The countdown to his movie has begun and actor Faisal Khan cannot hold his excitement. He faced the camera after 11 years for the movie Chinar: Daastaan-E-Ishq which is hitting theatres this Friday. “I am very excited. I have given my best to the movie and now want to see how the audience responds,” he enthuses. Chinar… Adapted from an Urdu novel ‘ Jheel Jalti Hai ’, the movie is directed by Sharique Minhaj and also stars Inayaat Sharma, Dilip Rahil and Shahbaaz Khan.
The story is based on Kashmir but is not about the usual themes of terrorism or Indo-Pak relations. “We have tried to bring back the magic of Kashmir’s beauty in the ’60s. The film is about relationships and how they change due to circumstances,” he states. Faisal was attracted to the movie as his role has grey shades. “A script is the hero of every film. No actor can rise above the script,” he states. Faisal says he feels energised looking at the present talent in film industry. “I began my career as an assistant director and it is quite exciting to look at the new technicians and it is a learning process.”
It has been a long break since 2003 when Faisal stopped acting. “There were no right scripts and it was a conscious decision to take a break,” he avers. Commenting on the reports of his mental condition, Faisal observes, “I went through a tough phase. There were rumours of me being mentally unstable and I am not blaming my family or anyone. There are some forces above human beings which we have no control over.” He credits his values for surviving the phase. “I believe in God and I think it because of the values that my parents instilled in me that I have been able to come out in flying colours,” he states.
Faisal has been working as a ‘script doctor’ with the Aamir Khan productions. “As a script doctor, my job is to evaluate scripts for Aamir Khan Productions and provide inputs after the narrations,” he says. It was during one such narration that a director offered him a role that Faisal rejected. “After my secretary knew that I am interested in acting, I got Chinar’ s script and when I read the script and about my role in it, I liked it,” he recalls and adds, “Aamir knew about my film. Since I am working there, I needed to take permission for leave to shoot.”
Faisal calls himself a student of life and says philosophically, “I have been a learner all my life. Even during good and bad times, I keep learning,” he says with a smile. Faisal’s next is a romantic thriller titled Mental Khan by M&S Films.
