Scriptwriter—Film Director—Actor: Creative Storytelling is in Mohsin Abrar’s DNA

Film dominates everywhere and to everyone—and a powerful tool to inspire change.

In India, Bollywood has become the mainstream consciousness of the country and with its ascent to cultural globalization, the unprecedented list of successful films in Bollywood not only rekindled worldwide audience interest in Indian films but also made Mohsin Abrar the next face to watch in the directorial chair.

His full feature film Welcome On Board, his directorial debut, which he wrote and acted on—is just an example of how multifaceted his arts can go. Storytelling, after all, is embedded in his veins. He is a multi-awarded photographer, a recognized global corporate marketing director masterminding global marketing campaigns, a joy to his family, and a dear friend to many.

Welcome On Board has gained mixed reviews, but to everyone who personally knew Mohsin, he’s the genius who redefined film with his cinematic storytelling doctrine. To his close circle critics, he’s the guy who gathered many awards and honorable recognition in his career profession and for his love with photography. Either way, there’s no denying the impact of his brilliance in storytelling.

His most awarded works are laid on his website that depicted human emotions in a frame—in which cruelty and compassion came equally blended. With certainty, there’s this steady and clear rise of Mohsin selling out in the industry and on his way to become the next film director to watch out.

Bollywood blockbusters are never in crisis, because the art of film-making is as healthy as ever with competition the elixir to succeed. Film-makers like Mohsin are leading the way of successfully bringing that world’s visual inventiveness of storytelling into the feature film world—and see challenges the beating heart that pumps the creative blood.

Let’s talk to Mohsin.

Peeling back the layers, everyone knows you as the very successful and in-demand marketing strategist director of global corporate companies such as Pepsico, IFFCO group, FreislandCampina and now with Emirates Food Industries LLC. —with global marketing successes under your watch that spans 15 years—I want to know the things that created you to become the person that you are.

Big brands where I am very fortunate to work with taught me one thing—and that what really matters is what a consumer believes. The best assessment of whether a brand has power is ultimately market share.?

When one is devoted to this art form (storytelling), as a marketing director or even as a film maker or any form of creatives— the power to move ahead from the competition is singular, that you bring your creative vision to life for it to become a (global) brand spot or a narrative worth retelling.?

The marketing landscape is constantly changing and I am inundated with innovative ideas constantly, of new platforms and technological solutions to take advantage of. This change is not limit to corporations because this also happens in real life.

While the evolution is exciting and presents endless opportunities for many creative people, keeping up with the shifts and rising demands can quickly become overwhelming.

?And I love it.

Being creative in whatever form evolves you as a person— because your responsibilities or the challenges of creating something for the mass are always increasing. You are pushing transparency, the boundary of the make-believe aspect into realistic truths. It is very clear that expectations from consumers are rising for authenticity, and this is true too in films. You must tell stories that matter, has universal impact and has the power to change for better.

I am curious to know about your own personal experience childhood, and how this has motivated you to tell stories. Trying to get personal, tell us about your parents, how did they influence you to become where you are—as a storyteller.

When you have Mohammad Mohsin as your father, an acclaimed director, awarded filmmaker and respected producer of movies in Bollywood, his influence on you will be undeniable.

My father was a brilliant storyteller. As a child, our car rides on weekend trips were always filled with stories about the origin of a town or a city name, or stories about temples and Gods, of folklore lessons and ancient tales. I was always transported into his stories, almost mesmerized as he speaks.

His influence has a great impact on my way of thinking towards marketing—or even in my personal pursuits.

When I took up photography, there is always a storytelling element in every shot. How I frame a story into a photograph has given me accolades and recognizable awards from National Geographic, BBC and Time Out Magazines (to name a few). And photography I learned only by instinct. I never had formal lessons but subconsciously, storytelling is deeply rooted in me that I incorporate this in my work or in whatever I do. Thats how great the influence of my father is in me. I embody him. I want to tell stories like he did.

Going into films, your storytelling skills is at an atmospheric level and you will always be criticized and that is okay, because you love doing it and that is all that matters. You created something that most people cannot.

You go into the path that has the most influence in you and you're most comfortable with when you were a child. Like my father, I want to tell stories that sticks.

So why does anyone create movies? Why do you make films? What was the very first moment that you remember and fall in love with film?

In making films, your movies will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And honestly, I’m not in a position to tell viewers what matter or should not matter to them.

As a director, you’re free to treat film as a purely expressive medium of yourself.?It can be an intensely personal form of art and you are capable of infusing the stories you tell with a greater sense of purpose—beneficial not only for you, but also for the people who consume your creative work.

What I’m hoping to accomplish as a director is to be more mindful, an introspective approach in film making so that viewers of my movies can then inject in them ‘meaning’.?

When we were children, we fall in love with a movie because it changes us within and stays with us even as we grow up. That is what my father's film did to me. We do not forget— and that is the beauty of film.

Did you ever think of yourself as a filmmaker?

There is a co-relation between my career now in marketing and making films. Both want to say something to the public. I enjoy doing both because I can express my deepest-held beliefs in my work hoping that I can influence the world in some positive way, be it commercial or just ideology.

Film is very close to my being (again, because of my father) and I want to develop it because I practically grew up in this industry. I want to learn all aspect of filmmaking like directing, writing scripts and acting.?I went to New York Film Academy and also at Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute Method Acting School. I want to submerge myself in this art form and push my directorial skills and storytelling to its limit, if I can, and make an impact.

I did not set out to be a filmmaker to be honest. It just happened. It is my DNA.

With popular Indian films, it will continue to use the term ‘Bollywood’ signifying an intriguing ‘Indian cinema influence’—that is, meaning Bollywood has flourished internationally in terms of its popularity over the recent decades. What is the divide between indie films versus big budget films?

Bigger is just better. Fact. Even if storylines are so thin.

Big budget films take greater chances which equals greater success by attracting a gigantic theater-going audience because of insane marketing budgets. They have A-list actors who are the driving force that sends movie-goers to see the movie.

Imagine Titanic without the colossal ship, the thousands of (extras) passengers in authentic garb and basically the final 60 minutes, and you'll understand why big-budget films blast independent films straight out of the box office waters.

But the emotional and mental benefits from?indie films are intimately satisfying because they depict life as it really is. And since they are free of the hype that surrounds big films, filmmakers like me can concentrate on expressing myself, my opinion. Indies are sacred and fertile ground for creativity, free from the pressures of big budgets and studio meddling.

How does one start to become a filmmaker?

It is best to start as an indie filmmaker, I think everyone should. This will set your signature of the kind of movies you want to make.

'Indie' for me is less a genre and more an attitude – an anti-corporate, fiercely independent approach to filmmaking that tells the stories that big studios will not, often in ways they'd never consider until an indie filmmaker has proven that it can be done.?

The indie spirit is remarkably resilient to corporatization. The dawn of the digital era in the 21st century democratized the movie-making process. With filmmakers now able to shoot, distribute and market their films on budgets that would once barely have covered a day's film stock, they're free to experiment in ways that was once unthinkable. They can express and experiment with their creativity even without the big budget.

But selling indie films to India, lets say, struggle to attract an audience in India itself. This is because Indian indie filmmakers often push the boundaries when it comes to the subjects that they address and this makes their films a controversial project to be associated with. They are into societal truths and realities— even if shown as cynical or humorous or downright brutal.?

What makes a successful film?

When an indie film makes it into the current lexicon, that’s when you know that it really hit its cultural moment. When people start talking about your film, there is this great satisfaction whether it be a good or a bad review. Bad reviews are not necessarily bad, they keep the conversation going.

There is this Bollywood obsession from the Indian audience’s need for escapism because they want to be entertained, not enlightened.?That is the reason why Indian indie films are more successful outside India. A Bollywood blockbuster can easily destroy the prospects of an indie film at the box office in India. But an indie film, with its honest portrayal of life's complexities, stings the audience in the heart.

Indie films for me are driven by a crop of new directors who are turning the traditional Bollywood film formula on its head, casting unknown stars in lead roles, nurturing new writing talent and focusing on hard-hitting subjects—like my first directorial film Welcome On Board.

by Cristina Magallon