‘Dollars’ Movie | An Ode to Pakistan, a Tribute to Overseas Desi Community

Dollars movie expected to be released in Pakistan on the 17th of May, 2024, is a riveting comedic tale of two orphan boys who are very close to each other. The movie showcases how the two friends who are like family work to make it big in the US despite their everyday struggles and the antics they get up to in the process.

Speaking exclusively to BAAGHI TV, director/producer Mr. Ijaz Khan explained that on the surface the story details the life of two orphan boys who have known each other since they were little children while dealing with a wholesome representation of the desi community in the US and their everyday struggles to survive in a foreign land completely different from their experiences back home.

“As the director and producer for Dollars, I wanted to highlight how our people work day and night to make money (dollars – the US currency) and the things they have to do to make that money”, said Ijaz Khan.

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The movie introduces two thirty-five-year-old friends, Billu and Mithu, played by Pakistani comedian Saleem Albela and Pakistani-American director Ijaz Khan. “During the movie, the audience learns the two have been friends since they were ten years old and have depended on each other as they are both more like family to one another”, explained Khan.

Talking about his character in the movie, he said: “My character Mithu, originally Mazaruddin Khan, is a boy who had been smuggled from Pakistan to the US at the age of ten years.” Through this arc, the movie highlights the contemporary evil of human trafficking from lesser privileged countries to first-world countries like the US in the West. “My character’s story is set in the scenario of a boy coming from a poor family, smuggled to America under the guise of a child adopted by white-American parents in hopes of a better life”. In this way, Dollars the movie casts a light on the prevalent issue of the American dream and the charm of the green card which pulls many towards this foreign land. On the other hand, Billu played by Saleem Albela is a legal US citizen yet he has to face his own set of challenges as he is pushed back and forth between relatives after his parents pass away.

Through the years, the two boys form a bond stronger than blood as they navigate life together through thick and thin working at a pizza parlor for a wealthy owner, and plotting ways to con him out of his money. Imagine the Oceans 10, 11, and 8 series but give it a desi twist, and suddenly you get Dollars, Khan’s passion project. Since Mithu is not a legal citizen having been smuggled into the country, he is forced to rely on Billu’s help and his documents to get by in life portrayed with a humorous touch as they lie to and manipulate their employer for amenities in the US.

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Talking about the inspiration behind the film, Khan said, “My personal story is that I am basically from a middle-class family from Faisalabad [in Pakistan]. When I was fifteen years old, I left my city and moved to Islamabad where I worked for a few years and debuted with Pakistani comedian Iftikhar Thakkur appearing in various projects. I then left for Africa before moving to the US a few years later and working hard since”.

He added: “Although I have worked hard all my life, since the 2000s I have made a drama Amrika Chalo for GEO TV starring Sadia Imam, Ali Ijaz, and others. I worked other odd jobs and took on smaller roles but my inspiration has always been to make a movie of my own. After almost 29 years in the US, I released my first film titled Butta American (2021) worldwide in 216 countries via Amazon and got a good response”.

Elaborating on his inspiration behind the film, Khan said his movies are stories of the overseas Pakistanis and the desi community living in the US. “My personal agenda is to show people that it’s not easy to make money in the US”, he said.

According to Khan, he started working on the idea behind Dollars before the pandemic however, his efforts culminated in the arrival of Saleem Albela from Pakistan and the opportunity to shoot across five states in the US including Nevada, Washington, Virginia, and Maryland.

Talking about the effort that goes into making a film, Khan explained his passion motivates him to keep working – coming from a family of eight sons, as a little boy Khan had seen his mother’s passion for films in the 80s and the 90s. He had seen how she wanted him to grow up and become a hero in a movie. This is why he learned breakdance and other skills to help him in his journey toward filmmaking. “I have even choreographed for this [Dollars] film”, Khan added: “Allah has given me the talent and the passion and that keeps me going”.

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When asked if he would share some advice with aspiring filmmakers, Ijaz Khan said: “The only thing is to never give up on your dreams. Dream big, dream always. I came from a middle-class family experiencing hard times, yet I am a self-made millionaire. From a young age, I left Pakistan because I knew I couldn’t make a future for myself without financial security. I went to Africa and then to the US with my own efforts”.

Recalling a major accident in 2018, Khan reiterated that despite my medical issues “I never gave up and today I am awaiting the release of my second movie so, the younger generation and aspiring filmmakers should remain motivated, work hard, and dream big”.

When asked about future projects by BAAGHI TV, Khan said that he is working on two upcoming projects. The first is titled Mr. Daddy and focuses on the social evil of bullying prevalent in schools across the US, especially its effects on the desi community in the US. His second project is titled Dollars 2, and will serve as an anticipated sequel for Dollars.

Written by Saima Khan and Ijaz Khan, the film is inspired by Pakistan and India alike. As an actor and director himself, Khan has been influenced by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, Pakistani film actor Shaan Shahid and comedy genius Iftikhar Thakkur.

In response to a question about the process of selecting and compiling the script, Khan said that he takes inspiration from local stories. When he and his wife, Saima Khan who is the primary writer for Dollars sit together, they discuss the stories of the locals in their area and work on bringing those stories to the fore through their movies. Khan elaborated that at the moment, many Desi families in the US are third/fourth generation citizens with a vast spread presence across parts of the US, so he hopes to highlight their stories for people back home to understand that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side.

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Talking about his experience as the producer, Khan said that it is the most important role because everything starts with money, and setting a budget for the film. “With my first film, I took a risk because I knew there was no one like me in the US. I could see that if I invest my own money, I can make the film I want to make. So I took this risk, invested the money, and released my movie worldwide”.

“As an American-Pakistani living in the US for almost twenty-nine years, I know the two cultures are very different. Desi’s in the US are more honest, hardworking, and to the point”. Recalling an incident on set, Khan said that the way things work in Pakistan is vastly different from how they operate in the US, so it was a daunting experience for Saleem Albela in the beginning, having come to the US for the movie. Staying true to his comedic roots, Albela good-naturedly compared the atmosphere on set to the decorum maintained in prison because it was a new environment for him unlike in Pakistan where people are generally easy-going.

When asked what he envisioned for the future of the film industry in the coming five years, Khan expressed that he hopes to release three films by the end of this year, and twenty films by the end of five years. In response to a question about the importance of music in the movie, he said that there are four songs featured in Dollars – ranging from dance/music to romance and sad songs. “[Music] is extremely important. As a director, I believe music plays one of the most important roles… and I am hoping that the songs in the movie will be a hit for sure“.

In response to another question Khan commented, “Technically [Dollars] is a Hollywood film because I am an American, my film is American and it is made in the US, but it is connected to Lollywood/Bollywood because of our cast having links to India and Pakistan”. When asked about the future of the Pakistan film industry, he said: “From my understanding, they are reviving a bit… the world is a global village because of access to the internet. With my first film, I chose this route and released it worldwide, via Amazon. I hope to highlight good talent and good stories and prove that now Pakistani films can also be showcased anywhere”.

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Dollars is set for release on 17th May 2024 followed by release in the UAE and across the globe. This proves that Pakistani films and filmmakers are making their mark in the industry. Talking about the most important quality of a film director, Khan said: “I have a young mind, with which I hope to create stories that even young people want to watch. As a director, I have in mind the idea to keep it to the point and entertaining throughout. I know that audiences will remain hooked throughout and not get bored for even a minute, which is very important for a director to ensure”.

Talking about the experience behind the scenes, he said: “If I experience unprofessional behavior, I try to accommodate the actor to a certain extent but after that, I remind them that work is work and that is most important. I don’t care if someone is a big star or not”. He added, “it’s an achievement to finish shooting [Dollars] in twenty-six days, with another month of editing.”

In the future, Ijaz Khan expressed hope to create many more movies ranging from sad to comic, action to romance, and so on. He said: “I started with comedy because I believe people prefer that and watch it most carefully. My upcoming project Mr. Daddy will be an action-drama”.

When asked how Khan motivates the actors to perform better, he said that in the US, the biggest problem is finding professional actors especially, within the desi community. “I coached people in my first film, I taught them, trained them, and then dived into the film. If I see that an actor can perform, then I put in the effort to train them and invest my energies into them”. Talking about the cast of Dollars, Khan said that aside from himself, Javed Naseem, and Saleem Albela, the cast is all new because “I try to find most actors in the US. With my second film, I have managed to grow my team, and I will continue to grow it in the future”.

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Naming three things he would like to change about the film industry, he said: “I would first change the dance choreographers, then I would change the direction/thinking toward a global perspective. Just look at India. Why do all nations watch their movies? It’s due to their government investing in them by accommodating them at the international level. This helps to boost their films, if only the Pakistan government would do the same, then our industry could also grow by leaps and bounds because we are not lacking in talent”.

Speaking with BAAGHI TV, Khan stressed that studying to get into any industry is essential. Even with filmmaking, having an academic background helps a person grow their talent. “In my experience, when I learned during my three years in Islamabad working with directors, and newscasters for fourteen to sixteen hours a day, I honed a range of skills from editing to set designing to shooting and so on. I would suggest aspiring and young filmmakers or actors join the industry with an academic knowledge base, however, nothing can beat natural talent. In my experience, knowledge and talent go hand in hand”.

When asked how involved he was in the production process, Khan said: “If like me, you are the director, producer, co-writer, and actor, then you need to focus 200% to make sure that everything is perfect”. He added: “I worked hard on this, it took me 1 year and 7 months from scratch to complete the film from the script’s initial stages to the last day when the film was finished. 24/7 I was working for the film, meeting with the actors, training them, and working on the music/dances/ script. I was busy 24/7.”

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Talking about actor Adam Khan, the director/producer said that working with him was a pleasure. “He is a great human being, a fine actor, As a director, I am satisfied working with him. When I saw his performance on set, I felt like I had discovered a treasure. This is because finding a good actor is not an easy feat. I met with almost 300 people for my first and second films, but Adam Khan is one of the top finds.”

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