As we inch closer to the release of the much-awaited Legend of Maula Jatt, Fawad Khan fans are anxiously waiting for his big screen return. Prior to doing a handful of Bollywood films like Khoobsurat (2014), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), Pakistan last saw Fawad playing a devoted husband in Humsafar (2011) and Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012), winning hearts both at home and abroad.
Having started off as a lead vocalist in Entity Paradigm, a rock band hailing from Lahore, Fawad was always known for being painfully shy. Born to a Pathan and Punjabi family, he went on to live in Greece, the UAE, and the UK. But becoming a global sensation was never on the cards for him. However, destiny had greater plans for the singer-turned-actor who has now opened up about his retreat from the spotlight in an interview with Independent Urdu. The star has also dished out the struggles he faced while filming The Legend of Maula Jatt ahead of the Punjabi action flick’s release on October 13.
“It has been a long time, yes, but dair aye durust aye. It’s a very nervous time for me because I’m returning after 15 years and a lot has happened in these years. So, the dam is about to break. There will be a barrage of content from my end now and I apologise to everyone who’s been waiting,” the actor shared, humbly.
When confronted about his reputation of being picky choosy, and how that may have been the cause of his absence from the industry, Fawad disclosed, “I am very picky, that’s true. A teacher in our college would say, ‘laziness is a blessing.’ Putting in minimal effort and still getting more work done is always more efficient, I feel. I go through all the scripts I am offered very carefully and my nature is such, that I can’t juggle multiple projects at a time. I prefer sticking to one thing and giving it my all. Many actors we have are so multitasking, they will get off of one set and go to another. I can’t do that. So, I guess that’s a limitation of mine.”
Telling him about how the Pakistani cinema industry needs at least two Fawad films each year to really thrive, the host asked what magic potion would rid Fawad of his laziness. Laughing, he replied, “I don’t think I need anything more than the love I get from the team I work with. Because then I work with love too. A lot of times because of my nature, like I mentioned, when discussing the scripts with producers I feel that I am either not suited for the role or I am not in the right frame of mind to do it. For the sake of it, let’s say I even say yes, the quality of my work will suffer. Because the quality of my work really depends on how much effort I am putting in and I tend to put in a lot of effort and get exhausted. That also happens because of my condition, I am diabetic so a lot of times I have to be careful. If I exert myself, it shows and if I’m not healthy, I can’t do any project.”
When asked how painful the process of putting on and then losing weight for the film was for him, despite being diabetic, Fawad explained, “The journey to gain weight isn’t as painful as the journey to lose weight. When we say Maula Jatt is the most ambitious project our industry has seen, we mean it. This is why everything about it was so time-consuming. Transforming myself for it was time-consuming too. And such transformations aren’t only difficult for people with various health conditions, they’re difficult for everyone.”
The actor then recollected how Jared Leto had to put on so much weight to play John Lennon’s assassin in Chapter 27, that his body ended up producing excess uric acid. Fawad asserted, “He ended up suffering from Gout. So very few people can transform themselves physically for roles, it isn’t something everyone can or should do. And such extreme body transformations aren’t healthy either.”
Delving into the experience of speaking fluent Punjabi in a first for a role, Fawad went on to quip, “When I was told I’d have to speak in Punjabi for Maula Jatt, meri taangen kaanp gaein.” He credited the production and direction team, especially Nasir Adeeb, who wrote the screenplay, for tutoring him.
“The dialect has so many variations just across Punjab, and picking up the accent, directing the actors to nail it, only a person who’s fluent in Punjabi can do that. And I struggle with Punjabi so it was an added challenge for me. I may have spent more time in Lahore but I was born in Karachi. Nobody conversed in Punjabi in our home. And it is unfortunate for regional languages, specifically Punjabi, that they are not taught in private schools. But our villain [Hamza Ali Abbas], Noori Nath, what a performance he’s given, what an actor and a charming personality he is. So, there was that added pressure because if in a scene, one actor is really nailing his part and the other struggles to even speak, he becomes a liability. Thankfully, though, because of Nasir sahab, Bilal [Lashari], Ammara [Hikmat], and all the time and effort they put in, we all were able to pull this off.”
When asked if he’s seen the original Maula Jatt, Fawad shared, “I have seen the original but not in its entirety, again, because I could not decipher who was saying what mostly.” About his action sequences in the forthcoming film, particularly his handling of the gandasa, he dished out, “Handling the gandasa is an art. It’s like a dance move. So, using it while performing modern action sequences – our action team had come from abroad – and taking that Punjabi culture along was a task. The gandasa alone could not be replicated, so I am actually swinging that encumbered weapon which was easily 6-7kgs heavy.”
And about his time working with Mahira Khan, given how popular their onscreen chemistry in Humsafar became, Fawad concluded, “As always, my camaraderie and friendship with Mahira is strong. There is this nervousness but satisfaction that I got to work with an old friend again. Even Humaima. Working with all of these people in a new environment was refreshing. There was that familiarity, of course. So, we have plenty of expectations from our viewers, our fans. I’m sure they have plenty of expectations too. We are only hoping we meet all of them.
