Shades of Ray: An Interview with Writer/Director Jaffar Mahmood
-by David J. Lieto (The Squeeg)
Normally, I cover the goings-on of a little town called Las Vegas. Every so often, however, I come across a subject that deserves special attention.
Shades of Ray is a new comedy by director/writer Jaffar Mahmood that is set to hit the festivals this season. Jaffar, a graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC, has been a friend for some time now, and when I was presented with the opportunity to read his screenplay, I jumped at it.
The story revolves around Ray Rehman, the son of a Pakistani Father and Caucasian Mother. His father, played by Brian George, wants his son to marry a Pakistani woman, but Ray has already asked for the hand of his Caucasian girlfriend. Although she hasn’t given him an answer yet, Ray is fairly certain his Father’s wishes are not going to be met. That is, until his Father and Mother separate and the former shows up on his doorstep.
In order to cheer up his father, Ray agrees to meet with the Pakistani woman his Father has spoken of, Sana. Because she is of mixed decent, like Ray, they hit it off immediately. According to Jaffar, “although he [Ray] didn’t want to have feelings for her [Sana], he can’t deny having a connection with her.” The only problem is that his girlfriend/fiancé, Noel, still wants him. So now Ray is not only trying to reunite his parents, but he’s also contending with the two women in his life.
The film stars some of this year’s new television talent. Zachary Levi, who plays Ray, is the star of the new NBC series Chuck (Premiering Monday, 9/24, at 8pm on NBC). He is joined by Bonnie Somerville, of ABC’s Cashmere Mafia, and Sarah Shahi, from NBC’s Life. Also, as mentioned above, Brian George - remembered for playing Babu Bhatt on Seinfeld - co-Stars along with the Emmy Award-winning Kathy Baker from Picket Fences.
Shades Of Ray is far from being a typical romantic comedy. It’s loosely based on events in Jaffar’s life. Jaffar and the Ray character share the same heritage. Jaffar’s father, a doctor in New Jersey, hails from Pakistan and, like Ray, his Mother is Caucasian. The experience of such a background was the motivating factor behind writing the script.
“There’s been several films that analyze the relationship between two people of different ethnicities - Jungle Fever, for one,” says Jaffar, “But there’s so few American movies, if any… [that examine] what’s it’s like for the product or offspring of two ethnicities coming together - the kid - and how that effects him and the way he sees himself. Shades of Ray is my way of exploring that issue.”
While trying to raise money for the film, Jaffar had been informed by a handful of executives at production companies in Los Angeles that he’d have a much easier time getting his family comedy made if he changed the ethnicity of the main character to being half latino or black. “Those are proven minority markets” is what he was told. In response, Jaffar says, “Maybe we can add South Asian to that mix if Pakistanis and Muslims weren’t only portrayed as three things in American film: the terrorist, the cab driver, or the convenience store owner. Ray is a kid from New Jersey who has conflicting pressure from his parents on who he should marry. He’s struggling to find success at work, struggling to make his parents proud, struggling to make himself happy. These are problems that anyone from any background with any religion can relate to.” Only time will tell if Jaffar is right.
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7 Responses to “Shades of Ray: An Interview with Writer/Director Jaffar Mahmood”Leave a Reply |
April 14th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I am very excited to see this film. Not only does it sound like an amazing movie, but I also happen to love Sarah Shahi and I just know that she will shine in this role.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:47 am
I saw the film and its pretty bad. Lots of overacting and bad performances. Its supposed to be a comedy but its not funny. Its also extremely predictable. The situations are very trite Zach did a good job with the terrible matterial though. Its lucky they acst him before Chuck, cause there’s no way he would have taken this career destroyer after landing that show. Some of the smaller cameo roles like Zacks father (Brian James I think is the actors name) is quite good. Rays best friend, though, is way over the too and thinks he is funny. They left lots of hammy and schticky things in that make the movie pathetic and annoying. The story is unbelievable - an American kid who’s soon-to-be-divorced father tries to set up with the ideal girl friend/future wife. I mean come on — MAYBE in the 1950… Or MAYBE in Pakistan, but it just doesn’t ring true here and now… And that could be forgiven if the directing was better, but its amazingly flat and in-artfully crafted. There are no exciting camera shots or angles. In fact the only scene that looks semi-professional is the scene at the pool at night. My advise: Save your money. Not even a worthy DVD rental unless you are a huge Zack Levi fan .
May 10th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I couldn’t disagree more with Greg Kahn and his views on this film. First of all, he obviously knows nothing about the immigrant mentality. Ever meet the first generation American born child of an Asian, Latino, or South Asian parent? Talk to them and you’ll quickly learn that almost all immigrant parents want their children to settle down with someone from their own cultural background. And that’s happening today. All over America. Secondly, to refer to Zach Levi’s father in the film (who is name is Brian George) as a cameo role means Greg completely missed the point of this movie. It’s a father/son story. Brian George, who is fantastic here, is the co-lead! Zach is also amazing with his flawless comedic timing and I like how he shows a dramatic side you don’t see too often in “Chuck.” Sarah Shahi is breath-taking in her role. It’s only a matter of time before she’s a huge star. As independent movies go, I thought this was a little gem. It’s funny, poignant, topical, and thought provoking. You should definitely check it out.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
saw it… loved it… want it on DVD
May 31st, 2008 at 12:40 pm
where did you guys saw the movie!? please i would kill to see it! contact me please chikasexy_chris@hotmail.com
June 21st, 2008 at 7:42 am
yeah Im eager to see this but Ive heard nothing about release dates for the dvd or any cinematic releases at all.
any info about where you saw it would be appreciated!
cheers
mikaela_rc@yahoo.co.uk
August 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I saw a clip for this film at an OPEN film festival, and I really loved it. It made my laugh harder then I have at a movie in a while. The dad reminds me of a friend of mine’s father, along with several of my uncle’s. Maybe me being Pakistani, born and raised in America makes me have a better insight into what he was going through, but I know a lot of people who would enjoy it. I thought that Mr. Levi did a good job portraying someone who was american, but hindered by his families expectations along with the public’s assumptions. Mr. Khan’s review could be true for someone who probably never has properly made friends with someone like Ray, or else he would understand that these types of situations happen more often then not.
I have high hopes for the movie, and hope it makes it to cinema’s, because it shows that Pakistani’s go through the same everyday trouble’s as European-descent Americans, but with more pressure from their families.
I can’t wait to see the whole movie!