Zahid Ahmed has time and again proved that he is not only a fantastic actor but an exemplary human as well. The more he opens up about his life, the more it helps people realize that no human is born perfect. He is a living proof that it is highly possible to redeem yourself and turn your life around after hitting a rough patch. He has never shied away from difficult conversations and this is what makes him stand out.
From talking about drug usage to his painful plastic surgery, Zahid has managed to start a healthy conversation that not only inspires people to be better but also helps them find a relatable personality in him. Here are a few excerpts from his interview with Iffat Omar where he talked about different phases of his life:
1) His extremely diverse acting career and his role in Ishq Zahe Naseeb
He explained his decision-making process by saying, “I wasn’t scared at all. When I first heard about the role, I decided that I wanted to do it. I was inspired by Moin Akhtar’s Rozee. When I saw the character crying like that, I felt the emotions of the women in my life. I wanted to act like I was actually a woman, not someone who was faking it. I’m in this job to not just play a man; that’s boring. I wanted to have a diverse acting career so I thought if you want to expand the margin of your performance then you have to take risks.”
2) Why he thinks getting married before coming to the industry helped his career
“If I wasn’t married before coming into this field, I would’ve been tempted to go astray. It’s very easy to get distracted with so much beauty around you. I wouldn’t have been this disciplined and my moral compass would’ve been tilted. For single people, this is the biggest fear in this industry. Many people also find their partners this way so I’m not judging, but for me, my focus has remained in one place because of my marriage,” he said.
3) Talking about his experience with drug consumption
He talked about why he feels drug use is a topic that needs to come up in conversations more often. “I’ve used hash a lot in my life. Now by the grace of God, I’ve quit. I think people need to stop pretending. The world has changed and you can’t run from reality. We have the highest rate of marijuana consumption in the world in Karachi. We should talk about drug consumption. My sons will be teenagers in a decade and they’ll use it because it’s so common. We need to stop trying to balance it in between good and bad deeds. The biggest debate is that using hash and marijuana isn’t haram. So I just want to raise awareness with my experience that it doesn’t make anything better in your life either.”
4) Always being grateful to God
“I feel that people use drugs to get away from tensions in life. I realized that God has given me everything. He gave me a successful career that I dreamt of even though I wasn’t very religious. He also gave me an extremely supportive partner and two beautiful kids. So what did I need to run from? Then I realized that He was testing me by giving me everything. I realized it after I gave up using hash that if I try to get away from things now then I’m being extremely ungrateful,” he said.
Zahid also spoke about accountability, mental health issues and a lot more. You can watch the entire interview here:
