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Mum, dad watch out!
Shelina Begum31/ 8/2004
NEWCOMER Atta Yaqoob is feeling very nervous about the release
of his new film Ae Fond Kiss - as he's not too sure how his parents
will react to the love making scenes.
Twenty-four-year-old Atta is the star of Ken Loache's Ae Fond Kiss,
a film about a young Asian man in Glasgow who falls in love with a
white girl.
Although he is looking forward to general release of the film, Atta
cringes at the thought of his parents watching him half naked with
his co-star.
He said: "I've already told them it's not real, but I'm still
really nervous at their reaction when they finally see the
film.
"I took my brother to one of the screenings and I was literally
covering my head with my jacket so I couldn't see his face
"Apart from that, I'm really looking forward to its release and
can't wait to hear what the rest of the UK has to say about
it."
Ae Fond kiss is Atta's debut film. He plays Casim, a second
generation Pakistani from Glasgow. Working as a DJ, Casim dreams of
buying his own club. His parents Tariq and Sadia are devout Muslims
and plan for him to marry his beautiful cousin Jasmine, who is soon
to arrive in the UK.
Things go awry when Casim meets Roisin, a teacher who is different
from any girl he's ever met. They fall in love. But Casim knows all
too well that, arranged marriage apart, his parents would never
accept a 'goree' - a white girl. As a Catholic, Roisin finds that
her own community isn't supportive either.
For the role of Casim, director Loach decided to go for an
unknown.
Atta , a part-time model, youth worker and recently qualified
post-grad student in information management, fitted the bill.
Crucially, Atta who was born and raised in Glasgow, had the
cultural credentials to match the script. Like Casim, Atta lives
two lives - the one within the family, and the one outside
it.
At home, Casim is the dutiful son, speaking Punjabi with his
parents, accepting their choice for his forthcoming arranged
marriage, bowing to the weight of tradition. Outside, he sheds this
identity,
He speaks English, works as a DJ and, with potentially disastrous
consequences, falls in love.
It's a dual existence lived by many young Asian men, caught between
respect, and love, for their family and cultural heritage, and a
desire to shape their own future.
Like his fictional character Atta feels the contradiction of
wishing to be left to live his own life yet appreciates the support
network his close, extended family provides.
He said: "I was with a white girl, for four years, and even then, I
would be walking along the street with her, holding hands, and if I
saw a man with a beard, I would drop her hand straightaway.
"I couldn't get it out of my head, the idea that the community was
watching me.
"But then, after September 11, it seemed there was more emphasis
suddenly, when people asked were you a Muslim. I've got a mixture
of Asian and white friends but I found that I became more
comfortable with my Asian friends.
"They understood what was happening."
Atta says his experience on working for Ae Fond Kiss has revealed
him to a whole new world. He said: "I had never acted in my life
and now I've done my first film, I've been invited to different
film festivals, it's really amazing, so different to what I've been
doing.
"But I still keep up with my interests, I'm still doing youth work
which I love. The young people I work with think what I'm doing is
brilliant and I have even encouraged some to become more creative
and follow their dreams.
"My family have been excellent throughout this and are really keen
for me to get ahead in my career."
Atta also hopes he will become a role model for more Scottish
Asians to break into films.
He said: "I would never have thought I will come this far and
working with such a great director, but If you put your mind to it
and work hard I believe it will soon pay off.
"Asians are very under-represented in Scottish TV, hopefully with
more TV presence people will realise that they can make it as an
actor too."
Ae Fond Kiss is out on 10 September.
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