‘People are surprised to see a caring man and I wonder why?’ – Faysal Quraishi

In the contemporary entertainment arena, every star is busy climbing the ladder of success, gathering fame, money, adulation and of course, Instagram followers. However, amidst this frenzy, Faysal Quraishi is one such refined actor, who willingly talks about societal issues, believes in a collective effort, and lauds emerging talent with no manifestations of pride. Now, in his 26th year in the industry, he talks about doing more.

Despite working for almost close to three decades in the industry Faysal is still going strong. We have lost count about the number of times the actor has surprised us with out-of-the-box performances in plays like Mein Abdul Qadir Hoon, Kis Din Mera Viyah Howay Ga, Bashar Momin, and Rang Laaga, but he still craves for ingenious stories.

The actor is currently ruling the airwaves with his impeccable performances in drama serials Baba Jani and Haiwan, portraying characters that belong to entirely different worlds. One can see the degree of his acting prowess when the star acts as the devoted simple Asfand in one frame, and the guilty paradoxical Hameed in a completely different zone.

Read: The cast of drama serial ‘Haiwan’ promises a riveting tale

In an exclusive chat with Something Haute, the actor accredited his seniors from the PTV era for introducing plays about social stigmas and taboos. He asserted that we mistakenly assume it to be a part of new-age television but these subjects have already been touched upon by our veterans. “As Shakespeare said everything ever written boils down to seven plots. With time we have only changed their interpretation,” he said.

Talking about the dramatic saga Baba Jani where Faysal’s character is struggling to appease his family members, he expressed: “People are surprised to see a caring man and I wonder why? Mard sensitive nahi hotay kia? We must have seen fatherly figures or brothers working tirelessly for the happiness of their family. Women can also relate to them, therefore we are getting such great response.”

Poster of Baba Jani

Speaking about the sensitive portrayal of a grave subject as Haiwan, Faysal asserted actors are intrinsically perceptive in nature. “I don’t like to play characters such as Hameed (Haiwan) onscreen. It is traumatizing and emotionally taxing to live and breathe Hameed’s guilt; I used to close my eyes and take deep breaths to calm my nerves after every scene,” the actor said adding, “Faysal’s mind is in a constant battle with Hameed’s subconscious. Faysal doesn’t agree to how Hameed behaves, but during action and cut Hameed is in control; he overshadows my inner conflict.”

When asked wasn’t he uncertain about Haiwan for such portrayals are often not well-received by the masses who want to see their beloved ‘heroes’ in a certain light? Faysal blithely commented, “Well when someone curses a character like Hameed, I feel delighted!” And the actor in his quirky style raised a question at people who call such subjects objectionable for family entertainment, “Watching Sheila ki Jawani around kids is decent but this isn’t?”

A still from his drama serial Haiwan

The actor unequivocally stated that he is going to shift his gear and not sign any negative character for at least a year after this.

Evidently, he will be busy shooting for an intense love story in the forthcoming year as the Baba Jani star has finally announced his film project – Sorry – in collaboration with director Sohail Javed. Aside from him, the starry cast boasts of names like Aamina Sheikh, Sonya Hussain, and Zahid Ahmed.

Speaking about his new film venture, the actor mentioned he was irritated by the sheer number of comedy scripts being offered to him incessantly. “Every person wants to make a comedy film in Pakistan although the fact is only JPNA and Na Maloom Afraad have aced the genre as yet. Teefa wasn’t just comedy; it is an action flick as well,” he shared.

“As a person who appears on your television screen every morning, I owe it to my fans to make an appearance on a big screen with a role that primarily provides me a margin for acting. And you need a good script for that,” he revealed further narrating that he had half-written a script for an action film almost a year ago when Sohail gave him the idea about this film.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpHxdjWFyOW/?taken-by=faysalquraishi

We are more than excited to disclose that Faysal may change his look for the new character and the actor with remarkable dancing skills, will, at last, be seen shaking a leg. While the big question remains; who is going to match his moves?

When asked why most of his characters tend to fall on a grey scale? The actor quickly replied that he has no qualms in playing an antagonist if it’s well written.

“I would love to play one but I suspect it won’t be accepted. Over the years, people have built an image of Faysal Quraishi in their minds and it will be quite challenging to shatter it.” However, the star believes that there isn’t any such thing like an absolute negative character.

“Big screen takes the liberty to exaggerate as everything is supposed to be larger than life. Each one of us views our experiences and struggles in a distinct way and justifies them as well. The outcries of mujhe kyun nikala are echoing till today because people usually don’t realize the price of their actions and thus don’t think they are the guilty party,” he playfully quipped.

On a parting note, we inquired his thoughts about the lack of male support for sexual harassment cases in Pakistan and the actor subtly skirted the question by requesting women to speak about it and stand in support of their own gender without pointing fingers at each other.