Ali Wasi Kazmi discusses playing Sikandar in ‘Raja London Ka’

Actor talks about honing his craft, director's guidance and co-star Samar Jafri's honest critique

Actor Ali Wasi Kazmi discussed his character Sikandar in the drama Raja London Ka in an interview. The Express Entertainment action-thriller took the television industry by storm, with Kazmi's portrayal of the scheming anti-hero at the centre of the show's dark underbelly.

While his performance in Raja London Ka showcased immense polish, Kazmi admitted that adjusting to the television screen required stepping out of his comfort zone. Reflecting on his debut role in Bakhtawar alongside Yumna Zaidi, Kazmi shared that while public praise was encouraging, it was a close friend and fellow Raja London Ka co-star, Samar Jafri, who gave him the honest perspective he needed to mature as a performer.

"Samar is someone I really like because he speaks to me very straightforwardly. He openly told me 'You performed very badly in Bakhtawar.'" Rather than taking offence, Kazmi said he used the critique to refine his acting, shifting away from amateur habits to master subtle screen presence.

Kazmi shared that his friendship with Jafri came full circle while the two were hanging out in Lahore and Jafri received a call from the Raja London Ka production team. "I was in Lahore, and Samar was there with me. He got a call, while sitting next to me, from the production team asking if there was a guy available in Lahore for a character role," the actor recalled.

He added, "The casting team later looked at me and said, 'Ali, you naturally walk and talk exactly like this character.' If I weren't sitting there with Samar that day, I wouldn't have auditioned for Sikandar."

According to Kazmi, although he was able to find the physical essence of Sikandar easily, capturing the psychological weight of a manipulator wasn't instant. Kazmi opened up about his early days on the set of Raja London Ka, saying, "The first four to five days of filming were highly intimidating."

However, he revealed that a breakthrough for him came entirely from director Fajar Raza, who helped Kazmi peel back the layers of the script. The actor noted that Raza's precise direction gave him the clarity to understand Sikandar's planning, schemes, and quiet calculations. Under the director's mentorship, Kazmi stated that he "managed to settle comfortably into the role."

Further, discussing the production dynamic, the actor stated that it worked seamlessly alongside Jafri's leading performance, recalling that crew members often remarked that they "chose the least violent person in real life to play the most violent character on screen."

Reflecting on his life before entering the entertainment industry, Kazmi said that he was paving an independent creative path. Sharing that he came from a traditional family background where his father expected him to join the military, the actor said that he had initially enrolled at the National College of Arts to hone his creative passion but then dropped out to chase storytelling.

The move materialised with Kazmi's indie visual cover of Paar Chana De, with the video exploding online, crossing 28 million views on YouTube. The success, according to the actor, proved that he had the visual eye and screen presence to captivate an audience, ultimately acting as his calling to mainstream television directors.

With Raja London Ka continuing to introduce major plot twists, Kazmi shared that he was fully enjoying Sikandar's ongoing arc. Despite receiving new offers since the show began airing, Kazmi stated that he remains conscious in choosing not to rush into signing his next project, preferring to take his time and evaluate characters with depth.