DRIVEN BY THE STORY

New York-based award-winning filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar on torytelling, female role models and Indo-Pak cinema collaborations

- Aekta Kapoor

Mehreen Jabbar never set out to change mindsets. “It’s the stories that get me,” says the phenomenally successful Pakistani-American filmmaker whose debut feature film Ramchand Pakistani (2008) starring Indian actor Nandita Das went on to win several awards worldwide and who has made several hit television serials and films since then. “If I tell the story well, it may change a few mindsets in the room but I believe you shouldn’t make films for an audience; you should make films you believe in,” says the award-winning director. “The audience will come to the films.”

Mehreen is back in the news of late for her delightfully addictive new web series Ek Jhoothi Love Story, which is one of the few Pakistani serials available for viewing in India, and Wehem, a psychological thriller shot in New York that has received rave reviews from Hindi / Urdu audiences worldwide. “I am driven by the story. Who would have thought that people would love watching a woman play chess,” she says, referring to the new American miniseries The Queen’s Gambit. “People watch all kinds of things,” the 50-year-old avers.