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About a year ago, we received a rather creepy-looking package from the Cake team and since then, we’ve been wondering what the contents of the box even meant. Fast forward to the present and a trailer release later, we finally have our answers thanks to Sanam Saeed, Aamina Sheikh, Adnan Malik, and director, Asim Abbasi! We met up with the gang at a press junket organized for the film as it gears up for release, and here are some very interesting answers that we got!

“In South Asian families, there are some things which never get thrown out of the house; they’re always lying somewhere, and we always complain about them. They always stay there! These things are something, we just don’t let go of,” Aamina Sheikh explained.

So, we now can understand that each thing works as some sort of a memory in Cake. But, what exactly does each item signify? Here’s the lowdown…

 

Keys

Aamina Sheikh: The key signifies a lot of things. it signifies secrets, something that needs to be kept away from others. it signifies safety, especially in a city like Karachi. Interestingly enough, my character in the film wears a charm in her necklace – which is also a key. This is just an example of how a lot of things in the film have been dealt with.

 

Cassette

Sanam Saeed: The cassette is old-school and our mother [in the film] likes to listen to music – she likes to play puranay gaanay. it’s there because music is an integral part of the film. There’s a value attached to cassettes and you know, you don’t want to throw them away, they’re a huge part of your life.

 

Cake

The contents.

 

A Doll-head

Sanam Saeed: Oh, that signifies our mother’s love for wigs in the film!

 

Playing Cards

Asim Abbasi: The cards are one of the things that the family bonds over in the film. It only makes an appearance once, but it’s something that ties the family.

 

A Torn Sock

Aamina Sheikh: The sock is very significant to Romeo’s [Adnan Malik] character.

Asim Abbasi: So, you would have to look at the wide-shot carefully, where he’s putting nail polish on the mum to see what sock he’s wearing, and you’ll know exactly why the sock is there!

Adnan Malik: It’s like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ so all these clues you have, you have to find them in the film! If you can find them, and send us a screenshot, maybe we’ll give you a cupcake! (Laughs). There’s definitely a reason for the sock in the film, which you’ll find out when you watch the film.

 

Shahjehan Saleem

The author is Contributing Editor at Something Haute as well as a professor in the Media Sciences department at SZABIST, Karachi. Socio-cultural theories and geography fill up the rest of his time.