Ghazanfer Jaffery

co-founder of Bekaar Films

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Ghazanfer Jaffery is the co-founder of Bekaar Films. He was born in Karachi, grew up in the United States and came to Pakistan in 2008. He studied film with a minor in graphic design and worked as a producer at an advertising agency.

Early life and background

Jaffery was born in Karachi. His family moved to the United States when he was about one and a half or two years old. He grew up in the US, from kindergarten through high school. He grew up in Durham. His mother and father were both the eldest in their families. [1]

As a child he loved sketching, drawing, painting and photography. He had no memories of Pakistan as a child. He came to Pakistan in 2008. Settling in Karachi was very difficult when he first arrived there. [1]

Education

His elder brother and his mother wanted him to study computer science or engineering. He started university and enrolled in computer science. He says coding was difficult for him and was not his strength. He describes himself as an art student and says arts and math do not go together. [1]

He went to his dean to ask to move into arts. His major was film and his minor was graphic design. He first went into graphic design and then found an interest in film, acting, editing and production. During university he took small projects such as documentaries and wedding highlight videos. [1]

Career

Jaffery worked as a producer at an advertising agency. As a producer his job ran from budgeting to overseeing a project's execution. He worked a day job from Monday to Friday and made projects with friends on weekends. [1]

Bekaar Films

Ghazanfer Jaffery is the co-founder of Bekaar Films. He and his friends made skits online and one of them went viral. He says 2013 was the group's final year as students. The group says its channel has about 1.5 million subscribers. [1]

Brands began contacting the group after their videos drew good views and shares. He says the first brand the group worked with was probably Sprite. He says the Sprite project was four videos and paid 80,000. The group made a project with a brand during the 2013 election. [1]

He says money is still being made from one of their projects. He says CPM was very poor when they released a project. He took a break of three or four years from comedy and came back with a more serious side. He did not want to keep making comedy and wanted to explore other things. [1]

Views

He says that when a person marries and starts a family, he thinks about the family and not only about himself. He lists the security and safety of one's family as a factor. He says that today everyone wants a visa so that they can leave. He says he does not think he will be in Dubai. [1]

He says sponsors in Pakistan are afraid to put money into web series. He says Pakistan is years behind on web series. He says they have plenty of scripts. He says people do not want to take a risk. He says production houses are scared to take risks on new genres such as murder mystery or horror. [1]

He estimates that a 12-episode web series costs at least 1 crore. He says the amount he named can produce something at Netflix level. He says that with one crore he would try to make at least three web series. [1]

He says CPM has improved but is still low in Pakistan. He says Instagram monetization is on only in the US. He says Instagram reels from the group that reach one million views earn no money. He says creators living in Canada or the US get more social media advantages. [1]

He says India is doing really well. He says Bollywood is experimenting more and is no longer like the 90s. He says TV dramas now air on YouTube. He says he is still working out how to make content that reaches people globally. He says he does not put his content behind a paywall. [1]

He says that without acting he would be editing or working behind the camera. He says he would most likely be working in the art field. [1]

Personal life

Jaffery married in 2016. He describes himself as a very quiet person before he started making skits. He says Bekaar Films gave him confidence. He says that a character is a character and that he is a real-life person. He says people have combined his face with comedy. [1]

Timeline

2008
Came to Pakistan.[1]
2013
Final year as students for the group; the group made a project with a brand during the election.[1]
2016
Married.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2024-01-12 Why Pakistani creators can't afford to take a risk Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ghazanfer Jaffery?

Ghazanfer Jaffery is the co-founder of Bekaar Films. He was born in Karachi and grew up in the United States, from kindergarten through high school.[1]

What does Ghazanfer Jaffery do?

Ghazanfer Jaffery is the co-founder of Bekaar Films. He also worked as a producer at an advertising agency, where his job ran from budgeting to overseeing a project's execution.[1]

Where did Ghazanfer Jaffery study?

Ghazanfer Jaffery started university and enrolled in computer science. He then went to his dean to ask to move into arts. His major was film and his minor was graphic design.[1]

Where is Ghazanfer Jaffery from?

Ghazanfer Jaffery was born in Karachi. His family moved to the United States when he was about one and a half or two years old, and he grew up in Durham. He came to Pakistan in 2008.[1]

What company did Ghazanfer Jaffery found?

Ghazanfer Jaffery is the co-founder of Bekaar Films. He and his friends made skits online and one of them went viral.[1]

When did Ghazanfer Jaffery move to Pakistan?

Ghazanfer Jaffery came to Pakistan in 2008. He had no memories of Pakistan as a child, and he says settling in Karachi was very difficult when he first arrived there.[1]

What does Ghazanfer Jaffery say about web series in Pakistan?

Ghazanfer Jaffery says Pakistan is years behind on web series. He says sponsors in Pakistan are afraid to put money into web series. He estimates that a 12-episode web series costs at least 1 crore.[1]

References

  1. Why Pakistani creators can't afford to take a risk . Thought Behind Things , 2024-01-12.
Show the source passages (60 statements)
  1. He was born in Karachi. I was born in Karachi.
  2. His family moved to the United States when he was about one and a half or two years old. Then, at the age of probably one and a half, two years old, my family moved to the US.
  3. He grew up in the US, from kindergarten through high school. And I grew up there, my whole childhood, from kindergarten to high school, everything was done in the US.
  4. He grew up in Durham. We were in the place we called was the city that we were in was Durham.
  5. His mother and father were both the eldest in their families. kyunki my my mother was the eldest and my dad was the eldest, so we were the oldest cousins.
  6. He had no memories of Pakistan as a child. I had no memories of Pakistan.
  7. Settling in Karachi was very difficult when he first arrived there. And then coming to a city like Karachi was very difficult.
  8. His elder brother and his mother wanted him to study computer science or engineering. my elder brother and my mother said, no, you should go into computer science, do engineering, that's where the money is.
  9. As a child he loved sketching, drawing, painting and photography. Like growing up, I loved sketching, drawing, painting, photography.
  10. He started university and enrolled in computer science. So, when I started university, I did computer science.
  11. He says coding was difficult for him and was not his strength. Coding was difficult, bro. C sharp and all that. It was not my forte.
  12. He describes himself as an art student and says arts and math do not go together. Math, I'm an art student. Arts and math do not go together.
  13. He went to his dean to ask to move into arts. So, one of my So, I went to my dean and I told him that I want to go into the arts.
  14. His major was film and his minor was graphic design. So my major was film and our and my minor was graphic design.
  15. He first went into graphic design and then found an interest in film, acting, editing and production. But after doing graphic designing, I slowly found an interest for film, acting, editing, production.
  16. During university he took small projects such as documentaries and wedding highlight videos. Toh during university time humein chote mote projects milte the ke ye documentary hai, you shoot karna hai, ah ek shadi aa rahi hai, uski video highlights banane hain.
  17. He came to Pakistan in 2008. 2008 mein I came to Pakistan.
  18. He married in 2016. 2016 mein meri shaadi hui thi.
  19. He says that when a person marries and starts a family, he thinks about the family and not only about himself. first reason is when you get married and when you start a family, you not only think about yourself, you think about the family.
  20. He lists the security and safety of one's family as a factor. And then you have, first of all, you have, uh, the security and safety of your family.
  21. He says that today everyone wants a visa so that they can leave. aap aaj har koi chah raha hai ke humara bhi visa lag jaye, hum bhi nikal jayein.
  22. He worked as a producer at an advertising agency. I was working at an advertising agency as a producer, uh, IEL, Sachi and Sachi.
  23. As a producer his job ran from budgeting to overseeing a project's execution. So our job was to uh from budgeting to the execution of the project, whatever for the commercials
  24. He worked a day job from Monday to Friday and made projects with friends on weekends. during the during from Monday to Friday, we will be working our day jobs and every weekend we will come together and do something for ourselves.
  25. He and his friends made skits online and one of them went viral. we came together, we did some skits, we uploaded the skits and one of the skits went viral.
  26. He says 2013 was the group's final year as students. So, it was the year was 2013. It was our final year as students.
  27. He says the first brand the group worked with was probably Sprite. Our first brand that we worked with worked with was probably Sprite.
  28. He says the Sprite project was four videos and paid 80,000. It was a project of four videos aur project done hua tha 80,000 ka.
  29. The group made a project with a brand during the 2013 election. humne Djuice ke saath kiya tha 2013 ke election mein
  30. Brands began contacting the group after their videos drew good views and shares. we were getting good views, good shares, people were loving our videos and then we started getting queries from brands.
  31. He describes himself as a very quiet person before he started making skits. before doing skits, I was I would say I was a very quiet guy.
  32. He says Bekaar Films gave him confidence. I I would say it because of Bekaar Films, mere andar confidence aaya.
  33. He says that a character is a character and that he is a real-life person. Woh ek character hai, main ek real life banda hoon, aise hi baitha hoon
  34. He says people have combined his face with comedy. I think people have uh combined my face with comedy.
  35. He took a break of three or four years from comedy and came back with a more serious side. I took a break, three, four years and then I came back and I was like ki usko bilkul side pe karke ek bahut serious side of things lekar aaya.
  36. He did not want to keep making comedy and wanted to explore other things. main comedy mujhe mazeed karne ka dil nahi kar raha tha and I was like, you know, I want to explore other things.
  37. He says sponsors in Pakistan are afraid to put money into web series. Pakistan mein sponsors are afraid of putting their money on web series.
  38. He says Pakistan is years behind on web series. Pakistan is years behind. Puri duniya web series pe chal rahi hai Pakistan abhi tak web series pe nahi aaya.
  39. He says they have plenty of scripts. Hamare paas scripts toh bahut hain.
  40. He says people do not want to take a risk. People don't want to take a risk.
  41. He says production houses are scared to take risks on new genres such as murder mystery or horror. Toh they're scared to take that risk ke agar humne ye kuch bana liya murder mystery bana li ye bana liya horror bana diya
  42. He says the amount he named can produce something at Netflix level. But it's an amount where you can produce something on a Netflix level.
  43. He estimates that a 12-episode web series costs at least 1 crore. Episodes aapne bol diye 12. 12 episodes ho gaye. Theek hai. 30 30 minutes ke. Toh I would say at least 1 crore.
  44. He says that with one crore he would try to make at least three web series. Ek crore mein I will try to make at least three web series.
  45. He says money is still being made from one of their projects. aaj bhi hamare Bhund Ho Gaya ke paise ban rahe hain.
  46. He says CPM was very poor when they released a project. When we really when we released it us waqt CPM bahut ganda tha.
  47. He says CPM has improved but is still low in Pakistan. It's gotten much better now. But still we're really behind uh.
  48. He says Instagram monetization is on only in the US. Instagram mein monetization nahi on hai. Sirf kahan on hai? US mein.
  49. He says Instagram reels from the group that reach one million views earn no money. The reels that we make that get 1 million views on Instagram, usme koi paisa nahi banta.
  50. He says creators living in Canada or the US get more social media advantages. And when it comes to social media, if you're living in Canada or US, you get more advantages.
  51. He says he does not think he will be in Dubai. I won't be in Dubai I don't think so.
  52. He says India is doing really well. Exactly. India's doing really good.
  53. He says Bollywood is experimenting more and is no longer like the 90s. Ab woh purana 90s Bollywood wala nahi hai ab. They're experimenting.
  54. He says TV dramas now air on YouTube. Wohi drame jo TV pe chal rahe hain jo TV pe aate the ab woh chal rahe hain YouTube pe.
  55. He says he is still working out how to make content that reaches people globally. And today I'm still trying to figure out ke what can I do to improve my content to help reach people globally.
  56. He says he does not put his content behind a paywall. us pe bhi main paywall nahi laga raha.
  57. He says that without acting he would be editing or working behind the camera. If I wasn't acting or if I wasn't I I'm pretty sure I would be editing ya behind the camera doing something.
  58. He says he would most likely be working in the art field. Yaar ab yehi I would say I would be in the art field doing something.
  59. Ghazanfer Jaffery is the Co-founder at Bekaar Films. Ghazanfer Jaffery is the Co-founder at Bekaar Films.
  60. The group says its channel has about 1.5 million subscribers. har pura jo hamara 1.5 million jo subscribers hain