My way or the highway

Adnan Siddiqui takes us back to the days of Uroosa to open about the future that holds Yalghaar.

KARACHI:

An eminent actor today, Adnan Siddiqui first made his debut in PTV’s Uroosa in 1992. With his timeless good looks and charismatic persona, he was quick to capture minds and hearts alike. Siddiqui humbly spoke about his illustrious career, “When we are least expecting much out of life, that’s when you get somewhere. Same was the case with me, I had no plans, I was only a model who worked on his terms and conditions, but things took a complete U-turn for me.”

Earlier on, when Anwar Maqsood approached Siddiqui with a role, he refused it right away. But one day when he went to the PTV office to pick Maqsood up with an acquaintance, the aura of the PTV office brought back memories of the time when he participated in Sohail Rana’s children’s show as a six-year-old.



“As I approached the room where Anwar Maqsood was seated with Qasim Jalali, he said to Jalali, ‘Bus, yehi, yehi, yehi hai woh larka’. After which I did a long play called Khwaabon ki Zanjeer and later Fatima Surayya Bajia called me up and said, ‘Aik play tum nay Anwar kay liyah kiya, aik play tum ko meray liyah kerna hai’. The rest is history.”

Siddiqui made his first appearance in the sixth episode of Uroosa and became an overnight heartthrob. “I remember I used to ride a motorbike back then and the play was still on air. I was at a signal at Sharah-e-Faisal and it got blocked by my fans that surrounded me, just to shake my hands and take my autograph. I was rescued by a traffic police constable.”

For the actor, PTV wasn’t the second home, but his first. “Whatever project they offer, I never say no, until I have a timing clash with another play’s production. No matter what they offer me, I agree to the project.”

Siddiqui had realised beforehand that TV was not a place where he can make good money and he really couldn’t sacrifice his craft by repeatedly coming on the idiot box. Hence, he opted to do a regular job and not acting for as much as three years after Uroosa.

“I kept getting offers for TV and films but I had promised myself I would only work on my terms and conditions. Even before Uroosa, I hated the treatment meted out to models in those days. They were hardly ever paid (male models specifically were never paid), and when I would stand up for my rights and protest, I was told I was blackmailing others.”

Siddiqui along with the team of A Mighty Heart and Brad Bitt.

Sky is not the limit for Siddiqui as he has quite comfortably ventured into the world of cinema with Hasan Waqas Rana’s Waar, “When Yalgaar starring Shaan and Humayun Saeed was being offered to me, I really wanted to know what my role was. It is a character that has a good sense of humour and is often seen romancing with his wife. The message it gives out is really very clear.”

Siddiqui didn’t give out many details about the film, stressing on the fact that all actors have a responsibility to fulfill and we should all keep that in mind.



Father to three lovely children including nine-year-old Mariam, seven-year-old Dania and four-year-old Zaid, Siddiqui has tactfully balanced his real life with reel life. And no matter which Uroosa he meets on the set or what Yalghaar may happen against him, he never compromises on family life.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th,  2014.

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