Fawad Khan: I’m Still in Touch With a Lot of My Bollywood Friends

The actor reacts to India’s ban on Pakistani artistes.

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has broken his silence over the political turmoil that surrounded his role in Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil at last. In an interview to Dawn, the actor shared his views on everything from life’s ups and downs, the ban on Pakistani artistes in India to his future projects.

Here are some of the highlights of the interview.

Being a Celeb in the Age of Social Media

With social media, I think it becomes a little more intrusive. People have more access to you. It’s obviously very flattering, all the love and affection that you get, and then there’s also the downside of it, sometimes things don’t go your way. But in light of freedom of speech, people can say whatever they want, they can hold whatever opinions they want and I think I’ve taken it in my stride. But getting in your face can be a bit problematic.

Fawad Khan, Actor

Life’s Ups and Downs

...had I not experienced the downs in life, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the ups, and my life would have plateaued. And when life plateaus, it becomes suicidal. You need to have a reality check time and time again. So whatever that dark period was, I’m glad for it. Yeah, I’ve been penniless. I’ve had to struggle a bit. But now I enjoy thinking about that because it just makes me feel better about my achievements.

On Expressing His Opinions

I’d rather speak less because I don’t consider myself a very intelligent person. So I think rather than being a victim of ‘foot-in-mouth’ disease one should refrain from talking as much as possible... I’m not a person for confrontation. You may call me a coward, but I just don’t like confrontation... My belief is if one wants to take a stand on something, one must be very educated about it. We live in a Wikipedia generation. It’s a very sad fact that people are not well-versed in subjects and tend to get into heated arguments without knowing the context of things. 

Ban on Pakistani Artistes in India

I’m still in touch with a lot of my friends there. Nothing’s really changed. Obviously, I’m not a man of steel in that people’s words don’t affect me. They might hurt me. But I am becoming immune to it as time goes by. I have no expectations from them, and that’s what I think has developed this camaraderie. We even make plans to meet, to catch up.

Raising the Standard of Pakistani Cinema

We could use more diverse content... We could do more work set in rural Pakistan. That’s us, there’s nothing paindu about us. We should own our culture. If we talk about writers – when people say, because the audience likes a certain kind of cinema, let’s do that kind of cinema -- well I feel that’s the wrong argument.  

Future Projects Outside Pakistan

Wherever the wind blows me, I’ll go! My eventual goal is to have enough experience to produce something on my own.  

(Source: Dawn)