Dobara Phir Se didn’t sweep us off our feet but Shaz Khan did. Surprisingly, he wasn’t part of the movie trailer or poster and he wasn’t seen much in the film’s promotional tour either.
Thankfully, there were no conflicts but simply a matter of logistics.
“I had some work that I was stuck with, back in the states,†he informed us when we finally managed to track him down. “I missed those guys; I really wished I had been a part of it. I joined them about five days before the release, so I was there. That was good fun. They’re a great cast aren’t they?” We agree.
Shaz Khan, Hareem Farooq, Mehreen Jabbar, Sanam Saeed and Tooba Siddiqui at McDonalds for a press meet and greet.
Completely blown away by Shaz Khan’s performance in DPS (our fanfare began with Moor) we decided to catch up with him and ask him about his career in films and how seriously he took his work. We asked him what’s the most outrageous thing he’s ever done for a film.
“I did something outrageous for a play, where I hung out with a bunch of crack addicts in New York City. I didn’t do it, just hung out with them. I had some Chinese food with them.” But Shaz is known for the extreme measures he takes in order to get ready for a role. For instance, for Moor, the actor spent a month living in Balochistan and interacting with the locals to get a better handle on the dialect.
Shaz Khan, who played Zainab’s misogynistic husband to perfection, left a career in banking to pursue acting full time. Also, he’s probably one of the only actors in Pakistan who has an MFA in acting. “I take my work very seriously but I don’t take myself very seriously,” he laughed when asked on how serious he is about acting.
Lucky for us, we will be seeing the actor a lot more now.
“Since cinema is finding its voice now, I’m very curious about the different stories, characters and different avenues that are here for me to explore,†he said. It’s going to a really, really cool couple of years.”
We also asked him if he would ever consider acting in Pakistani TV serials.
“Funny you should ask,†he replied with a smile. “Abhi mujhe aik script mila hai. Let’s just say that you’ll be seeing me on TV really soon.”
Giving us some restrained details he confirmed that he would be playing the character of a lawyer fighting for the rights of a young girl who has been raped.
“I think now they’re really raising the bar for Pakistani dramas so there are some really cool scripts coming forward,” he said.
And we can’t wait to see some more of him!
