Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad is a writer, director and co-founder of Exxodus Pictures. After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he began his career as a concept designer and storyboard artist, working in commercials and directing music videos for Brandy, Chaka Khan, Dr. Dre and Fatboy Slim. Among his feature film and television credits are The Pretender series for NBC, Dungeons and Dragons...
from New Line Cinema, the award-winning science fiction short Alliance and the Bollywood-Hollywood feature Perfect Mismatch.His latest horror film, Jinn releases on 4th April 2014.
What made you come up with such a unique concept like Jinn?
I can’t take credit for coming up with the idea of Jinn as it has been around for thousands of years...however I did decide to make a movie on the concept because it was something that had never been done before, at least in the authentic sense. Almost 2 billion people from across the world already believe in the Jinn from China to India to Africa...yet the rest of the world has never heard of them before. It really seemed like a perfect idea for a movie…I was just lucky no one had done it yet.
How is working in films different from ad films and music videos?
Making a motion picture is a true test of endurance. If a commercial is a quick sprint, a film is more like a 20 mile run with 30 quick sprints in between. There are literally millions of decisions to make from inception to completion and every one of them counts.
Jinns are essentially eastern mythology. Tell us more about them?
Jinn are a third race of beings that have lived on this planet before mankind ever existed. They can be good or evil as they have free will like man. They are similar to us in a few ways but differ in that they can do things that we would usually attribute to the supernatural. That is why most of the things that go bump in the night are usually blamed on the jinn...at least in eastern part of the world. One of the things that is inherently linked to the jinn is the concept that they are made out of smokeless fire. Man made of clay. Angels made of light…and the jinn made of fire.
Have you always known that you would be associated with the arts?
To be honest, I have never called myself an artist as I look at movies as very similar to something like car design. Both are industries where you combine high technology with a lot of creativity to create something for people to enjoy. Usually, an artist creates for himself.
But to answer the spirit of your question, yes...I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a motion picture director. :)
What’s your favorite genre in movies? What kind of movies have you grown up on?
I love all genres...sci-fi, action adventure, epics. I grew up with Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones…two of my favorite movies are Braveheart and Shawshank Redemption.
How was it working on perfect mismatch? What do you think about Bollywood?
Awesome experience. I love Bollywood movies!
How was it filming Jinn? Any stories you would like to share?
Jinn has been an incredible learning experience for me and I am very lucky to have had the chance to make it.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully Jinn 2! :)
What made you come up with such a unique concept like Jinn?
I can’t take credit for coming up with the idea of Jinn as it has been around for thousands of years...however I did decide to make a movie on the concept because it was something that had never been done before, at least in the authentic sense. Almost 2 billion people from across the world already believe in the Jinn from China to India to Africa...yet the rest of the world has never heard of them before. It really seemed like a perfect idea for a movie…I was just lucky no one had done it yet.
How is working in films different from ad films and music videos?
Making a motion picture is a true test of endurance. If a commercial is a quick sprint, a film is more like a 20 mile run with 30 quick sprints in between. There are literally millions of decisions to make from inception to completion and every one of them counts.
Jinns are essentially eastern mythology. Tell us more about them?
Jinn are a third race of beings that have lived on this planet before mankind ever existed. They can be good or evil as they have free will like man. They are similar to us in a few ways but differ in that they can do things that we would usually attribute to the supernatural. That is why most of the things that go bump in the night are usually blamed on the jinn...at least in eastern part of the world. One of the things that is inherently linked to the jinn is the concept that they are made out of smokeless fire. Man made of clay. Angels made of light…and the jinn made of fire.
Have you always known that you would be associated with the arts?
To be honest, I have never called myself an artist as I look at movies as very similar to something like car design. Both are industries where you combine high technology with a lot of creativity to create something for people to enjoy. Usually, an artist creates for himself.
But to answer the spirit of your question, yes...I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a motion picture director. :)
What’s your favorite genre in movies? What kind of movies have you grown up on?
I love all genres...sci-fi, action adventure, epics. I grew up with Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones…two of my favorite movies are Braveheart and Shawshank Redemption.
How was it working on perfect mismatch? What do you think about Bollywood?
Awesome experience. I love Bollywood movies!
How was it filming Jinn? Any stories you would like to share?
Jinn has been an incredible learning experience for me and I am very lucky to have had the chance to make it.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully Jinn 2! :)
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