Nadeem Baig often has to be searched out.

In a world overflowing with braggadocio and showmanship, he invariably opts to drift in the background. It is a bit difficult to fathom a producer and director of his stature, with his years of experience and his eye for telling impactful stories, should ideally be lapping up the spotlight, giving interviews, creating noise with quotable quotes and sensational anecdotes.

As a producer, he continues to back some of Pakistani cinema`s and TV`s biggest hits. His directorial lens is channelled towards helming refined, visually appealing entertainers. He has propelled the careers of A-list actors and jump-started the journeys of up-and-comers.

He has created countless iconic moments in Pakistani entertainment that have set benchmarks and paved the way for others. He`s an expert puppeteer, with some heavy-duty strings in his hands.

And yet, he is reluctant to sing his own praise, his unassuming demeanour belying the power he wields.

On a busy day at the Six Sigma Plus office in Karachi, Nadeem prefers to simply mill about, trying to bring some method to the madness around him. The media had been invited to the office on this particular day to meet Humayun Saeed and Mahira Khan, the lead actors of the movie Love Guru, a few weeks prior to its release. Nadeem had directed the movie and, before the interviews began, he chatted happily about the pre-release promotions, even giving sneak peeks of the movie`s songs.

Once the cameras began rolling, however in today`s social media age, most interviews take place on video Nadeem comfortably took the backseat, although he did fix a few camera angles before he did so! It was time for the focus to be entirely on his movie`s stars.

Many will point out, including myself, that Nadeem is a star himself. When his name is in the credits of amovie, you`re willing to place a bet on it, buy a ticket and an expensive bucket of popcorn and relegate twoodd hours of your life to a cinematic experience that you`re pretty sure will deliver.

When he directs a drama, you look forward to it, knowing that it will eschew the usual gimmicky storylines and pack in the punches with plot twists and heavy-duty performances. Actors are usually credited for drawing eyeballs towards a project but, for discerning viewers, Nadeem Baig`s name does the same.

Some weeks following Love Guru`s release and its subsequent blockbuster run at the box office I mention this observation to Nadeem. He responds: `When a film or drama is getting promoted, I don`t feel inclined towards talking about how it will be great and people should see it. I think the actors should do it and they are the ones that people want to hear.

I beg to differ: there are many who want to hear what Nadeem wants to say, to delve into discussions that scrutinise his eye for capturing beauty with his camera, his knack for balancing commercial entertainment with occasional artistic flourishes, his experiences with a varied bonanza of stars, his intrinsic understanding of the workings of Pakistani entertainment, ranging from the wide scope of cinema to TV`s more limited but more massy playing field.

Our conversation begins with Main Manto Nahin Hoon (Manto), the mega-starrer, much-awaited drama that is just about to begin airing on ARY Digital.

MANTO, THE MEGA-STARRER While Nadeem`s work as a co-producer at Six Sigma Plus keeps him perpetually linked to the drama circuit, Manto marks his return to T V as a director following the 2019 mega-hit Meray Paas Tum Ho (MPTH). Like its precursor, Manto has also been scripted by playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar, with Humayun Saeed as the main protagonist. When it`s a Nadeem Baig project, the hero does tend to be Humayun. This, he tells Icon, isboth a burden and a blessing.

`One of the main challenges in directing this drama was that there are high expectations attached to a project starring Humayun Saeed,` he says. `While he is a superstar and people very obviously want to see him, which is why they see his dramas and buy tickets to watch his movies, he also is at the receiving end of plenty of negativity. People age-shame him a lot. Perhaps it`s because he is confident about himself and feels that he will be able to take on certain rolesand people misconstrue it as arrogance. But he is not arrogant. Around the world, stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Tom Cruise are celebrated when they play different roles at their age. Here, we just want to criticise.

`Just the first teaser of Manto had come out and people had started commenting that Sajal was looking too young opposite Humayun. They didn`t bother waiting for the drama, to figure out if she was even going to be paired romantically with him! Nadeem adds, `Both Humayun and I were actuallyapprehensive about him doing this role. Then, we decided to go ahead. The first two days mostly involved scenes where he was silent. Then, when he finally spoke his dialogues, he added so many nuances to his character that he made me believe in it even more. I was surprised by how much charm he brought to the screen, and it isn`t easy to surprise me, considering how frequently we have worked together! This confession easily leads us to my next question: Humayun and Nadeem are close friends and also coproducers at Six Sigma Plus. Nadeem`s directorial work has also been almost always in projects starring Humayun. Don`t other members of the cast feel apprehensive that they won`t get enough space in the limelight in a Humayun Saeed-Nadeem Baig project? `There may be some initial apprehensions,` he concedes, `especially in the case of film, which has a more limited time frame. But once an actor works opposite Humayun, he or she realises that he is a very giving actor. He is not insecure at all and wants the other actor to perform better than him. This is the case in dramas too. Also, most actors performing with Humayun have worked with him before, so they don`t have any such insecurities.

He pauses and smiles at me. `Is this interview going to be about Humayun?` No, I tell him, let`s talk about another familiar leitmotif in your directorial projects: writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar. Some of Khalil sahib`s best scripts have been directed by Nadeem but the writer is notorious, not just for his controversial personal opinions but also for refusing to let his script get t weaked. Recently, when some of the dramas penned by him not directed by Nadeem ended up flopping miserably, Khalil sahib had openly attacked the directors for not having done their job right. Despite this, Nadeem continues to work with the play wright. Is it difficult? `It is difficult because he is someone who strongly believes in what he has written, and I have to argue with him a lot when I want something changed. It helps that I was friends with him before I started working with him,` says Nadeem.

`Eventually, we both find a middle ground that we agree upon.

Has this always been the case? `No, not always. He wrote Manjali and that was a perfect script. Pyaray Afzal was so well-written and the only point of contention had been the climax. He is a genius when he is writing, creating his characters` back-stories and very strong screenplays.` Nadeem pauses, before continuing. `It`s just that when something has hurt his ego, he cannot use his script to express his point-of-view. When that happens, creativity becomes secondary and the story becomes agenda-driven.

Should the story veer in implausible directions, does Nadeem, in his capacity as a director, tweak the script? `I think every director has the responsibility to present a scene in the best possible way, regardless of who has written the script. If tweaking is needed then, sure, I will make the changes, with the writer`s consent.

`Usually, when it comes to scripts written by Khalilur Rehman Qamar or Vasay Chaudhry [who wrote Love Guru], they are such amazing writers. It is wellknown that Khalil sahib does not let his dialogues be changed, but I wouldn`t want to change his dialogues either. They are so beautifully written that there could be no better way to say them.

The conversation proceeds to the many others that are part of the Manto entourage: Sajal Aly as the female lead, along with Saba Hamid, Sanam Saeed, Saba Faisal, Saima Noor, Babar Ali, Azaan Sami Khan, Nameer Khan, Asif Raza Mir, Hajra Yamin and Musaddiq Malik. That`s quite a cast! Was it difficult to manage such a star-studded line-up? `No, these are all good people and, once we had figured out their dates, everything proceeded smoothly,` says Nadeem. `As soon as I read the script, I knew that I wanted Sajal Aly to play the female lead. I worked with her in Sinf-i-Aahan and Kuchh Ankahi, but this role was always Sajal`s. I think she looks her most beautiful ever in Manto.

Any filmmaker, after seeing this drama, would want to cast her in a film.

He goes on to another member of the Manto cast: `I had always wanted to work with Saimaji [Saima Noor], from the time when I would watch her movies and had felt that she hadn`t been given a platform that was worthy of her.

I called her and offered her this role and she said `no` and `no` and `no`! I had to contact her husband Syed Noor sahib and ask him to convince her.

`She is not just a phenomenal actor, she`s a fine human being. Working with her was such a great experience. There were no tantrums, no unnecessary conversation, the only breaks she would take were for namaz [prayers]. She always came well-prepared with her scene.

`There was this one four-page scene that we shot in Lahore, featuring her and Humayun. She took her time perfecting her dupatta and, once she was ready, I said `action!` The dialogues were mostlyhers while Humayun had to intervene in monosyllables. She kept speaking and it was only after she had said the last line on the fourth page that she stopped and looked at me, and asked me: `Did I say it right?` I had been just sitting there, transfixed. I told her that not only had she said her lines right, she had even remembered the nuances that she had to give in between! That`s very rare.

Nadeem continues: `Another actress, Saba Hamid, simply has to look at her lines and she knows them. She doesn`t just know her own lines, she also knows the lines of her co-actors! One much talked about casting decision in Manto has been of featuring Sajal Aly with her former father-in-law Asif Raza Mir. Nadeem says, `Sajal was already part of the drama and the character that Asif Raza Mir is playing was meant for him. I called Asif and told him that I am casting you as Sajal`s father in the drama, would you have any issues about this? `He thought about this for a few seconds and then said `Not at all, I am a professional actor and I have no issues, but do ask her if she has any issues ` I called Sajal then and asked her the same.

She said that, if he suits the character, then please go ahead and cast him.

`On the first day of shooting together, they may have been anxious about how the other would react. They came on set, hugged each other and we started working. After that, every day when Sajal and Asif`s scenes had to be shot and they have many scenes together I had to scold them because their conversation and laughter wouldn`t end.

`These two actors have actually set an example in this industry for many other actors who have very small egos and refuse to work with each other on the basis of minor issues. In doing so, they lose out on such good work. It takes a very secure man or a woman to be like this.

And also very professional ones? `That also comes from security,` says Nadeem. `As long as they don`t have bad habits, such as coming to the set late. . .

FROM THE PRODUCER`S CHAIR But surely, he must not have to dealwith actors that have bad habits? Surely, even the industry`s notorious brat pack must sort themselves out when they get the chance to work on one of his projects? `Generally, people don`t behave badly just to bug me particularly, admits Nadeem, `but as a producer, there have been times when I have had to make calls and ask actors to please come on set. This one time, an actor demanded that I say sorry to him on the phone because of something that had happened on set. I apologised and asked, `Now will you come on set?`, and he still said `No` This shocks me: I assumed Nadeem must command a certain respect from the acting fraternity. He corrects me: `There are many actors who do respect and trust me. Mahira [Khan], when I offered her Love Guru, wasn`t too sure. She wanted to work on more serious projects. I asked her if she had contemplated as much when she had been offered Humsafar, or had she just taken a leap of faith. I told her to do the same this time round and she did.

He cites another example: `I had seen Ali Raza playing a very unglamorous role, of Khushhal Khan`s brotherin-law in a drama. It prompted me to cast him in Noor Jahan. He agreed immediately, which was great I was launching him as a male lead opposite Kubra Khan. When I told Kubra that she would be acting opposite him, she asked me who he was. I told her to trust me and he was a new boy that I wanted to cast. She agreed. Both of them had that trust in me.

`Similarly, I offered a supporting role to Kubra in London Nahin Jaunga, telling her that I would make sure that she would look beautiful, and she agreed instantly. Despite being a major star, she has that faith in me and I really value it.

We go on to a story about Hania Aamir: `She and I were supposed to work together in the drama Sinf-i-Aahan but the plan fell through because of some issues with dates. Then, I offered her a role in another drama. It was unlike any role that she had done previously, but I felt that it had the potential to put her onthe map as an actress, and give her the spotlight that she deserves.

`I needed her to reply within one or two days, and I told her that, since she wouldn`t be able to read a 26-episodelong script so quickly, she would have to trust me on this. She agreed and it was a difficult shoot, during which I am sure there must have been times when she must have wondered if she was doing the right thing.

The drama was Mere Humsafar and it proved to be a game-changer for Hania Aamir`s career.

`I am not saying this in arrogance, says Nadeem, `but there are times when I can be a bridge for actors, allowing them to go further with their careers.

I don`t have any problem with people saying `no` to me it is their right to do so but there are times when I get the feeling that a certain role will really suit a certain actor and it can be difficult trying to convince them. Talha Chahour, for instance, is one actor who I feel is tremendously talented and is also a very good human being, but he is picky about the scripts that he signs on to. I wish I could have convinced him! CINEMA GURU We move away from TV`s clustered landscape to cinema. His Love Guru is an irrefutable success but it also hauled in some cantankerous reviews. One common complaint was that his lead actors, Humayun and Mahira, look too old for their roles. Does he agree? `No, the characters that they play could be of a man and a woman around the same age as them,` he says. `That is why they are there. If Julia Roberts and Richard Gere can be a star in a romance together, if Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone can be seen together, then why can`t we give our own movies a chance? Even before Love Guru released, the comments on age had started.

He continues, `This is the first time that I have experienced this. I am very open to criticism and I respect people`s opinions, both good and bad. But when you see someone simply indulging in hate speech, not even talking about your craft and, instead, cursing and saying ugly things, you just feel that, perhaps, they don`t have any happiness in their lives. I don`t consider such criticism constructive.

Nevertheless, the audience loved Love Guru and now, Manto is eagerly awaited.

With some of Pakistani entertainment`s biggest hits to his credit, does he feel the pressure to always deliver? `I have stopped taking that pressure, he says. `If the last drama or a movie was a hit, I can`t carry this burden that the next one has to do just as well. I love what I do. That`s the only reason why I am here, telling stories and getting involved in every tiny detail. With every project, I see a story that I want to tell, and I try to tell it in the best way that I can. I can only try.

`I tell my daughters the same thing when they are fretting over their exams.

I say, Fatima, Zara, just give it your best and everything will be fine. You can only try. That`s what I do too. I just try to do my best.

And while doing so, Nadeem has given Pakistan some of its very best entertainers. When Nadeem tries his best, magic tends to happen.