<img title="Arshad Khan" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/oct/26arshad-khanhi.jpg" alt="Arshad Khan" /> Arshad Khan. Picture courtesy:&nbsp;Jiah Ali's Instagram account
The friendly voice on the other end of the phone sounds apologetic. Five minutes ago, when Rizwan Kazmi answered our call, he had excitedly asked &ldquo;mamujaan&rdquo; to wake up Arshad. &ldquo;Uske liye khaas call hai,&rdquo; he says, coming back on the line to share that Arshad has dozed off.
It&rsquo;s only 9 pm in Islamabad. Does he sleep early? &ldquo;No, he is resting. He hasn&rsquo;t slept too well since he went viral,&rdquo; says Rizwan of the 18-year-old azure-eyed chaiwallah who became an overnight social media sensation last week after a picture of him at his tea stall in Itwar Bazar was featured in an Instagram post. Catching on to Twitter and Facebook, it topped trending lists in India, too.
&ldquo;I will connect you to him as soon as he wakes up. This, by the way, is his first call from India. He wouldn&rsquo;t want to miss it,&rdquo; Rizwan says.
Over an hour later, we hear from Arshad. &ldquo;Salaam alaikum,&rdquo; says a coarse voice at the other end. Two others join in (we are on loud speaker) &mdash; one of them is Rizwan, who now identifies himself as &lsquo;advisor&rsquo; to the world&rsquo;s most famous tea-maker, and the other is Malik Faheem, his manager. Just in over a week, Arshad has appointed a team to &lsquo;manage&rsquo; him, a personal assistant, a social media group and a tour manager (mamujaan Sher Khan). The motley bunch consists of mostly family members, neighbours or friends of several years.
Also read:&nbsp;<a title="Pakistani 'chaiwala' hypnotises internet with his blue eyes, divine looks" href="http://www.mid-day.com/articles/chaiwala-tea-seller-pakistan-islamabad-hot-men-instagram-arshad-khan/17695154" target="_blank">Pakistani 'chaiwala' hypnotises internet with his blue eyes, divine looks</a>
Life, he admits, changed overnight after photographer Jiah Ali captured him making tea at a local bazaar and Instagrammed it. &ldquo;I have not been able to understand what has happened. Wherever I go, a crowd gathers and people start taking pictures. I am feeling a little lost,&rdquo; says Arshad, as Malik cuts in, &ldquo;But he is enjoying the adulation.&rdquo;
There have been conflicting reports of the Pashtun lad&rsquo;s interest in modelling and acting, but he admits, &ldquo;I got scared when the media started following me. I thought I had done something wrong. So, I told some of them that I don&rsquo;t wish to act in films or appear in ads. But, honestly, I want to become a model or actor since the opportunity has come knocking on my doors. My family supports my decision.&rdquo;
Arshad says he has already received acting offers from agents in Pakistan, as well as from brands in the US, UK, Germany and a few South Asian countries, but he hasn&rsquo;t locked anything yet.
Malik says they are planning to rope in a couple of trainers for Arshad, a class 11 drop-out, to groom him. &ldquo;Right now, he doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about not being able to speak in English or operating a Twitter or Facebook account. We are there to handle all that. But, in a few months from now, you will see a new Arshad Khan, who walks and talks like a true star, Insha Allah!"
Although political and cultural relations between India and Pakistan remain tense, with a ban declared on artistes from the across the border in Bollywood, Arshad is hopeful he will get to work here some day. As parting shot, he says, &ldquo;Thanks for making the first call from India. Hindustan mein sabko mera salaam.&rdquo;

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