June Issue 2003

He started his career with fashion photography and soon became the most sought-after photographer in town. With his innovative lens-work, Amean J. joined the ranks of Pakistan’s leading fashion photographers. Next he took up the challenge of making documentaries.

Now he has moved on to directing and creating music videos. And that means videos with the Amean J. difference. No guy-wooing-gal gimmicks and definitely no sign of a group of Punjabi jumping-Jacks set off against a bhangra number, for him. Making his debut with a brand new band, Rushk, with the video for “Khuahish,” this is a peace song with at-the-cutting-edge choreography.

With the US-Iraq war now fading into the background, many of us seem to have forgotten what the real motives behind the carnage were and are too “war fatigued” to consider what the consequences may be. Not Amean J. His video captures the antipathy he feels towards the US, specifically, George W Bush. The opening shot is a masked US army marine, getting ready to kill a tied-up and blindfolded Iraqi.

The special effects also need to be commended, most notably, the dust which scatters when a heavy pair of army boots heartlessly walks over Iraqi soil and the almost deafening silence which marks the opening of the song. Pakistani videos have undergone a radical change, often enhancing the talent of the singers. And sometimes imaginative direction can even save an otherwise average song from the chart trash heap. And this is exactly what Amean J. has managed to do for ‘Khuahish,’ which otherwise would have been a non-starter.