A professor once called up his students and asked them to make a line. He then called out to all those who had fathers to support them financially, to take one step forward. Next he asked all those who looked to their mothers for financial assistance, who were sons or daughters of influential people, who had some financial legacy bequeathed to them and lastly those who had some prior bank accounts or financial backing from family members or relatives, to take one step forward at each question. So that, those with the most assistance from their families were arranged towards the front of the class while those with the least took to the back. The professor then said,
“If there was a race that led to success, your positions now would most likely be your starting points”
Which meant, the ones at the last would be farthest away from the finish line and the ones at the front would be the closest, just because of their background!
Which is why when the media sensation Imran Ashraf urf Bhola, says:
“I was a struggler, I am a struggler and I will remain a struggler,”
we not only connect with him, but also understand how difficult his journey must have been through all those years and how immensely he would have had to struggle to reach the point of his career he is at today.
By the way, did you know Imran Ashraf’s career as an actor started way back in his childhood? Oh yeah! And that too with a multitude of star studded cast of Boota- from Toba Tek Singh, which was a PTV classic drama, written by Khalil-ur-Rehman and consisted of Faisal Qureshi, Mishi Khan, Maria Wasti as well as Farah Shah. We wish we could say the child star’s career reached a peak from there on, but that wont be true!
One instance of bad acting made sure Imran repented it for years afterwards! A HUM TV drama serial, “Wafa Kaisi kahan ka Ishq”, directed by Dilawar malik was where everything went wrong, for Imran’s acting was so bad that the head director wanted to cut his scene off. As a result, no work came his way for a good deal of 3-4 years.
During this time the actor saw a very tough time. He had to sleep on the floor, had no place to stay, no money and had to live a life whereby he struggled on a “day to day” basis.
But then, he got a role of a Mawali for drama serial “Ab kay saawan barsay” but if you are thinking this is where Imran got his break, nah- there were still oceans to cross for it! Because, after playing four consecutive negative roles, he got branded as a “standard villain”! The decision to take a break from negative roles didn’t quite prove to be successful for him, as the actor revealed in his recent interview at Nadia Khan’s show “Croron Mein Khel”
“Choice voice nai hti hum jaise actors kay pass”
So he worked on his skills day in and day out, repeating after the actors while standing in front of the television, trying to get his Urdu straight and ditch the nervousness which he felt every time while acting. That was when he decided that he would take every role, no matter how big or small.
“Whether you have a few scenes or a few lines or no lines, there is a definite margin to perform in every role that you do. It all depends on the actor,” Imran Ashraf
Which is why, you now see not an actor with a “Greek standard” body who has heroic looks, nor has the “tall dark and handsome” attire like your prince charming from the fairy tales, but a modest looking person with a disarming personality who would charm his way into your hearts simply through the amount of struggle he puts into his role, whether a lead or a supporting one. Every drama that he becomes a part of starts to be known by his name, and he outshines the most star studded cast, through sheer hard work and struggle!
And then one fine day, Humayun Saeed contacted Imran Ashraf for a role in his upcoming drama serial “Dillagi”, and yeah now you can say it aloud! Imran Ashraf got the break he needed and surprised us through his stellar performance as Dastageer.
One after another hit followed from there on including Farooq Rind’s “Gul-e-Rana”, whereby his supporting role earned him a nomination at the Hum Awards. Other roles included that of a hooligan in ‘Sadqe Tumhare’, a teacher in ‘Iltija’ and an obsessed lover in ‘Dil-e-Jaanum’, all executed with perfection!
He also happens to be a writer and in fact wrote the script for drama serial “Tabeer” himself, which was recognized by Ahson Taalish for its potential and later got the due recognition!
His role as “Shammoo” in Alif Allah and Insaan got him the due recognition, whereby he played the role of a transgender and added soul to the entire drama. He was awarded the Hum Award for Best Supporting Actor for Shammo in Alif Allah aur Insaan.
Who remembers Sunny from Drama serial Lashkara, who played the antagonist in such a beautiful way that he had us all wishing Bubbly chooses him over Feeka, who happened to be the protagonist! Such is his charm!
And then comes his performance as Bhola in drama serial “Ranjha Ranjha Kerdi”. No amount of praise can do his stellar act any justice so we would just let these clips speak for them self!
“I have been walking this path since day one, I’ve been fighting to give Imran Ashraf an identity… Imran Ashraf will write his own destiny.” Imran Ashraf
Team APD Prime wishes you all the very best!
