We’re all watching Sammi these days and other than the titular character played by Mawra Hocane, the one stand out character is Rashid Chan, played by veteran Adnan Siddiqui. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he is the protagonist of the serial, the one man who has the back bone to fight Chaudhry Rab Nawaz. I was curious to know what Adnan Siddiqui had to say about his character and its unexpected popularity, so we met up for an interview.
“I had no idea this character would become so popular,” he said, as he settled down. “You’d be surprised to know that my character – Rashid – was actually written as a villain but when the director realised that the public was loving the character, his portrayal was changed. He changed the character to positive. Rashid won the people’s sympathy.”
Rashid started out as a supporting actor with barely any dialogues in the serial. Then how did he become such a dominant character. He’s almost the lead, the hero of the story.
“Yes he is,” Adnan agreed. “But even a stone would be able to act if put in front of such a talented actor such as Sania Saeed. Rashid’s character is because of her; it’s because of my director.”
Adnan did pay attention to detail; Rashid’s style was improvised by the actor: the clothes, the rings, the beard and hair. It was all him and the character was so strong that he went with the flow.
“When I started doing it I started enjoying it,” he said. “And then I started working harder on it. I observed the body language of the people in the village. And I know that the character has influenced people in a very positive way.”
How?
“So many people have come to me and said, ‘why don’t you kill him yaar,’ referring to the Chaudhry. Others have come up to me and said, ‘what’s wrong if Rashid is having so many daughters. It’s okay’. This has been the reaction of the common man; people on the streets. It is encouraging.”
So what now? There are two episodes left and so many storylines are looking for closure.
“You can assume that Salar was Rashid and Chandi’s son,” he offered without giving absolutely anything away. “I myself don’t know. Who was that boy? Will Rashid kill the Chaudhry or will Chaudhry Rab Nawaz kill Rashid? Will Rashid leave his wife to marry his childhood sweetheart, Chandi? What will happen. You’ll have to wait and see.”
- And you’ll have to wait for Adnan Siddiqui’s full interview, coming soon in Instep, in which he speaks about Mom, Yalghaar and navigating through 28 years of television.
