Zak from Pak in Bollywood

Director Shashi Ranjan is to launch yet another Pakistani talent, Zak, for his forthcoming film Dhoom Dadakka. Shashi Ranjan says, "Zak was selected from over 10,000 contestants in a talent hunt show which was telecast in Pakistan."

Zak says his mother and he prayed as Siddhivinayak for success in Mumbai and that he would not go back to Pakistan. This will be the first time a Pakistani will make his movie debut directly in Bollywood. Generally Pakistani actors who have proved themselves in Lollywood make the shift to acting in the Mumbai. "As far as I am concerned, I am here to stay and I am not going back.

If I am not successful as an actor here, I don't mind working in McDonalds, but I will stay back in India," Zak said. In Shashi's film he plays Gulshan Grover's son, "Gulshan is a don but I am not interested in violence at all. My character is a wannabe Karan Johar, who wants to make it as a director in the Hindi film industry. I play one of the three key characters around whom the movie revolves," he says.

Why did he think of becoming an actor? "Since childhood, it was my dream to be an actor. After completing my law degree from London, I came to Bombay to realize my dreams. I finished an acting course from Kishore Namit school of Acting and have struggled in Bombay for about 3 years trying to prove myself as an actor. Finally, my mom came over to Bombay to take me back to Pakistan. When we were about to leave for the airport, we came across the Siddhivinayak Temple. My mom and I both prayed at the temple and my mom wished that I would be successful in my career. After landing back in Pakistan, I happened to participate in a talent hunt show and with Almighty's grace I was declared the winner," says Zak.

The film also stars Koena Mitra, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Gulshan Grover, Anupam Kher, Rakhi Sawant, Chunkey Pandey, Bhavana Balsaver, Razzak Khan, and Bobby Darling.

Zak started his career as a child artist opposite Adnan Sami in Sargam, and later he played the lead character in a play Bombay Dreams, which was attended by Pak President Pervez Musharraf. "I have been involved with theater and acting since my school days. I did my schooling from the US and have performed drama and stage shows across the world in countries like Hungary, Amsterdam and Thailand. Some of the plays I have acted in during my school days include Dracula, Imaginary Invalid, Greece, Merchant of Venice and Romeo Juliet. I am a member of the International Thespian Society. I am a qualified lawyer, having completed my law degree in London. During this time I also dabbled in modeling," he says.