Fawad Khan: ‘My priority is my country’

Actor reflects upon his journey from amateur musician to heart throb.

LAHORE:

After the success of “Humsafar”, Fawad Khan has become one of the most sought after celebrities in Pakistan. The musician-turned -actor has women in the country mesmerised. With the upcoming launch of his clothing line, Silk, Fawad has everyone on their toes again. The Express Tribune caught up with him to gain some more insight on his journey in the entertainment industry.

Commenting on the great success of “Humsafar”, Fawad said: “As an actor, the response is overwhelming to the extent of being unreal. It has presented another facet of what I can do and I am humbled at how people have made these characters and this play somewhat of a legend in our industry.”

Like this hit Hum TV production, many other television dramas have also risen to fame recently, to which Fawad adds, “The recent success of various TV series bears testimony to the fact that this avenue has not yet been exhausted. It’s obviously an affordable means of entertainment for the audience with tons of variety to offer.” He further elucidates, “The music industry is seeing a downtime at present. Film, being the new animal in the zoo, will take a while to tame and master, especially if our target is to win back the audience we have lost to foreign cinema. Television is, therefore, the only real entertainment left for the masses.”

Looking back at his Khuda Ke Liye success several years ago, Fawad explains that he would love to expand into film, but adds that it is more complicated than it seems. “Film is a different experience altogether and a very enjoyable one at that. What I’ve learnt is, it’s the big fight. You may always be in form, but in the case of film, timing means everything.”

He further says that in Pakistan, one has to be careful about the types of films they choose to do because, “despite the sweat you put into it, there’s a chance that your film can end up in someone’s library or in the trash with a bad critique.” He blames the lack of diversity in the film industry for this trend, stating, “We are rich in subject and content, yet we choose to follow the same drab and monotonous stories and hope to win an audience out of it every time.”

When asked if he would consider venturing into Bollywood, he patriotically responds, “If there is something that I feel I can do justice to I shall take it on but, honestly, my priority is my country.”

Going even further back in time, Fawad reflects on his time with Entity Paradigm (EP). The band is what brought him onto the map; whose members have now, however, gone their separate ways. “EP was like family. We’ve spent a great deal of time together; I feel in every case a band is a marriage. So my divorcing the band was a heavy feeling, but with everyone’s mixed up priorities it couldn’t be managed the way it deserved to be.”

Before EP, rock music was mostly underground in Pakistan, but the response they received was quite widespread to which Fawad states, “It was gratifying to know that the youth responded to what we were saying, but honestly at that age I feel it’s more about having fun.”

Reflecting on the state of the music industry in the country today, Fawad states, “Creatively, it is impossible to better yourself. Technically, I feel our music suffers a great deal; production and technical aspects require serious revisions. However, it is encouraging to see how this generation is attempting to change that.” Fawad Khan definitely seems to have come a long way since his time as an amateur musician in EP, now with a prêt-a-porter clothing line on its way as well!

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2012.