Actor Nayyar Ijaz is always looking to improve. Primarily commended for his “baddie” roles in drama serials and films, he has a great amount of well-received work under his belt. With the will to constantly test himself, and acting veteran Robert De Niro as his inspiration, he is all set to take on more challenging projects. Clad in blue jeans and a tan coat, Ijaz talks to The Express Tribune about the trajectory of his acting career.
Over the course of his profession, he has taken up some difficult roles, but he feels they weren’t demanding enough. “I have never gotten [to play] a character that has truly challenged me. I have always had to make it challenging myself,” says Ijaz. The fifty-year-old actor shares that he wanted to become a cricketer in the mid-80s, but had to return to Quetta from Lahore owing to his father’s illness. It was there that he was discovered by chance at a clothing store owned by his friend. He was completing his matriculation at the time, but his husky voice and captivating demeanour led to a television director casting him for a PTV drama.
Despite being part of an industry that thrives on young faces and the newest ‘IT’ actor, Ijaz seems undeterred. “I don’t ever wonder how things would’ve been for me if I were younger,” says Ijaz. “I have wanted to improve with each role, both as an actor and artiste. I always look around to compare my work with those of others. That way I can easily assess how I’m doing.” Ijaz has inarguably done justice to the mantle of acting and set the bar high for novices in the industry.
The gravitas and maturity that is etched onto his face has not been a hindrance, but a boon for his career. “Since the very beginning, people felt that I looked older than I was. So I was offered a wide range of roles,” Ijaz recollects. The eclectic roles that he has portrayed make him one of the most sought-after actors in the Pakistani entertainment industry. He has now signed up for a film in India, details of which he cannot disclose at this time. “I am very blessed. I have a project in hand. Once the dates are confirmed, I will be able to disclose more but I have never gotten an offer like this before,” he says.
He feels that directors and producers from the Pakistani industry have been myopic in their approach to work. “It’s unfortunate that our directors haven’t broadened their horizons and attempted to improve. They only have one slogan, “unnu ki pata, unnu ki pata” [what do they (the critics) know, what do they know?],” says the disillusioned Ijaz.
Due to the nepotism and cronyism that have long marred the entertainment industry, quality work doesn’t receive its due appreciation. The directors and producers, who intend to make a lot of money with nominal expenditure, plot to get leading actors on board for pittance. Acting is a profession that requires a will to survive and infinite patience, says Ijaz, who reveals that he was paid a meagre Rs300 for his first film.
Ijaz feels that actors have had to struggle in this country because art has never been respected. “Film-makers think they can still make us work today at the eight-anna [cents] rate of the ’80s. I believe it is because of this mindset that we have had issues… Work cannot continue like this,” he states assertively.
Despite the problems that he has highlighted, it appears that he is still being able to receive the dividends from years of hard work, and has multiple new projects in the works locally. The actor is currently involved in a number of upcoming Pakistani cinema projects. He will be starring in Operation 021, a film by the mother-son duo Zeba Bakhtiar and Azan Sami Khan. In addition, he will be working in Shehzad Ghafoor’s The System and Jami Mahmood’s Moor.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2013.
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