I was terrified: Ahad Raza Mir talks 'World on Fire 2', South Asian representation

Actor believes the show tells everyone’s story

Widely-appreciated Pakistani actor Ahad Raza Mir recently sat down with Variety to talk about the success of the second season of his WWII drama, World on Fire. The show, created by Peter Bowker, premiered on BBC in 2019 and now focuses on the North African theatre of war, with Mir playing Lieutenant Rajib Pal of the British Indian Army. Season 2 has reportedly been a ratings hit, attracting over 3 million viewers on its debut.

Shedding light on the world of the show, Mir told Variety, “Peter has created real characters that feel real, and each character gets the importance that they deserve. Most of my learning came from actually being on set, because our set was basically the desert. And that was a character on its own, which really helped feed into the fear and the action element of it. And then the words on the page helped define the character, it organically came to life.”

Filming for the North African setting took place in Northern Ireland at a former Michelin factory in Ballymena. Mir described the experience of shooting in the desert-like set and dealing with explosions as intense and frightening. Mir recalled, “When we got the call, I assumed we’re either gonna shoot in Spain or Abu Dhabi or Africa. And then they told me we’re shooting in Belfast, to which I went, ‘That makes no sense at all. What do you mean, they’re gonna do it all on set?'”

He further revealed, “It wasn’t a small little setting, it was just so huge that if you sprint it, it took you at least three or four minutes just to reach the end. There was a lot of running around, and a lot of panic because we dealt with a lot of explosions. And doing that level of pyrotechnics and stuff was a first for me. So I was terrified, to begin with. I didn’t have to act much when it came to the fear and the sweat on my face.”

One of the objectives of Season 2 was to present the conflict from various global perspectives, including that of India and the British Indian Army's involvement. Mir highlighted the importance of giving proper importance and depth to South Asian characters in the series. “In this series, they really did give importance to it and I think there’s still more room for other characters and other people to join, I would say, if it goes on to do another season,” Mir said. 

He went on to state, “I learned so much history from doing this show that I actually myself had no idea about. There was the British Indian Army and they served. I didn’t really, to be honest, know the details of how they were treated, what they went through.” Furthermore, Mir added, “At the same time, I understand that [there are] films like Dunkirk and 1917 that didn’t really play to the South Asian roles there — I don’t think they took that as an opportunity at all. But I think what World on Fire has done is it has decided, ‘We’re going to tell everyone’s story.’ And that’s one of the reasons I’m so proud to be part of this show.”

Mir's next project includes playing Hamlet at the Rose Theater in Brampton, Canada. He previously starred in Hamlet: A Ghost Story for Canada's The Shakespeare Company and received recognition for his outstanding performance. Talking about the same, the Yakeen Ka Safar actor said, "I’m a little nervous for that this time,” he says. “I was nervous last time, too, when I did the show. But I’m a little older now, I don’t know if I’m all that much wiser. But still, I’ve started going over the text again and I just look forward to being on stage."

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