaholic happily sacrifices her social and personal life to manage a successful career as an actor and a real-estate businesswoman back home, and all she has to say is, “It is exciting work and hopefully we are making history, so I am not complaining.”

As I reach the end of my evening with them, I ask where they are headed, professionally. Armeena is first to curb this curiosity and shares that her film Yalghaar with Bilal is set for release imminently while she has also been working on a sci-fi project The Achilles Protocol in which she plays an AI (Artificial Intelligence) intent on destroying humanity. “It is aimed squarely at the European festival market so I am really hoping to bag one of the prizes there,” she says adding that she is also excited now that the serial version of Bin Roye will be on-air soon.

As for Ali, he likes to tease and keep his fans guessing. “I don’t want to disclose anything yet, but definitely have some exciting projects in the pipeline for both, television and the big screen.”

Will he be joining the bandwagon of actors flaunting their talents across the border anytime soon? “I love to be a part of projects that I like and believe in. Actors shouldn’t be bound by any restraints. So, I wouldn’t mind doing a Bollywood film, not that I’m actively looking for an opportunity,” he retorts while adding that he would preferably want to work in his own country. For now, he aims to focus hard on his work as an actor but hints that he might just venture into production or direction. “I got a chance to be behind the camera and give my two cents in this film, and I really enjoyed that. I believe if you think that you can make something in a different or a better way, then you should go ahead and do it yourself,” he signs off.

Hair & Make-up: Nouman Saleem Peter (Nomi)
Styling: Amna Niazi
Armeena’s wardrobe: HB Closet by Hina Butt
Photography: Wahaj Alley