Fawad Khan, who made a successful transition from Pakistani television to Bollywood, was questioned about whether his swift ascent in the Hindi film industry posed a threat to established Bollywood stars.
During an interview on Ahmad Ali Butt's YouTube channel, Fawad Khan mentioned his debates with public relations representatives about his level of visibility.
‘You’ve made a lot of friends in India, but it came to the point where you were being compared to the big names. Did it p**s off a lot of the big dogs? Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan and you were being offered lead roles in one of the biggest industries in the world. Do you think it happened too soon for you in order to become a threat?’ the host asked.
Fawad said, ‘How do I know, man?’ That’s such a heavy question. I got a lot of love from India, but look, every industry has its politics. In Pakistan as well. But it’s easier to combat in your own industry. I’m not saying it’s unheard of, I’m sure it happens everywhere. There was one thing, I had PRs, and they used to get angry at this… I was like, ‘I need you to take out my name, not put it in there’. I would ask my PR to remove me from places, not put me. My manager would say, ‘You don’t know how the world works’.’
Fawad shared that his manager told him that being on social media is ‘the norm’, but he was vehement about not exposing himself to the public too much.
‘Woh kehte hain jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai, mujhe lagta hai jo kam dikhta hai woh zyada bikta hai (They say all publicity is good publicity, but I feel no publicity is the best publicity),’ he said. The actor believes a constant presence on social media ‘dilutes the power of a movie star’.
Fawad's Indian debut was in the fairy-tale drama ‘Khoobsurat,’ alongside Sonam Kapoor, and he later garnered praise for his role in the family drama ‘Kapoor & Sons.’
After the 2016 Uri attacks, Fawad and numerous other Pakistani artistes ceased working in India. The Bombay High Court lifted a ban on Pakistani artistes in India last year, and already, a change is being observed. British-Pakistani actor Alyy Khan appeared in prominent roles in the Disney+ Hotstar series ‘The Trial’, and then in ‘The Archies’.
Also Watch | Farhan Akhtar turns 50: Shabana Azmi celebrates ‘betu’s birthday with Javed Akhtar, Honey Irani; see post