~ FAWAD KHAN AT 30~ Dazzles as the scrumptious Hassan - Page 66

Fawad needs to play his cards right

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Ayesha Omar has been called many things - cute, bubbly, talkative, girl-next-door - but the label that's been trending recently is one that's turned her nice' girl image completely on its head. It took only a three-second clip of her dance number from the upcoming rom-com Karachi Se Lahore for the much-loved television actress to find herself embroiled in negativity.

"How could she do this!" screamed one irate fan on a social media platform under a clip of the video. "Shame on us for copying Bollywood," declared another. The fiery three second teaser' comes from one song of the film and the frame focuses on her wasp waist, dancing in a tiny, cropped up choli. General opinion on the teaser is clearly divided, with some condemning and some commending her moves and her new seductive avatar, but it's the intensity of the response that's left the pint-sized actress quite astounded.

"People are going ballistic, yaar!" exclaims Ayesha as we settle down for a chat. "I can't believe a tiny clip could start all these conversations on the internet and make people become so judgmental! I'm actually finding the hysteria quite funny because I've never taken myself so seriously and it's amusing that other people are being affected by it so intensely."

The interview is taking place post-midnight - given Ayesha's hectic shooting schedule and her refusal to compromise on her social life, it's been practically impossible to pin her down during the day. Despite the lateness of the hour, however, she is true to the characters she portrays on screen - full of life and vivacious. She's had a packed day but it's done nothing to dampen her infectious manner.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor and wiping off the make-up that she's had on since the morning, the actress admits that the negative reaction that's come her way has left her disappointed. "You know what the ironic thing is? My role in the movie is that of a completely domesticated, gharailoo girl, yet everyone's jumping to conclusions based on a three-second clip. My character has been thrust into a tricky situation that she needs to get out of, and that's what results in the song. It's not even an item number, because there is nothing cheap or titillating about it. It's all in good fun," she clarifies.

During this interview, and even in a previous conversation, the actress has gone to great lengths to point out all the reasons why Tutti Fruity' from Karachi Se Lahore does not qualify as an item number along the lines of Mehwish Hayat's Billi' from Na Maloom Afraad or Zhalay Sarhadi's Jawani' in Jalaibee. But if you ask us, it's a case of potayto-potahto. Call it what you please, the song does have Ayesha grooving seductively, dressed in a revealing ghagra-choli combo, no matter how tastefully shot it may be.

For television-viewing audiences, who've grown to love Ayesha in the long-running sitcom Bulbalay where her portrayal of a spoilt rich girl is popular but safely within the comfort zone of how we expect women to behave, her sudden appearance in a dance number has proven hard to digest. It was a risk to do something that is considered risqu by a public quick to condemn actresses who break away from the stereotypical confines of roles that cast them either as becharis or vamps.

It's a risk that Ayesha took knowingly and is convinced will pay off. "At the end of the day, you need to be convincing in the role that you've been given. When I started doing Bulbalay, even a sleeveless shirt would ruffle feathers but I made it convincing because that's the kind of clothes a spoilt rich girl would wear. Similarly, I've put my heart and soul in Karachi Se Lahore and once the movie comes out, I'm sure people will understand why I did what I did. Plus, look at what I'm wearing, yaar. This is the kind of stuff people are wearing to weddings these days. It's really not that risqu," she asserts.

While Karachi Se Lahore may well prove to be Ayesha's big screen debut, it wasn't the first film she signed on to do. That would be the star-studded Yalghaar, said to be Pakistan's most expensive film to date. An action-packed war' movie, at the heart of which is a real-life, 72-hour anti-terrorist operation, it pits Ayesha against big names like Shaan, Adnan Siddiqui and Humayun Saeed.

The two movie projects currently on her plate couldn't be more different - one is a small-scale home production and the other a big-banner venture with a mega budget. One is the kind of light-hearted fare she's used to starring in while the other takes her out of her comfort zone completely.

"Yalghaar has been my most challenging role to date. My character is the moral compass of the story. She's plucked out of her daily existence and undergoes a traumatic experience. I really had to go into a dark place within to channel this kind of intensity. It was physically and mentally a draining experience," she recalls.

The hotly-anticipated movie was slated to release last November but with a sizeable amount of shooting still to take place, it's looking at a July 2015 premiere. Ayesha is non-committal whether that's likely to happen (which is not a good sign) but is quick to defend the delays.

"The film has been shot all over Pakistan, often in high-risk areas or in places that are not easily accessible so it's taken us a while to complete the project," she explains.

Ask her about the alleged link-up between her and her male lead in the movie, Bilal Ashraf, and she's horrified. "Come on man, people will just say anything! He's like a brother to me!" And while we're on the subject of would-be siblings, we bring up her onscreen brother Fawad Khan, who every girl wants to romance and she had to portray sisterly affections for in the serial Zindagi Gulzar Hai.

This elicits a loud laugh from her. "Fawad I've known since I was in college. We were part of the same underground music scene in Lahore - he was with EP and I was with my college band. We've spent some great times and practically grown up together. He was always very cute and very talented. But no, I can never think of him that' way and I didn't mind playing his sister at all!"

And in case you've been wondering, her alleged marriage to Ali Kazmi is also just an internet ruse. "That really is the strangest rumour I've heard about myself. If you check out my Wikipedia page, it mentions Ali Kazmi as my spouse, which is bizarre! The other crazy rumour I've been hearing lately is that I've gone under the knife and had surgery to lose weight!"

It's easy to understand the basis for that last one. Ayesha's been looking exceptionally good of late and her toned body, chiseled cheekbones and shiny hair would understandably have set less fortunate tongues wagging. Even now, with her make-up completely off, hair pulled back and dressed in a plain t-shirt, she's glowing.

"I've made a whole lifestyle change. I've cut out all the junk and processed food from my life and embraced the natural. The transformation has been miraculous. I've never exercised in my life, yet I've managed to lose more weight than people who do. I eat pure and desi and I take my own food with me when I'm shooting. It's hard work and requires wholehearted commitment but you shouldn't expect to look good without having to work for it," she declares. "Sometimes I think my true calling in life was to be a nutritionist!"

Add that to an already long list of accomplishments- theatre star, television actress, host, musician, painter and soon-to-be movie actress - and you can see why Ayesha towers above the competition despite her diminutive frame. They do say, after all, that good things come in small packages.

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Daddy's home

A drunkard gives up drinking for his daughter - that was the basic premise of Mahesh Bhatt's 1989 film Daddy. Inspired by his personal struggle to quit alcohol and his own relationship with his daughter, director-producer-actor Pooja Bhatt, the film was adapted for stage by Danish Iqbal and troupe. The adaptation was a literal translation of the film from screen to stage, with the necessary omissions here and there, and Mahesh Bhatt praised the director for the play's faithfulness to its original source. While the story may have been told word for word, so to speak, one had gripes with the lighting design that at times veered towards the kind expected in a variety show. In the two subsequent shows, one would expect that issues of timing are sorted out. On the whole, the audience on opening day appeared to be happy to go home with a Mahesh Bhatt memory, although it was a telling mark that the play did not receive a standing ovation.

During a brief address to the audience on the opening night, Pooja Bhatt said that she was proud of her father for many reasons, one of which is the fact that no one else in the (Bollywood) industry dared to stand here (in Pakistan) and express the need for both countries to join hands and work together. This final remark naturally segued into the next day's meet of the duo with the press, in which the first question Mahesh Bhatt was asked was this: Has he seen the gap between Pakistan and India narrow throughout the years in which he's made multiple trips here?

"It's only a matter of reaching out a little," said Mahesh Bhatt. "When I was here last at the Kara Film Festival, I could never have imagined that our films will be screened here, that your dramas would be so successfully aired on Zindagi TV, that we will one day have a cross-border exchange of talent."

"My wife is an Anglo-Indian," he continued, "She doesn't speak a word of either Urdu or Hindi, but is the biggest Fawad Khan fan. The Filmfare Awards just recognized Fawad for having the best debut last year, which shows that the people of India have embraced him."

Citing these commonly known examples, Mahesh Bhatt painted a picture of neighbours growing closer in friendship and mutual understanding, but the press was still not satisfied. They posed him further questions about the unequal exchange between Pakistan and India. While Pakistani stars flock to India and contribute their talents to Bollywood, the move is not reciprocated. In fact, some of our most revered stars have been the target of discrimination in India.

Admitting that there is an occasional untoward incident, he said that the allegation that the welcome reception of Indian stars in Pakistan is not reciprocated across the border is exaggerated.

"Fawad Khan is a star in India," he reiterated, "Atif Aslam roams the street and is received like any Indian superstar such as Arjit Singh. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a household name. The government has never taken any action against any ill treatment, but I have personally spoken out against discrimination against Pakistani stars. Any discourse that creates differences should be discouraged. I have found myself in the minority but belong to a small group of committed people who strongly oppose such things."

Moreover, although he announced the intention to shoot in Pakistan back at the 2003 Kara Film Festival, he was unable to do so due to the law and order situation in Karachi.

"It's really unfortunate that we haven't shot in Pakistan. We can go to Sri Lanka, Bangkok, and London, but not Karachi, Lahore or Murree to shoot a film. Even though we look the same, speak the same, and our culture is the same. And there would be obvious economic benefits as well. When the colours of both nations mix, the result would be even more excellent."

This led to a query about the much-hyped Indo-Pak stage collaboration Milne Do between Danish Iqbal and Malik Aslam of Lahore's Azad Theatre. Mahesh Bhatt, unfortunately, didn't have an update on the status of the play, which was initially announced as a March production. Saying that since theatre is not his forte, he does not closely monitor the play's progress, but added, "I principally support any cultural activity between Pakistan and India. It is not just films; last year at Aalishaan Pakistan when fashion designers from Pakistan visited India, I supported that as well." He expressed hopes that Pooja will carry forward his efforts with her work.

While he repeatedly stated that theatre is not his forte, he did have a more vocal opinion about the reviving Pakistani cinema.

"In this digital age, the young generation has come up and shown a superior cinematic understanding. Earlier, only a privileged class could claim to have it. Now, it's a level playing field. Shoaib Mansoor's Khuda Ke Liye and Bol caused a frenzy in India. Waar and Jalaibee did not release in India, but the exhibition of films has revived in Pakistan from being on its last legs. Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy are proof of the great talent in Pakistan, where the market has gone from non-existent to a growing one."

No actor from Pakistan in recent years has made the kind of impact that Fawad Khan made with Khubsoorat.

For this Fawad cannot thank the Khubsoorat producers Anil and Rhea Kapoor enough.

Now we hear Fawad is so much in demand in Bollywood that he has no time to do the Kapoors' next production The Battle Of Bittora which he had initially (though verbally) agreed to do.

Says a source, "Fawad is suddenly a hot proposition in Bollywood. Every major production house is wooing him. He has agreed to do Karan Johar's Kapoor & Sons to be directed by Shakun Batra ,and Farhan Akhtar's production Mr Chaloo to be directed by Reema Kagti."

In Mr Chaloo Fawad would be paired with Priyanka Chopra.

Fawad's role was originally offered to Saif Ali Khanwho backed out due to monetary differences. Shahid Kapoor was under negotiation after Saif. But he didn't want to do a role rejected by Saif.

Fawad's entry into Mr Chaloo means the end of Reema Kagti's ordeal of waiting for a replacement hero after Saif backed out so unprofessionally leaving the project in the lurch.