The Shining Sun Sooraj Rathi/ Anas Rashid AT #1

A Tribute To Anas Rashid ...

I have to confess, I have never known you before Suraj Rathi happened to you! My writings on Suraj lay its foundational roots in you, for I see the soul of Suraj in your eyes ... your eyes show me the gift of happiness and the souvenir of pain ... I can pick out words that give me some credibility as a writer! My writings will lay buried in this forum for forever ... and for that you deserve a big thank you!!

A character germinates when the craft of a writer is inextricably intertwined with the craft of an actor to create a memorable character who is unique in believable ways ... a planted seed which nurtures into a beautiful flower!

Your diligence as Suraj is passionate, desirable, and vulnerable ... you have tremendous clarity and conviction of both Suraj's outer and inner worlds. You have knocked down walls and immersed yourself as Suraj Rathi ... and it shows in the spectrum of mannerisms you display as Suraj which is impeccable … your infallible body language, perfect timing in varied scenes, your exquisite voice modulation, your precise diction as Suraj ... even the strands of hair that fall freely on your forehead, that lift in your eyebrow, that twitch in your eyes and that pulled up corners of your lips that eventually convert into a beautiful smile are all mesmerizing ... all makings of a COMPLETE actor!

There are episodes where Suraj's presence is only a mere of fleeting seconds but the class, maturity and continuity with which you enact Suraj Rathi is simply phenomenal.

The lines you speak touch your heart and it shows in your eyes which makes all the difference. One cannot help but marvel at the intricate design of a single leaf ... your eyes are like intricate seasonal color changing leaves ... I often find myself lost in them ... your eyes speak and often enough I have heard words in them ... from the calm sunset, the warm sunrise, a deep blue ocean, a raging of seas, a thunderstorm, a roaring waterfall, to a peaceful lake ... intense expressive set of eyes you have!

The subtleties with which you render Suraj gives him finesse, in time to come he shall become one of the evergreen iconic heroes of Indian television ... Suraj Rathi without you in complete!

Your have amazing range and grasp as an actor ... like a bouquet of colorful flowers ... a flower for every season and every reason ... and of course being tall and handsome always helps!

Here's wishing you all the best in all your endeavors ... may you keep growing as an actor and keep rocking as Suraj!!

by

TomNJerry..

The Journey so Far

Anas Rashid was born in a conservative muslim family belonging to Malerkota, Punjab. After completing his basic education in hometown, he moved to Chandigarh for higher studies. In 2003, he participated in Mr.Punjab competition and won the title. Thereafter he did a number of punjabi music videos which were popular those days.

Later, he decided to try his luck in acting. Anas being from a conservative family with no background of acting, his relatives opposed his decision of choosing acting as his career. Despite all discouragement, with support of his parents, Anas moved to Mumbai with his dream of acting. In Mumbai, he struggled a lot to grab a role and he returned home after around a month. Returning Mumbai again, he had been introduced to Ekta Kapoor of Balaji telefilms who offered him a role in the telivision series Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka. Though the show took off air later due to some problems, Ekta has already cast him in her popular Star Plus show Kahin To Hoga.

The business tycoon, Kartik Ahluwalia of Kahin To Hoga is considered as the career making character of Anas. The show recieved good responses from everywhere. Though Anas portrayed the character well, his voice was dubbed by another artist for his Punjabi accent which did not suit the character. This made him work more on his accent and his digilence made him master Hindi accent. It eventually helped him to grab the lead role in the next soap he has been a part of.

It was the role of Prince Prithviraj Chauhan which gave him all over recognition as a versatile actor. The historical soap Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan which aired in Star Plus was based on life of King Prithviraj Chauhan of th century. Through this role, Anas grabbed millions of hearts and recieved good critical reviews. For portraying adult Prithviraj, he did really burn many midnight lamps. He lost his weight, improved his accent, learnt fencing and other methods of fighting and also has grown his hair for makinghimself fit to the character maximum possible. His work recieved good critical acclaims and admirations from everywhere.

Next role that immersed Anas into it was Yashvardhan from Aise Karo Na Vida which aired in Colors TV. It was a romantic soap deciphering the love story between Prince Yashvardhan and his wife Reva. Yashvardhan was a naive, romantic man who kept trying to earn love and trust of his wife Reva who was struggling to adjust between the royal lifestyle and her mournful past life. Beyond all expectations, Anas handled the role so beautifully that people forgot his image of Prithviraj and accepted him as Yashvardhan.

Currently he is portraying Sooraj Rathi, the male lead of Star Plus's most popular numero uno show Diya Aur Baati Hum which created history in Indian TV industry for being on the top most position for very long period, ruling TRP charts for around ten moths.

Besides, he has also been a part of other shows like Kesar, Mano Ya Naa Maano, Phir Koi Hai, Aahat and CID. It shows his attitude of not caring his actor image and accepting as much as various roles he could. Every role he selected was unique and different from each other. He succeeded in portraying all of them without bringing shadows of one character into another, making each of them memorable.

Anas has done postgraduation in Psychology. He is a good singer, a good dancer and also a good cook too. He loves to travel a lot. He believes in his self-esteem the most and that only made him travel this long.

Lets hope and wish his all dreams come true

and

he may find success in all his endeavours.

Sooraj Rathi

Sooraj is a naive, sober, sweet and altruistic man who runs own sweet shop to meet daily needs of his family. Various situations forced him to discontinue his studies in the middle of 9th standard when his father got diseased and bed-ridden. From that age, he has been fulfilling all needs of his family. Like a charcoal piece that turns diamond under intense heat and pressure, Sooraj has also been reasoned by bitter experiences of his life.

He is the pet of his mother and he loves and respects her the most. His sheer innocence has made ways for his vindictive siblings to take him granted and make maximum use of him. Still he loves and cares everyone around him. He lives for them and his happiness lies in their happiness. He never bothers about himself and that makes him being mocked brutally at times.

Sooraj's promise is his unconditional love. That only makes him stand by the side of his wife Sandhya, who dreams of becoming an IPS officer, breaking the barriers of conventional DILs. Though being from extremely different situations and standards, they are together as Diya and Baati is only because of his dedication and understanding. He is the sun who shines her days. He is the moon who coolens her nights. He is her air, water and her last rays of hope. He is the horizon of her dreams. He is for her and she is for him. They are made to be together like fragrance and flower. Let them love each other forever...

And we shall be glad and rejoice in them being on the side.