Iqbal's Showtime Mag Interview

He looks like a rock star! And he definately sounds like one too! Iqbal Khan's KYPH is definately the most happening show on sony right now. He's made the character of Angad a household name, especially among the fairer sex. Don't Believe us to you? Try taking his name among a bunch of young collegians, and you're going to see many blushing faces and hear a lot of silly giggles. Can't blame them though. Iqbal seems to have that effect on everyone.

But this guy is not the one to make idle conversation. He seems like a man of few words but effective ones at that. No wasting time here, he always gets straight to the point. Oh, and he's quite crazy about his girlfriend of almost three years. Sounds just like Angad, doesn't he? I think that's perhaps the exact reason why his character has clicked so well with the viewers. It's always easier to portray a character with whom you share similar personality traits. But no, we're not going to discuss the charcter of Angad with Iqbal. There's a lot more than just that.

There have been a lot of controversies surrounding Iqbal's relationship with his co-stars. Be it his ladylove in the serial played by Neha Bamb or his other co-star Manasi Verma. And what about hhis flagging film career? Does it have any chance of picking up at all?

To be continued...

Here's a bit of history on him. Iqbal's basically from Srinagar. In fact, his family still resides there. He studied in the north before moving to Delhi to complete his education, English Honours to be precise. He reminisces, "I'm a third year dropout. I left college because I got an offer to do a music video in Mumbai. Actually, while I was in Delhi, I walked the ramp and did quite a few ads as well. I even dabbled in production. There were many times when I was without work before my movie Fun2sssh. In fact, even after Fun2sssh, there were times when I had no work at all. To make it worse, I was out of money as well. But it's good to struggle. It teaches you a lot. You learn to value your money a lot more."

TBC...

One of the big controversies that Iqbal got into was regarding his second movie Bullet-Ek Dhamaka (yes, that's actually what it was called!). He felt he got a raw deal out of it and had no inhibitions in expressing his disgruntled opinions on the same. When we questioned him, he was quick to retort, albeit in a dismissive tone, "Bullet-Ek Dhamaka was an abortion. There's nothing else I can call it."

But why use such a strong word for his movie? "Well, when somethind is good and you sabotage it, you call it an abortion. I didn't have money to put in the film unlike some 'other people' (Aseem Merchant are you listening?). See, I only get angry or pissed off when I don't get my due. Otherwise, I have no problems with anyone."

That's not what we've heard Iqbal. Isn't it true that he couldn't get along with his co-star Neha Bamb, which made things pretty difficult for them? Iqbal doesn't mince words. "With Neha I share a normal, regular, very professional relationship. It's not possible to be best friends with everyone you work with anyway.( 😡 here we go again!). I agree that initially, we did have some problems. But it never affected our work. If you let things like this affect you professionally, then something is wrong with you. What happens sometimes is that a bad relationship with a co-star inhibits you from giving 100% to your performance. But in my case, I've always given my work all that I have."

TBC...

Ok, so he's on decent terms with Neha now, But what is this we've heards about something brewing between him and co-star Manasi Verma? Iqbal looks at me with an incredulous expression. "Me and Manasi? You must be joking! She's like my brother. She's one rough and tough gal."

So he doesn't like rough and tough girls then? "I didn't say that," he shoots back. "Manasi is a very sweet girl. But there's nothing like that between us. We're just buddies. This is the first time we've met anyways."

So hasn't he heard, that sometimes once oce is just enough? "Yeah that's true. But trust me in the case of Manasi and me, we're just friends," he laughs.

We actually do believe him about that one. But here's another mind-boggling thing that we've heard. Apparently, after mending fences with Neha, he's actually developed quite a soft corner for her and rumour has it that they're actually thinking of getting together. "Mad or what?" he questions again. "Now you're just making up things man. This is utter nonsense. Neha and me, God no! I'm an absolute one-woman man and I already have a woman in my life."

Which brings us to our next question. Is he still going strong with his girlfriend Sneha? "Oh yeas, I am," he admits. "But we're not thinking of marriage as yet. It's still too soon. I'll take some time. I'm still so new in this industry. I need to do more work, need to make more money. I still don't have my own house. I think it's really important to at least have your own house before you get married."

Iqbal sounds like a responsible guy who has all his priorities in order. But doesn't the fact that he's in this profession where he's always around pretty, hot girls make his fiance feel awkward or insecure at all? "Initially, she did feel pretty insecure. But gradually she's understood. Anyways, I strongly believe that when the other person loves you so much, such trivial things shouldn't matter."

He then talks about his love story. "I remember I first met her around five years ago when I was a model in Delhi. After that I met her again after aroung two-and-a-half years. We spoke and exchanged numbers. New Year's Eve was coming up around that time and considering I'm such a boring person, I wasn't doing anything at all. She wasn't either. So we met at a common friend's to bring in the New Year together and that's all it took to make things happen. So basically, it all started one New Year's Eve."

Now that's quite a romantic story. But with all the work that he has with KYPH how does he spend any time with Sneha? Does he manage to have any life beyond work at all? "See, it's definately not like before anymore. We don't meet like we used to. But I don't mind the grueling schedules. I came to Bombay to work, so when I'm getting good work, I must give my best to it. And I need to make good money now; I'm quite a gareeb." Yeah right, we believe that!

Coming back to his professional life, any chance of a comeback in movies? Iqbal says, "I just want to act. And mashallah things are going strong right now. Frankly, I haven't got any good film offers. At least, they haven't been good enough to leave the role of Angad. In fact, I wouldn't even give seven days a month to the kind of roles that I've been offered. The best was in Sohail Khan's 'Fight Club'. But I've been too busy with KYPH that I didn't even meet the director."

Is there any chance of making a cameo in any of the other Balaji soaps like most of the other stars are doing? Iqbal asks with a straight face, "Where is the time? If you're the main lead, it's just not possible. An Anurag or a Sujal can't do anything else. Main leads can never do anything except the character that they portray."

We kinda agree. Forget difficult, it's quite impossible to imagine Iqbal as anything but Angad. So this guy has the looks, he has the talent; he does not indulge in any affairs and loves his girlfriend to death. Sounds to good to be true, doesn't it? What's the catch then? We're still wondering!

Manasi Verma and Iqbal: No Fire Here!

We asked Manasi about the rumours linking her with Iqbal and she sounded rather hyper. "What! Are you mad? I don't even go to the sets of KYPH anymore. I've wound up shooting for the serial anyways. And he already has a girlfriend. This is the stupidest rumour I've ever heard." Need we say more, Manasi has said it all.

No Love Lost Between Iqbal and Neha Bamb?

When these two first started shooting, they couldn't stand the sight of each other. Iqbal supposedly thought she had a major attitude problem. In fact it's not just Iqbal, other cast members including Amit Tandon and Suvarna Jha just couldn't get along with Neha. What a wonderful environment it must be where everyone seems to hate the leading lady? 😭

End of Interview

This is for the people who asked for the interview yesterday. Sorry if it's been posted before.

Thank u so much...really appreciate that...

Wow it really shows how much love he has for Sneha...what a guy!

its show more di.. not only that 😉 😉 😆

Originally posted by: buttercup

its show more di.. not only that 😉 😉 😆

I'm Lost?!😕😆

Originally posted by: buttercup

its show more di.. not only that 😉 😉 😆

Ahem, ahem, ahem.It's okay if IQ and everybody else hates Neha, at least we love her.He can sing ringa-roses with the love of his life Sneha and look adorable too.

Originally posted by: AngadKripa4eva

I'm Lost?!😕😆

walk straight, turn left you will see lost club infront of you😆

Originally posted by: nitica_82

Ahem, ahem, ahem.It's okay if IQ and everybody else hates Neha, at least we love her.He can sing ringa-roses with the love of his life Sneha and look adorable too.

yeah nitu.. or else he can sing here we go round the mulberry bush, mulberry bush...😆😆😆