Pakistani actor Fahad Mustafa has confessed why he doesn’t give too many interviews.
He says he has hardly anything to say. But when he does speak, Mustafa doesn’t hold back from being brutally honest.
His rise to stardom has cemented his feet so firmly in the entertainment industry that he couldn’t care less if he upset anyone.
Soft spoken and direct, we found him to be unperturbed about offending anyone with his ‘politically incorrect’ statements.
Not that he has anything to worry about. Thanks to a successful TV show and movie hits such as Mah-e-Mir, Na Maloom Afraad and 2016’s biggest film Actor In Law, Mustafa is fast becoming everyone’s favourite name in the entertainment industry.
“I am doing three films this year,” announced Mustafa over a cup of coffee as he sat waiting for his flight to Dubai, where he was to host Pakistan Super League’s opening ceremony later in the week.
Mustafa has become very discerning when it comes to the films he agrees to do.
“I’m working on Na Maloom Afraad’s sequel, which will be shot in South Africa so it’s going to be a lot of fun, Insha Allah,” he said.
While the actor did not reveal much about the plot, he excitedly announced that all the cast members would be returning for the sequel.
The second project in the pipeline is the sequel to Nadeem Baig’s blockbuster film Jawani Phir Nai Aani, the highest grossing film made in Pakistan.
“The third project begins in December and that is also going to be made by Nabeel Qureshi and that is going to be a little bit different from the other two films I’m doing. The first two are mostly masala films while this one is going to be more of an emotional, drama film,” Mustafa said.
Mustafa has made a name for himself doing commendable work, but the same can’t be said about the rest of the films from Pakistani cinema’s supposed revival.
Mustafa still has hope for the industry.
“It’s going to take time. We are trying to do things much too fast,” he said.
Coming back to Mustafa’s third film of the year, the actor said it’s too soon to discuss details such as the film title and cast members.
Asked about the female lead, Mustafa responded: “In my films, it doesn’t really matter who the female lead is.”
Mustafa sounds extremely confident. But how does he justify his self-confidence, which may border on over-confidence? “Because I know my worth. I know that I work hard and I’m extremely punctual,” he said.
Mustafa also shared that many people wonder why Qureshi always chooses to work with him.
“Let’s be honest, I’m not some good looking, handsome man. I enjoy working. I come to the set at 6am when needed and once I reach the set I give it everything I have. This sort of professional attitude is rare nowadays,” he explained.
Since Mustafa has branched out into TV production as well, he has insight into how actors behave on set nowadays.
“Shoots that are supposed to take 60 days end up going on for like 100 days. Why? Because the stars don’t show up. They don’t come on time, they make excuses and that just delays the shoots. It’s sad. We’ve become stars first before proving ourselves and making our place in the industry,” he said.
This is now becoming a common problem, so much so that other senior artists, such as Resham and Ahsan Khan have also voiced similar concerns regarding the newer pool of actors. Why is this happening?
“Because there’s so much work and not enough people to do it. They know that if they don’t do this film/drama/project, they’ll do something else. That’s why you see so many stars joining the industry and then disappearing. It’s because they have the looks and the talent, but they don’t have the mind to behave professionally.”
