We have seen Azfar Rehman quite a few times alongside Mehwish Hayat on our screens. He played a potential love interest of Mehwish in Punjab Nahi Jaungi, then he played the male lead opposite her in web series Enaaya. Now the actor is finally playing his debut lead performance on the big screen and it is going to be be Wajahat Rauf’s romantic comedy, Chhalawa.
In a recent interview with the BBC Asian Network, Azfar talks about his transition from television to films and his debut lead performance in a movie.
“I was a bit scared. It’s a big big responsibility when you’re doing a film as a main lead and a lot of criticism is going to follow and a lot of people will tell Mehwish Hayat and me, ‘what have you done!'” he said.
“I think that’s the epitome of every actor’s career. Every actor who’s working on stage would want to make a transition to television and then later on to, of course films. Wajahat Rauf saw Punjab Nahi Jaungi and he thought that Mehwish and I had this great chemistry because we’re also friends in real life. I was just not to keen but after two or three meetings with Wajahat on the storyline and listening to the music that he had made, I said let’s do it,” the actor added.
“I’m a Muslim, Pakistani actor, I have to keep that in mind.” @OfficialyAzfar talks to @iharoonrashid about how he chooses his roles and transitioning from television to film. pic.twitter.com/zlOlQxQgaX
— BBC Asian Network (@bbcasiannetwork) May 22, 2019
When asked if he feels certain pressure to perform with an established star like Mehwish, Azfar agreed. “Absolutely! when it comes to cinema, people are paying and they’re coming to watch you, so you have to ensure entertainment. I have a huge fan base from television so I owe it to them. I don’t want them to waste their Eid holiday to come and watch a bad film.” Azfar said.
Having dabbled his hands in all mediums so far from TV, films and web series, Azfar is keen to work internationally.
“In the future, I would love to work with directors from different countries with different languages, with different sensibilities. I think that actually challenges you as an actor and you would want to come forward and perform and show a different side of you to the audience,” he said.
