Abrar Qazi: ‘I never planned to shift to Mumbai’

While most of us head to Kashmir dreaming of haseen vaadiyan and khula aasmaan actor Abrar Qazi spent his childhood in Srinagar dreaming of something else mdash becoming an actor That dream eventually brought him to Mumbai The city initially overwhelmed him with its crowds traffic and relentless pace but today he canrsquot imagine life without its hustle After brief appearances in Laila Majnu 2018 and The Family Man 2019 followed by a successful run on television Qazi is now gearing up for Tu Hi Re Dil Mein He speaks to midday about finding his footing in Mumbai embracing television and playing a classic greenflag heroExcerpts from the interviewHow does it feel to have come this far in your journey without any industry connectionsI think God has been kind and my motherrsquos prayers have worked It has been seven to eight years since I became a part of this industry but I still have a lot to achieve Irsquom grateful for the opportunities Irsquove received in this city Coming to Mumbai and starting my career as an actor was completely fatedriven I always wanted to become an actor but I never knew how I would make it here because I had responsibilities back home and never planned to shift to Mumbai My first two projects Laila Majnu and The Family Man happened while I was still in Kashmir I auditioned from my hometown Thatrsquos how things startedAbrar Qazi as Sanjay and Simran Rawal as Swati n lsquoTu Hi Re Dil MeinrsquoHow difficult was it to adjust from the open spaces of Kashmir to the chaos of MumbaiIt was a huge culture shock For the first few months I genuinely felt I wouldnrsquot survive in the city There were so many people so much traffic and activity I had never experienced anything like that I remember stepping out of the airport and feeling a blast of hot air I asked my friend lsquoIs it always like thisrsquo Then he took me to his apartment in Versova I walked in and asked lsquoWhere is the flatrsquo He said lsquoThis is itrsquo That was another shock But over time I fell in love with Mumbai The city gives you freedom Now when I go back home it feels a little quietWhat attracted you to Tu Hi Re Dil MeinWersquove all grown up watching TV Being offered a lead role on a major channel was a huge opportunity for me People often say male leads donrsquot get much to do on TV but my experience has been different Even in Yeh Hai Chahatein I got some wonderful scenes and a character with many layers Thatrsquos also why I liked Tu Hi Re Dil Mein It offered me a layered characterTell us about your character Sanjay in Tu Hi Re Dil MeinSanjay is a simple calm and grounded person Hersquos the classic green flag guy through and through The story revolves around how he gets caught in a complicated situation when he finds himself torn between two people and the circumstances surrounding themHow do you continue improving your craftChoosing the right scripts is important I once heard that half an actorrsquos talent lies in selecting the right projects and I believe thatrsquos true TV teaches you discipline The audition process is rigorous and actors become incredibly prepared Give a TV actor a tenpage script and theyrsquoll learn it in an hour At the same time it can make you complacent if you stop working on yourself You can become a better actor or worse actor depending on how seriously you take the craftJune 8When the show was initially set to launchDid you knowDuring his college days Abrar Qazi used to mimic Shah Rukh Khanrsquos signature style so frequently that his classmates nicknamed him after the Bollywood superstarPrior to filmsBefore becoming an actor Abrar Qazi pursued a masterrsquos degree in journalism because he wanted to work in mass media ldquoBack home opportunities in filmmaking and acting were limited so journalism felt like the closest thing to the world I wanted to be part of I even created a few stories for a local channel That experience strengthened my desire to work in front of the camerardquo