Carving a niche: I can’t replace Shah Rukh Khan in Bollywood says Adnan Siddiqui

Aims to find recognition by following Irfan Khan’s footsteps

Adnan Siddiqui’s drama serials have made him popular not just in Pakistan but India as well. The actor, however, remains very clear about the roles he does not wish to accept there, despite the offers he is receiving from Bollywood. “I am at that age where I cannot replace actors like Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan,” the Hindustan Times reported the 46-year-old as saying. “They are great actors and really famous in Pakistan. If I want to come in that league, I will be kicked out so badly that I won’t be able to see myself.”

Fortunately, Siddiqui has another plan to make his mark in Bollywood. “I want to adopt the formula that Irfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, KK Menon and Manoj Bajpayee have taken up,” he added. “I want to fit in that kind of role. I want to prove my metal in that area.”



The content of Pakistani television shows has entertained Indian audiences for a long time and Siddiqui – who has been part of successful serials like Meray Qatil Meray Dildar, Kaisi Ye Qayamat, Ru Baru and Ruswaiyaan – is grateful for the response. “It’s a great feeling altogether when you see your work being appreciated. The grass is always greener on the other side and we have also loved the shows in India,” he said. “I feel that my contemporaries and I want to produce shows the same way and deliver good content.”

According to Siddiqui, the cultures in both Pakistan and India are very similar. “We both have the same kind of culture. What is the difference between the two countries? I think is just a P and I,” he stated. People ask me about Pakistani shows and I tell them we just have different ways of doing it. It is just about the mind and thought.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2016.

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