Daily Times

Educationist, actor, director and producer, Ali Tahir is a Lahore-based multi-talented star with a lot of feathers in his cap.

Out of all the projects that he’s worked on in theatre, television and film, he expresses his excitement and fondness over Bol Entertainment’s ‘Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderella’ which he is directing. Both his parents are marking their comeback on screen with this one, including Shabnam and Faryal Gauhar.

“I’m directing this drama called ‘Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderella’ which is written by Fasih Bari Khan. The backstage team comprises of a very young team of students and professionals. The acting team also comprises of a lot of debutantes and some iconic actors too. The story is set in the Walled City. I am confident the viewers will like it a lot. Other than this, I’m working on two parallel projects – one has reached its scripting point and the other is in its financing stage,” Ali Tahir says, while talking exclusively to Daily Times.

Like I mentioned earlier, Tahir is also a professor. I ask him how he juggles all these roles with such success as both acting and teaching require a lot of time and energy.

“Being a part of educating someone is so satisfying. It’s very exciting for me as it’s something in which I don’t have any formal training in. the experience is very interesting. It’s not that difficult to balance it all. I schedule my day in a way that I’m able to deliver what I commit. Sometimes, I do over commit but I balance. I have one class every week which lasts for three hours. In my free time I am doing my direction and production work. Balancing depends on your priorities. Two years back I broke my foot. And my students who will be reading this will vouch for it. Exact a week after my fracture, I was in class, teaching. I was on a wheelchair but I thought I owe it to my students. I prioritised teaching so it wasn’t hard for me to balance. Both roles are fulfilling as both have their own kick. When a student comes to you for help and you sit down to explain, seeing understanding in his eyes and when that shows in the results, you feel very fulfilled. Similarly, when you are acting and when people appreciate you and tell you how they couldn’t recognize you because you totally got into character, that is very fulfilling as well,” he says.

‘I feel like whatever character one plays has its own importance because billions of people are getting together to see you perform. So that matters to me more than rubbing shoulders with foreigners and then coming home to boast that I worked in Bollywood or Hollywood’

Tahir says, until his teens, he had no such plans of being an actor when he was young.

“My father got me into this field where I initially gained experience in theatre and TV. At that time, Alhamra Arts Council’s Hall #1 was being inaugurated and it was playing my father’s play. I was supposed to be part of a crowd amidst the Pakistan Movement. In this one scene, I am supposed to get shot and fall to the ground. And so when that happened, that was the first time I heard the sound of applause from the audience. That really encouraged me. The second time again my father got me this part in this play which was written by Ashfaq Ahmed and was being directed by Muhammad Nisar Hussain. I was just an extra in that play. At that time also, I had no aspirations to be an actor because I was a shy person. It seemed hard and a bit of a pain to act. But my father made me do it. However my first major character was in this play called “Mujrim Kaun?” It was played during Government College University’s 125th anniversary. And after that I became more and more interested in acting,” he explains.

Tahir says in all three mediums of acting that encompass theatre, TV and film, one needs to work on the character, the physicality, the mentality and the script analysis the same way. The technique is different only. All three excite him equally.

“If I am to judge only on the basis of technique, then I enjoy doing film a lot. I like to underplay, because in films, underplaying leaves a lot of impact. Times have changed. Those times have gone when exaggerated acting worked. When the camera zooms on your face, even a tiny muscle you move is being noticed. That is detailed working and I thoroughly enjoy that. Although I have done only one film so far, but I have enjoyed it thoroughly,” Tahir tells me.

It’s been a while since he’s been in the field and his career must have given him a lot of memorable moments. Tahir agrees by saying, “A lot of small incidents happen when one is acting, because it is all field work. You are shooting in different places with different people. When I was acting for the first time in this play that my father was directing, that entire experience was something I learnt a lot from in terms of body language, tones, stresses, pauses, etc. So luckily for me, it was the start of my career and the experience helped me understand. The second time something memorable happened was when I was doing soap with an Indian team. I would say I don’t look back fondly at the way I acted, maybe because the director demanded exaggerated acting. So that was the time when I desired to become a director. So these two experiences, one in the form of learning and the other in the form of unlearning and learning again have stayed with me.”

Tahir’s grandparents have been legendary writers and so have his parents. His older brother is a reputed actor in Hollywood.

“I am very blessed that I come from a family of legendary writers, actors and broadcasters. I have never felt the pressure because I always knew I wanted to carve my own identity so that people will not find similarities between my acting skills with those of my father or my brother. I didn’t aspire to grow under the umbrella of my family. So that’s why I never felt that pressure heavily. My advice to the current generation would be not to feel any pressure and be themselves so that people identify you according to your skills only. I have a very close-knit family and our bond is very strong. That’s why I relate to everyone in my family. My father and I have done a lot of work together that’s why I relate to him a lot and I feel like we make a great team. My brother Mehran and I are very likeminded so I relate to him a lot as well. Similarly, my daughter and I are also very likeminded.

Bollywood and Hollywood are every Pakistani artist’s dream. I ask Tahir if he also aspires to cross the borders and work in an international market.

“Never. I have never thought about it neither am I interested. I feel like whatever character one plays, regardless of market, country or culture, has its own importance because billions of people are getting together to see you perform. So that matters to me more than rubbing shoulder with foreigners and then coming home to boast that I worked in Hollywood. Having said that, if someone approaches me from Bollywood or Hollywood, wanting to cast me, I would not say no to that. But as far as respect and recognition is concerned, by God’s Grace, I am getting that from my own country,” he says.

Published in Daily Times, September 23^rd 2018.