Catching up with Mikaal Zulfiqar

MZ: I started as a model, and a very big stigma is that model-turned-actors can’t act. I also gained weight in the middle a few times, and I think that, subconsciously, what I was trying to do was get rid of the good looks and that perfect persona, so that people will see my acting. I wanted to be known as an actor, not as just a good-looking face. I wanted to be known as a performer. I wanted to be able to execute those emotions. Sometimes when I act, I come on screen without make-up, or without bothering if I’m looking good or not.

MZ: It is a young-to-old story. I play the character when he is younger, and the story evolves. I see what you are saying, but I have a lot of work going on currently and I’m doing three or four different things at one time. It would be really hard to label me.

MZ: I went to India in 2007 for the first time and did a movie called Shoot on Sight, with Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. I got on really well with Naseer and Om and everyone; the film came out and I got really good reviews. Things were going really well and I started getting some  good offers like the lead in Delhi-6, and a couple of other films. I signed on one of them, called Apartment, and then the 2008 attacks happened in Mumbai, and things went dead. Like, completely dead, for a year-and-a-half. That was a real eye-opener for me. No matter how much communication there is between people, at the government or army level, there is always tension. You never know when things will break down; you won’t get visas, and things like that. So I think India is not a dependable market for a Pakistani actor. Also, take the example of Fawad and Ali, they are not working in Pakistan anymore because it becomes very tough. They have a bigger market, and also, there is not much that Pakistan can do. Keeping that in mind, after 2008, I was like “Hang-on, I mean, can’t focus in India because this might happen again. And if it does, I am screwed. Because this is my job, I have a family, I have two young daughters.” Obviously, this is a job for me so I look at it very differently. So after that, Pakistan became my focus.

MZ: India, for me, is a once-a-year, a good project … that would be nice. And maybe you will call me old-fashioned, but India is a very bold market; they want their actors to kiss on-screen, there might be scenes of sexual nature, there is bad language, there is a lot of that stuff. I don’t think our audience in Pakistan wants to see that. There is a fine line, that’s my approach. Coming to Baby, it was not that risky; I didn’t have any explicit scenes or language. It was an action film, and I wanted to do action.

MZ: There is this organization called ACT: The Actors Union of Pakistan, which we have been, forever, trying to get together. I am part of the Lahore Council; I try and do as much as I can to get us all together. In terms of voicing our problems … whenever I come across a higher official, I make it a point to voice concerns. I can see why they don’t care much us; in a way, Pakistan does have bigger problems to deal with. But I think it’s very important for them to realise that, you see where India is these days, and what the Indian media has done for the country? It has put India on the world map! This is what we can do for Pakistan, as actors. And this community. We can create a softer image of Pakistan; the government and army cannot do that. They should utilize us for that, and you know … that’s what I try to do. I feel like a very proud ambassador of Pakistan. We are not all fundooz; far from it actually. We are very loving, and a peaceful, extremely hospitable country. We may always be surrounded by problems, but we are a good nation. That’s what I want people to see. So in my own capacity, I will continue doing that. I hope, someday, I will get a platform.