“Imran Abbas Naqvi also fails to impress,” comments Rohit Khilnani in India Today while reviewing Vikran Bhatt’s Creature. “The male lead Imran Abbas doesn’t leave any mark.”

According to Paloma Sharma/Rediff.com in Mumbai, “Imran Abbas Naqvi has the unique ability to act and still seem like he’s reading from a script. Not only that, he can also play a life-size cardboard cutout of himself while playing Kunal!”

Rahul Masand, CNN-IBN has his say too, “This is standard B-movie material that plods on for a full 2 hours and 15 minutes.”

This breaks my heart and also those of thousands of others who have watched Imran Abbas act; whose mere name in the cast would sell TV serials.

He was a star way before his Indian sojourn. Who can forget his performances in Dil-i-Muztar, Khuda aur Mohabbat, Malaal, Vasl and Man-o-Salwa? Why then accept offers from Bollywood that insult ones talent as an actor? Is the lure of Bollywood films so irresistible that our stars can live with being shredded by the Indian press?

When we recently met at on the sets of Hum TV’s Alvida, he was wary with his words; he tells you something and then doesn’t want you to write about it. He picks up the recorder and deletes what has been recorded. He has been misquoted, perhaps misunderstood, he explains. He doesn’t want to talk about Aashiqi. “Enough has been said already, people have written all sorts of things about me. If they don’t want to say something upfront, then it’s between the lines.” He is professional, unflustered, reserved and polite. His ‘no-nonsense’ air baffles you as to why would such a pragmatic actor do a film like Creature in the first place and secondly be in denial about the fiasco that it was? Why live in a fool’s paradise, when you are clearly not a fool?

About two-and-a-half years ago, he got a call from Vikram Bhatt for Creature. “It was a low period when I was being picky about TV serials and shooting for Dil-i-Muztar which I was did after a three-year break.  This was to be Vikram’s first experimental attempt in 3D. He was looking for someone for the role of a quiet man who falls in love with this girl but is inhibited because he is guilty of being somewhat connected to her father’s death.”

He was intrigued by the depth of the role. “Having turned down a number of Bollywood requests earlier, I decided to go for this one. I knew that being a T-Series film, the music would be a hit and it was on the charts for the longest time plus there was action in the role too. Also, I was being paired with an established actor like Bipasha.”

How did the film fare? “The reception to the film was very good,” he says while looking visibly happy. Meanwhile I wondered if he knew that Creature’s budget was around INR18 crores, and it just about managed to recover its cost.

Why do our actors accept offers from Bollywood that insult their talent as actors? Is the lure of Bollywood films so irresistible that they can live with being shredded by the Indian press? Fouzia Nasir Ahmad speaks to Imran Abbas to find out

I asked him if he was at all apprehensive about working with Indian co-stars. “I might have been little in the beginning but the people were warm, friendly and on the same wavelength. I never felt I was working outside Pakistan. Since it was a 90-day schedule, we ended up spending a lot of time together.”

Was there any difference in the way they work compared to our style of working? “We are in no way as professional as them. And another basic difference is that we do not realise the value of time the way Indians do, and somehow find all the time in the world to do something instead of meeting a certain time frame and a deadline. Indians seem to carry on as though there is not enough time in the world and hence no time should be wasted. That is a big difference. In all the time that we have had, we haven’t learnt lessons or rectified mistakes. I didn’t feel that way before but after working with them, now it stands like a big contrast between us and them.”

Tell us about Bipasha, I sak. He chuckled: “Bipasha is a great actor!” Something that we don’t know, I interjected. “Bipasha is passionate about working out. If the shoot is at 8 am, she will work out at 6 am. I have never seen this kind of a passion in anyone in India or Pakistan. 

She is a very happy person, doesn’t let anyone on the set be sad or low. Even if I would do udaas shairi, she would say ‘nahin, nahin yeh nahin, hanso gao ...’ She is very preppy. When we met the first time, it was on the set to shoot our first scene in the film so the initial bit of hesitation worked out for the film. Vikram probably planned it that way, he smiled.

There are several Bollywood projects that he is working on, while Jaanisar will be released in a couple of months. “It is directed by Muzaffar Ali Khan with debutante Pernia Qureshi. I play the role of a prince; it is a period film in the Lucknow backdrop. It was an amazing experience to work with such a big director who has worked with legends like Shabana Azmi, Rekha, Smita Patil, Farooq Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, you name it.”

Were you the first choice for the role? “Yes I was the first choice. Even though I was having certain difficulties doing that role because of availability, he kept giving me time to decide and finalise but insisted that he couldn’t come up with a better choice for the role and finally I was the one to do it. He wanted someone who would portray an Englishman as well as a nawab, and hence speak both English and Urdu very well. In the film, I have been brought up in London by Queen Victoria and then I arrive in Oudh.”

Imran feels being chosen by a Bollywood director is an acknowledgment for one’s talent. “When an actor from Pakistan is chosen for a role, it is a big risk for a director who is investing Rs60 to 80 crores in a film because there can be any issues in continuity or availability because of visa cancellations. So it is a big honour in itself really.”

What was it like coming back to Pakistan? “I was received very warmly, of course.  In 10 years, I have done a lot of work on TV and carved a niche for myself as nearly all my serials were hit. So after doing Bollywood, for a while I thought that I’m saturated with TV plays and won’t do TV anymore. But when I returned, I found myself thinking that you cannot really disconnect from your own people and where you started out from.”

Have you increased your charges? “Yes, why not? This is the perfect time to do it.” And are producers willing to pay up? “Yes, and I am not being unreasonable, I know what production costs and earnings are!”

Imran was closely involved with the launch of Zindagi, a Zee channel in India, and handled all the press conferences. “It is promoting Pakistani drama and our actors are becoming household names in India.  I may not be able to do 12 or 13 serials a year but I will continue to do a selection because drama is our forte, our strength.”

He believes that a lot of drama is being produced in Pakistan but something bothers him about our content. “Our presentation is better and technically we are improving. What bothers me seriously is that a lot of things are now being shown on TV under cover of art or boldness.

But certain things shouldn’t be touched at all. Why do we feel we have the leverage to show all the vices in society? When we show them, we are removing the barriers and in a way endorsing it as something that can be done. There has always been incest, rape and all kind of terrible acts in society, but you cannot show everything on TV. The difference between what is done and what is not done is fast disappearing. I don’t want to be a part of this at all and so far I have managed to stay away.”

He is open to working in Pakistani films. “I have a few offers but I’m sleeping on it and probably waiting for something exciting to happen.”

Currently, I am completing Hum TV’s Alvida directed by Shahzad Kashmiri with Navin Waqar and Sanam Jung in the lead. It was delayed a lot because of me being unavailable.  I am also looking forward to do a new project with Mehreen Jabbar who I have worked with previously in a couple of serials. I would like to work with Shoaib Mansoor. What I would really like to do is an intense love story.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 11th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play