How Colonel Qasim Shah landed his iconic roles

In an interview with Ahmad Ali Butt on a local show, Colonel Qasim Shah looked back on his first meeting with director Shoaib Mansoor, thanks to whom he went on to star in iconic serials like the coming-of-age show Sunehray Din and the military action serial Alpha Bravo Charlie.

Qasim began by recalling that he was undergoing punishment at his academy while everyone else was away for the holidays. "The thing is, it doesn't matter if you haven't done anything wrong at the academy. If someone doesn't like the way you smile, isn't fond of your gait or impressed by your behaviour, then you are done for," he joked.

The regretful punishment turned into a moment of accidental opportunity once Shoaib arrived on the premises. "I had no idea who he was," Qasim admitted. "But I was told that I'd be spending time with him and conducting him as a cadet. I was supposed to brief him on whatever questions he had and tell him about academy life."

Qasim mentioned that the two strolled around, exchanging several questions and answers. But Shoaib would steal glances at him and laugh at him every time Qasim responded to his queries, leaving the latter confused.

Qasim's mind ran amok, poring over whether the man before him was writing a book or a newspaper column, collecting information for a news bulletin, or planning to shoot a documentary. The innocent cadet just couldn't crack the code. But something hilarious did stick with the accidental troublemaker: "I was so surprised by the fact that someone was finally speaking so respectfully to me."

It wasn't until two months later that he finally got his answers, though not without a little hustle. "A staff member told me that the captain was calling for me," he shared. "It's considered a bad omen when someone stops you in your tracks, so I got worried."

Qasim was redirected many times before he made it to the fated location. "My ride was changed multiple times, and I had to run towards my destination in the end. When I got there, I was told to wait. I thought that my punishment was on hold, until the door opened and Shoaib Mansoor and Mohsin Ali stormed in. Along with them were Malik Faraz Inam and Saleem Sheikh."

Despite gazing at the large equipment in his vicinity, Qasim still didn't understand what was going on until it was spelled out to him. "They told me to recite some dialogues," he said, recalling that his curiosity had already allowed him a peek at the script, which contained the name of Gulsher, his soon-to-be memorable character.

Qasim's stress trumped any chances of a stable delivery. But his naivete turned out to be exactly what the creators were looking for. It is as he remembers it, "The moment I started reading, I heard, 'Did you check out his expressions? This is it!'"