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Meet Prince charming Fawad Khan: Pak's rockstar and a Bollywood debutant

by Shivani Bhasin Sep 17, 2014 12:31 IST

To say Fawad Khan is not tech-savvy is to put it mildly. He's got about 10 tweets to his name and his only tech qualification is, "I know how to open a website." In an effort to explain himself, Khan said, "I'd like to interact with my fans but I can barely use a phone." It doesn't really help his cause but at the same time, there's something delightfully quaint about an actor in the twenty-first century being a Luddite. Much like the prince he plays in Khoobsurat, Khan seems to be just a little out of touch with the world around him. His old-world mannerisms, rugged looks and the way he slips Urdu into his English all come together to make Khan seem distinct in a very charming way from the big, flashy world of Bollywood.

For the many fans of the hit cross-border TV show Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Khan is no stranger. He was also part of the band Entity Paradigm, which means he's literally been a rock star. However, now at 33, Khan is making his Bollywood debut and it remains to be seen whether Khan can make an impact in the famously competitive Hindi film industry where other Pakistani actors have so far struggled to make a mark.

This much is for certain: when it comes to the charm offensive, Khan is beating most of his Indian colleagues hollow. Here are selected excerpts of an interview with the man behind Rajkumar Vikram Rathore of Khoobsurat.

How did you get cast for Khoobsurat?

I was contacted by the casting director Anil Kapoor Film Company had hired for this film, Nalini. She'd shown my previous work to them (the producers) and after that it was all very straightforward and simple. She made me do a couple of readings back home and then it progressed to me coming here and meeting the team. I did some readings with Sonam, and just like that we were ready to shoot in October.

You're appearing in Khoobsurat, which is a very mainstream film. Are you open to experimenting with Indie cinema here?

Yes, sure. I mean, why not? I never think of films in terms of what is indie and what is commercial. As long as it makes sense to me, as long as it makes sense to maybe not all the audience, but a certain faction of it; then it's good. A film has the potential to grow exponentially, by word of mouth even. I really don't rate my projects, It just has to interest me as an actor.

Were you apprehensive about facing hostility from the industry here?

No, no, no. Not at all. The moment I start thinking about hostilities, I start thinking about my own insecurities. If I start doing that, I'd be limiting myself. What I really wanted to do was, step outside my comfort zone, this zone of familiar faces that I work with. I had to give myself this chance.Tomorrow, I'd like to work in other film industries around the world... If I get scared about these things then I'll never start anything.

When did you decide that you wanted to be an actor and how did you land your first role?

It was all very accidental. I just stumbled and fumbled my way into acting and singing. I was enrolled in a computer sciences college, you know. I guess I belong to that age and group of people who were in love with the idea of rock n' roll, rebellion. We basically put together this underground music scene at that time which gradually progressed towards the formation of a band called Entity Paradigm. We started playing on these underground nights called gig nights' and did tributes to other bands.

So at that time, along with music, I did this play with this director called Zain Ahmed. It was called Spartacus and we did it entirely in Urdu. Having completed that, when he started his first sitcom for television he called me and said, "Fawad, you want to try this thing?" I was 20 years old and I made Rs 12,000 out of it. I was thinking, "I guess I'm going to be self-sufficient now."

You've been facing a lot of criticism from your Pakistani fans on social media for working in the Hindi film industry. Is that bothering you?

There is legitimate criticism and there's irrational stuff. I'm open to hearing criticism that betters my craft but if it's as pointless as this... I'm not even active on social media. I'm very primitive. It's my staff that comes back to me and tells me, "Fawad, this is happening on Twitter right now." I ignore it when it's something so illogical. There will always be people in the world who have some problem with what I'm doing.

Aamina Sheikh (from the Pakistani TV show Maat) said your debut is going to open doors for Pakistani actors in Bollywood. Do you agree?

Wow. That's a very big compliment. Aamina's a great actor. There's so much more talent there, so much talent better than me. I'm just a part of the machinery that actually got the chance to come work here. I'm just another part of the mechanism. There are others that are much better than me.

Your wife, Sadaf, had accompanied you here. How did she like it? Are there any plans to make Mumbai your second base?

It was her first visit to India actually. She's only seen Mumbai so far, but in the seven days that she was here, she loved every bit of it. She kept telling me that this city has a great vibe.

I'd love to make Mumbai my base but there are many limitations. You see, my family is all based in Pakistan. Meri case mein thoda yeh different hai ki I have a son, my parents, my in-laws and my wife all at home all there. But I think I will be coming here more often depending on how Khoobsurat does (laughs).

In 2007, you made your debut with the Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye(2007). That wasn't a very conventional debut.

It was not a very mainstream film. As far as numbers go, it did good business back at home. Normally when I hear the word indie' here, I think small budget, small rakings, plenty of critical acclaim, stuff like that. That doesn't concern me. I care about the script, whether I can do justice to it and what value I add to the film.

And Khuda Kay Liye, that was really my first acting experience. I'd done sitcoms in the past but working with a director like Shoaib Mansoor... You can say that after a long time, I came back into acting. It was a total knee-knocking experience. I was extremely nervous, I had very little can of film to work with. We were using one of those noisy old cameras to film. Every time the camera would start rolling, I'd be thinking, "This is it."

Who is on your directors wish list here? What was the last Bollywood film that really impacted you?

I think that's a very unfair question. Never ask an actor about his favorite films. The list will go into miles. (laughs) But one film that comes immediately to my mind is Omkara(2006) by Vishal Bharadwaj. That was a lovely film. If something like that came my way, I'd grab it in the blink of an eye.