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With the emergence of social media and everything available on it, knowing what’s trending, what to wear, where to eat and what to talk about comes in a package we don’t even stop to think about.
Today, one knows the styles, colours, haircuts and everything else that’s all the rage without even being a fashion buff. That begs the question how actors and models of older times, whose livelihood always depended on their appeal and appearance, kept tabs on everything. Moreover, how did some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry today start off their journeys?
“I stole Rs100 from my father, had three to four friends in Rawalpindi and we all decided to leave for Lahore to try acting. I was 12 or 13 years old and my dad had found out what I was up to,” veteran actor Javed Sheikh revealed on the latest episode of Time Out with Ahsan Khan.
“He and his friends then split up to look for us and eventually arrived at the train station. The train was about to leave and we were all so happy, from the Rs100 we had bought laddus for Rs2 and we were busy devouring them when my father’s hand grabbed me from behind and by the time he let he go, I was hanging upside down in my house and getting a beating,” he laughed.
Another guest on the episode was the evergreen Meera, who recently made headlines for allegedly being sent to a psychiatric facility in New York – a rumour that was rubbished later. Asked if she had always wanted to be an actor, she replied, “I wanted to be an actor since birth and I was very good at my studies too. But an achiever, no. I failed sometimes and still do.” But in love, did she fail or achieve, inquired Khan to which she said, “I fell in love, very hard, but I don’t know if I have won or lost.”
Sheikh revealed that his first girlfriend was French. “I met her in Karachi because her father was PIA’s station manager in Paris and she was on holidays here. I was a nobody at the time but I guess I was lucky that such a charming lady went out with me. But then, obviously, she left for home and called me there. Again, I needed money and my father had a Morris. I sold it for Rs5,000, got a ticket for Rs3,000 and went to Paris. I got a beating for that later too.”
But the veteran added that after that, he went to Paris five to six times upon being called by the same girl, who even provided him tickets. And that is where he groomed himself. He then enrolled in Alliance Francoise to learn French too. Till this day, the Wajood star handpicks the clothes of his heroines himself. Meera agreed, recalling the times she worked with Sheikh. “He tells the heroines everything, from the kind of hairstyle to the shoes and clothes.”
The conversation reminded Sheikh of this one time Meera was shooting for Chief Sab and arrived on set wearing the wrong clothes. “She was playing this rich girl who comes to meet her lover – who’s not as fortunate – in this basti. And she was dressed like she’s going to a club. I flipped and told everyone we can’t shoot today. The set was very far away from where we were staying in Istanbul,” he recalled.
“Meera vanished after being scolded and 20 minutes later, came back wearing what I had asked, which was a plain white tee and a jeans. Turns out, she had borrowed clothes from our neighbours because she was that dedicated and I was that angry. I loved that about her and she quickly did the scene.”
Asked about the many scandals she has been associated with, Meera said, “The biggest, however, includes a video, and a marriage. They are far from the truth.” Here, Khan asked, “Have you ever created a scandal to generate news on your own?” and she said, “Saari khabren automatically banjati hain [Everything turns into a news on its own]. Seriously, sometimes I wish I’d generate news myself,” quipped the actor.
On a lighter note, the host asked the Baaji star why the names of female actors are shortened or changed when male actors carry on with their actual names in the industry. “My real name is Irtaza Rubab. It was a big name so people felt Meera would be short and cute. I figured let’s keep it then,” she explained. “But who started calling you that?” inquired Khan. “Everybody,” Meera replied. “No, I think it was Jarrar Rizvi,” guessed Sheikh. “Yes, it was him,” Meera admitted.
In the tirade of questions, Meera also revealed her favourite male actors in Pakistan, starting off with Shaan and Moammar Rana, “Saleem, Humayun Saeed are also my favourites.” She explained she hasn’t really worked with Fawad Khan so she can’t say but called Sheheryar Munawar a “nice, decent guy who’s also her favourite guy.”
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