My Dog Lassie

BBC Manchester Radio

In June I was interviewed by the great Sophie from Indus about my career to date as a writer, producer and director. It was fun and I wondered what version of Bollywood films did Sophie watch? Boy meets Girl fall in love and get.... to meet behind the bike shed?  Maybe its the British Asian version eh?

The Garden Play by Refat Yasmeen

Halal Shalom

Asad Shan, Zee Tv presenter and producer of Iconic Productions approached me to write a Comedy Drama Film. The treatment took two weeks to write and was a combination of two films 'Guess Who!' and the great, 'Oyvey Maria' but this is called, 'Halal Shalom!'

A comedy-drama about Kashmiri guy who falls in love with a Jewish girl but forgets to tell her about his religious persuasion that is until they meet each others Fathers and their somewhat hilarious conventional ways.

The treatment is done and ready for Asad's signature and the go ahead.

Graduated 2011

Having graduated from Bolton in 2011 - I wrote and submitted quite a few things but then got itchy feet for more experience. I flew out to Mumbai, India and then to Karachi, Pakistan to work with two production companies as a screenwriter. The reason behind this was obvious and that was to acquire networks and experience as a producer and writer.

Initially I was part of something known as 'show runner'  this is where the the creator of the show moves on, and day-to-day responsibilities of showrunning fall to other writers or writing teams who have to develop the TV drama. A similar concept to Eastenders or Casualty here in the UK.  If you get the break and work as part of a showrunning team I would advise you to a) to leave your ego at home b) research the characters and plots thoroughly and c) don't hold back on storylines.
The one thing about working in a South Asian country is that they want everything yesterday, so don't expect much sleep.

I honestly learnt a lot from the experience.  Namely revising structure, plot as I was going along, always having a cliff-hanger ending and the craft of writing fast and effectively. I am more disciplined because of it and can write a screenplay in three weeks, six episodes in two weeks and a play in two days.

The other aspect of writing is that I am character led - my characters talk to me. Imagine being allowed into a world where you are watching what characters are doing. The fantastic thing is you can join in with characters having a party, be there when a characters are having a baby... It's fantastic! However the downside is I cannot watch actors playing the characters for obvious reasons.

Who Does She Think She Is?

Refat has a very unique and maverick take on life which comes out through her screenwriting. Born in England in the late 1960's she is the first generation of British Pakistani Muslim women who has lived through all the traumas life could throw at her. She lost her arm in a freak accident when she was three years old which changed her whole life. 

She was the first person from her family to attend University where she did a degree in Social Work and later pioneered an Ethnic Minority Homecare Agency which she ran for six years. Her company staffed 40 care workers and around 120 clients with learning disabilities, mental health, and physical disabilities, elderly etc. 

Refat went and did a short course in Nodia, Delhi at the Asian Academy for Film & Television where she wrote a few shorts and returned to England to do an Honours degree at the University of Bolton in Media, Writing and Production.

In her final year, Refat wrote her first radio play called Whose Side You on? and was listed in the top six of the  BBC New Talent Award. She has since written sitcoms, plays that are awaiting production.

Refat met Paul Abbott, Jimmy McGovern and Willy Russell all who have been most encouraging.

"I write from what I know... by highlighting the issues ingrained in what life is really like in Pakistani Kashmiri family ..."