US TALK

What does success mean to you?

Success, to me, is happiness. If you find yourself happy with no guilt and burden on your conscience and can sleep peacefully at night, you are successful. Money and fame and other achievements mean nothing if there’s no peace of mind.

Something you learned early in your career which helped you become a better actor?

One should learn about the technicalities of the work. You should know about the placements, lights, the edit points and other things like these so that you can completely focus on giving your best performance.

What is the most challenging thing about this career?

The most challenging thing is to explain to people that the routine of an actor is different from those in other professions. They think it’s like any other profession and that we can fulfill social requirements easily, but in reality we can’t do that.

Did you get any formal education for this career? If not, then how did you learn the craft of acting?

No, I did not. I learnt a lot from watching movies, TV shows and behind the scenes videos. But most of the learning took place on the sets. There is nothing like learning by doing.

I would advise the aspiring actors to come prepared. The media and entertainment industry are very competitive, so you have to be ready for it.

Who are some of your role model actors/actresses, and what do you like about their work?

Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr. and Shahrukh Khan. They are very inspiring as they built their careers from scratch, worked really hard and became extraordinary artists.

From all your roles so far, which role was the most meaningful to you, and why?

Rohan from Umm-e-Haniya and Feroze from Saaya 2. Both of them unveiled the truest meaning and understanding of love.

Umm-e-Haniya showed me what fatherly love is and Saaya 2 helped me comprehend ‘love’ to be limitless even if you are not from the same time and space.

Do you believe good looks and connections are the only things that make a star?

They do make things easy and help you survive and grow, but if you don’t perform, you won’t be able to stay longer. So, focus only on polishing your acting skills.

How has social media changed things for you?

For me, social media hasn’t brought anything extra or changed the way I think or act. In fact, it consumes a lot of my time. It’s addictive and I don’t find it fruitful as such.

The only good thing is that you can get in touch with your fans and share updates regarding your work with them. Also, it acts like a digital portfolio where all your work updates are stored.

How do you deal with self-doubt?

I have a strong belief that good things will happen for me as they always have.

Also, I remind myself how far I have come in these ten years. And that boosts my confidence.

But no matter how you try, self-doubt will always be there. And that’s good as it keeps you grounded and you keep improving yourself.

Three pieces of advice for aspiring actors.

- Be prepared. Be clear about your goals. Whether you are up for it or not, it’s not a part time thing, your life will revolve around it.

- Learn the art of communication; it takes you a long way.

- Be observant! See how seniors perform and learn how they deal with tough situations on a daily basis. And yes, don’t forget your acting is your own thing and you have to create your unique style.

My teenage years

Birthday and star

July 27; Leo

The best thing about being a teenager was

Never feeling tired

The worst thing about being a teenager was

Being told, ‘Abhi bachay ho’.

I was always listening to

Bollywood songs

My favourite actors

Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda

My favourite singer

Enrique

My favourite super hero

Superman

My favourite movie

Cinderella Man

My closet was full of

T-shirts

My friends were

Very funny

What used to hurt me the most was

Poverty

I wish I had known then

The importance of family

Relations with family were

Warming

My favourite subject was

English

My least favourite subject was

Physics

I couldn’t stand

Bad odour

My favourite food

Anything desi

My favourite hangout

Wherever there’s good company

My favourite sport was

Volley ball

5 things I couldn’t live without

My computer, gym, friends, my favourite TV shows and my pillow

Coordination by Ehsan Iqbal