The daily grind

Undeniably good-looking actor and impressive visual effects director, Bilal Ashraf tells us how he spends his day

Undeniably good-looking actor and impressive visual effects director, Bilal Ashraf chalks his day down from morning till night. He loves his parents, can make his own breakfast and paint walls – so many wins!

10am:

I wake up and stretch, especially focusing on lower backstretches. Then freshen up, shower, change and get ready for the day.

11am:

I make my own breakfast, which usually comprises of a fruit bowl, six hard-boiled egg whites and black coffee.



12pm:

I browse the Internet, read the news, and catch up on my emails.

1pm:

I shifted into a new house recently and so I spend some time with the workers as they are still working in the house. I’m very particular, which is why I like doing most of the work for my house myself. I painted the walls of my house with textured paint, just because I was not completely satisfied with the result produced by others.



3pm:

I have my lunch. All my meals are usually protein-based. My lunch today is roast chicken, which I cooked myself. I like to eat healthy and cooking is the easiest way to ensure this.



4pm:

I get ready for the gym. I have my pre-workout protein shake, map out my entire gym routine and then head to the gym.

5pm:

I start my training session. This is probably the toughest part of my day today. I start with a light cardio session after which I hit the weight room. My training is usually a two-hour routine followed by a light swim, steam and sauna session.

8pm:

I usually eat my dinner right after the gym, sometimes even at the gym to recover from the workout. One of my favorite places to eat in Karachi is BBQ Tonight. I love their chicken satay. Sometimes I order extra just so I can eat it as a midnight snack later on!



9pm:

I head home and sit with my parents while they have dinner. This is usually the time I spend with my family. I’m a family-oriented person and very close to my parents. I make sure I spend some time with them every day when I am in Karachi, no matter how crazy my shoot schedule gets.

10pm:

I head out for coffee and snacks with friends and then go watch a movie.



11pm:

When I get home, I do some research for my next film with Dr Hasan Rana, titled ‘Yalghaar’. The initial research entails sketching out my character. Since portions of the film have various fighting techniques, I research what kind of action suits each scene, different fight sequences and so on. I like to prepare before going for a shoot but for ‘Yalghaar’, it has been extremely important for all of us to be prepared beforehand since the film is being shot all across Pakistan, in extremely isolated areas.



1 am:

Finally, I hit the sack!