C OVER STORY
Superstar Khan
talks about films, fame and family
T
here’s no FOMO. Fear of missing out. Unlike celebrities obsessed with their mobile phones, he’s
not plugged into it while chatting with me. Fawad
Afzal Khan is a unique beast. Far from the madding
world of social media and apps. He knows he’s the ‘it’
boy. He has the acting chops and all the ingredients that
go into processing a pan Asian sweetheart. His rise to
being Pakistani’s hottest telestar has been chronicled
in everything from Wikipedia to the foreign press. That
serials like Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Humsafar slalomed
him into an A-list star has been tabloidised too. Music
star, TV actor and now a major movie star, he’s getting
everyone’s knickers into a knot. The politics of the countries notwithstanding, Fawad Khan is a major player at
the movies. But but but! He’s happily married and he assures us that there’s no scope for messing around. He
has this ‘unf***withable’ clause. Pardon the French. No
homilies, no goody-two-shoes act, I can sense someone
trying to come to grips with the upside and the downside
of stardom. For sure he knows he’s eye candy but he
won’t be any critic’s favourite whipping boy! Why? Because he can act. When he has a meltdown in the Pakistani TV show Humsafar, it’s for real. You can see the
eddies and the currents churning behind those aquiline
features! FK is to the manner born. And we’re absolutely
okay with that. We suspect the same seamlessness will
be on display in Shakun Batra’s Kapoor & Sons! A role
rejected by every top liner. We suspect all of them are
going to kick themselves for turning it down. On the cusp
of his next, we pin down the star in his hotel room for
quick parlay:
Let’s talk about Kapoor & Sons. How’s the experience
been like working with Karan Johar?
It was a great experience yaar. They are lovely people,
like extended family… the whole Dharma team. My
high in life is to meet new people. I was lucky during
Khoobsurat as well. I had a blast. I was well taken care
of. Hospitality and care comes before everything else.
Itni achchi camaraderie ban gayi that I just did not feel
time go by. And now I’m missing those times. Especially
when I was watching the trailers. I called them up to tell
them so.
Who from B-town’s Kapoor