He was 16-years-old when he appeared in commercials and now he has become one of the most promising leading actors of Pakistan. From a model to a host and then an actor, Azfar has masterly added many feathers to his cap.
Azfar got his break in television in 2006, as the host of a celebrity talk show ‘Spotlight with Azfar Rehman’ and then his journey continued from then on. He has done numerous dramas and tele-films and now he is coming up with his first film ‘Main Manto’ . He can best be described as a passionate, impressive and effervescent personality. This year he is among the Best Actor nominees in the LUX Style Awards for his role in New York sey New Karachi.
In an interview with Sunday Plus, Azfar talks about his journey in entrainment, his choices and future plans.
Having a degree in advertising, for a short time Azfar worked for an advertising agency Interflow before joining television. We asked him about his break in the industry. “My first serial was ‘Kesa yeh Junoon’, in which my co-star was Ayesha Omer. Rana Anty wanted to launch a new couple through that serial. Before this, I was Khawar’s model and doing my talk show. She saw me and called me for the auditions.”
Azfar says that before coming in serials, he was planning of going abroad to continue his studies. He belongs to a family of professionals. “I am the only one in my family who joined showbiz. In my family, there are chartered accountants and majority settled abroad. My family was very supportive. When I was in college and university I did not take any money from my dad. I used my own money which I earned from modeling so they have always been very encouraging that I work and live on my own.”
On asking about the things he considers while taking up a new project; he mentioned three things, “I always look for three things: director, story line and what my character is all about.”
Azfar tells us that he considers his acting skills very average. “There are two types of actors in this world. One is method actor and other is natural actor. I don’t think acting is something which can’t be learnt. Initially I was keeping it very simple but now I think I am going towards methodic acting. The character which I played in ‘New York sey New Karachi’ is methodic acting in which you will not see real Azfar.
Azfar has worked in many tele-films and dramas. He says that there was only one role which was challenging for him. “I did a Tele-film for PTV, ‘Ye Gurya Meri Hai’ in which I played the role of an autistic person. Then I got the call from India to work in PK movie for the role of Sarfraz. After playing this character, I think it’s a big achievement for me that a director approached me.”
Asking him about his dream role or any other role he wants to do, the actor responded that it has yet to come. “May be I want to play a role of Devadas. (Laughs)”
Azfar also shares his experience of working in his upcoming film ‘Main Manto’. It was a fantastic experience. It is a dream team. Working together was like a dream come true. I worked opposite Mahira Khan. My role was very different and I remember, there was a lot of pressure on me that time because Mahira’s Humsafar recently got super hit so that team had already given a successful drama therefore I had to give my extra efforts too.”
The actor future adds that he does not feel comfortable while working with new directors. “I was offered a film in which there were four boys and four girls. I don’t like to work in this sort of projects. Basically I don’t want to see myself in rush like working with so many characters. I like doing lead roles,” says Azfar.
Anchoring still remains the first love for Azfar besides acting. “I like doing talk shows more. Hosting is something I love doing. Recently I have hosted ‘Veet miss super model’ context.
After having a career talk we ask him about his real life. To which he said, “Fun loving, very calm, relaxed and love to hang out with friends.”
When ask about what he loves most about Karachi? Azfar mentioned that he loves Lahore and Islamabad more than Karachi. “Though I am based in Karachi but I love Islamabad and Lahore. What I like about Lahore are its people, temperature, general atmosphere and its night life. Karachi is too fast according to my life. I am a little late back person so Lahore feels better to me.”
Azfar believes that there is a need to educate our audience. He is of the view that in our dramas a women are deliberately portrayed as victims , according to him this should change. “I think we need to educate and relax our audience. We have seen that woman is always a victim and her life gets ruined. We should break this ice. We should come with some change that if something happens with her, she gets over it, stand again and appear as a successful woman. If we made these types of stories, this will bring a positive change in society and mind sets of people will change also.”
There are also some things that he does not like about entertainment industry. “I think there is some rudeness here in the people. In the life of an actor, nothing is hidden, if you are successful, everyone knows this and if you are not, people also know that you are not the screen. We work in the surrounding where we have to keep whole audience happy and industry happy.”
When we ask him about the best aspect of being an actor, Azfar says, “Best part of being an actor or celebrity is that you can convey your thinking and opinion to the people and your followers. You can tell them your approach. I am a very pro education person. I think people need education.”
Lastly, we asked about his future plans for which Azfar mentions that soon he will be opening a production house. “I want my own production house. I will start producing. I have produced couple of tele-films and I want to do more.”