Firdaus Sayed: I Was Told That Only Priyank Sharma Will be Seen in The Frame When I Agreed to be in Front of Camera!

Producer Firdaus Sayed got the chance to act in her series The Holiday and it was then that she realized how tough it is to be an actor. However, the producer says she had a wonderful experience. “The actor in Mauritius didn't turn up and the location and everything was booked and paid for. Plus, the director was adamant that I play the role. I had no choice I was told only Priyank (Sharma, actor) will be seen. They bullied me also, they said there are loads of young mothers these days!” 

She laughs, adding, “The world is so different in front of the camera.You just forget all the stress of production and change into the character. But it definitely is very difficult to be an actor, I have realized that.”

She is also full of praises for her co-producer Farhn P Zamma. “Farhn produced a show at the age of 25 with 28 film actors including Shabana Azmi, Nawab Shah, Zakir Hussain, Urvashi Sharma, etc. He is a mature person in a young body. He keeps a very low profile and feels that his work should speak. He has seen major ups and downs at a very early age so his way of handling any situation is very mature and he clearly thinks about what the repercussions and after-effects will be. He is principally clear that as producers, we will only be called if we give the production value of 100 in 40 rupees or else any else can also deliver a 100 rupees in 100 rupees or 150 rupees so that’s how he stands out,” she says.

Talking about how the show came to be, she says, “The Holiday was not planned initially in Mauritius but in Bali but due to production issues and weather issues we chose Mauritius. We shot in 1st week of June. To do an international shoot of 20 days so quickly was next to impossible but Farhan, with his conviction and support of Mauritius government, tourism and film board made this happen. 

It was Farhan who cracked the whole location deal single-handedly by staying in Mauritius for one month, people started thinking he was a local. Mauritius tourism is so happy with him because of the way the final product turned out. They felt that Mauritius had never been portrayed like this in any film. Even if a few scenes were shot in a film there, which were good, the makers never gave credit to Mauritius and portrayed it as some other country or city. Now, the economic board has offered Farhan to come back for a feature film that he is planning and they will give him all the support and many more untouched locations.”