Elle India – July 2019

ELLE.IN 72 JULY

(1988) or Ghost In The

Shell (2017).

Ever since she was

young, Hasan’s passion

has been to draw

everything around her.

As such, with her

creatively steering this

project along with Iftikhar

and Mazhar, she decided

the way the Shehr e

Tabassum world would be

constructed—right from

the gear worn by people in

the teaser, to the design of

the bots, even the overall

colour palette. “To be

honest, the word ‘dystopia’

is all I needed to hear to

be on board,” says Hasan.

“That, and the fact that

it’s something that hasn’t

previously been done in

Pakistan, so there was a

bit of risk to it.”

Hasan is practical

about her expectations

from Shehr e Tabassum,

whose teaser has already

garnered praise. “I think

they [Pakistani viewers]

will react to it the way

people throughout history

have reacted to dystopia:

with either excitement

“F

reedom of

expression: a

citizen’s freedom

to express how

they feel, as long

as they remember to do

it with a smile and with

gratitude,” reads a tweet

on the Twitter page of

Shehr e Tabassum (City

Of Smiles), an animated

cyberpunk film on a

dystopian Pakistan of

2071. Neon signs in a
      Japanese script-inspired
      Urdu typography flash
      against hovercraft-auto
      rickshaws, while an
      all-seeing Sauron-like
      ‘eye’ bathes the screen in
      a red gleam. It’s a world
      where all expressions
      have been criminalised,
      except smiling.
      Isma Hasan, 24, the
      film’s creative director,
      has been working on the
      project for two years,
      building this dystopian
      world with a group of
      animators. Directed
      by Arafat Mazhar (a
      published researcher of
      religious studies) and
      based on an idea for
      a shortfilm by Ayesha
      Iftikhar, Shehr e Tabassum
      promises a glimpse of a

new Pakistan. Not only

because of its premise,

but also for its style—

beautifully anime-like,

creating a world that

could stand proud next

to that of films such as

Blade Runner (1982),

Total Recall (1990), Akira

Traditional animation meets cyberpunk

in a film set in a dystopian Pakistan

LIGHT

INTO THE

or amusement, and with

some level of scepticism.

After all, if you create

something thought-

provoking and there is

absolutely no criticism

or negative feedback,

you are probably living

in a dystopia not very

dissimilar from

Shehr e Tabassum.”

As for what the

film-makers themselves

are dissenting against,

they only offer: “We’d

like to leave that up to

the audience. We’re

talking about freedom

of expression, but it’s

up to them to interpret

the message.”

— RITUPARNA SOM

“It’s something that

hasn’t previously

been done in

Pakistan, so there

was a bit of a

risk to it”

RADAR FILM

Isma Hasan

A still from Shehr e Tabassum

A character

sketch in its

early stages

Typography designed for

Shehr e Tabassum by

. Shumyle Haider

.

.