The leading pair of upcoming film ‘Balu Mahi’ recently visited Lahore for the promotions and we managed to get a one on one session with the pair where we put them on the spot and asked them some super fun questions. Here is the Rapid Fire session we did with the cast. Enjoy!
( We have not edited the interview much as we wanted you, the readers, to get the original flavor of the conversation)
If you could be invisible which actor/actress would you stalk?
Osman: Deepika Padukone. I would go full-on R-rated with that shit man.
Ainy: Meryl Streep, might be boring but she is a brilliant actress.
Osman: *coughs* And Osman Khalid Butt!
Ainy: Iss ko toh mey already stalk kerti hun bus issko pata nahi hai . Apparently, I am very good.
If not acting , what alternate career choices should the following people pick:
-Humaima Malick
Osman: Like a lifestyle guru, she should have her own goop style blog ( Goop is a weekly lifestyle publication, curated by Gwyneth Paltrow)
–Bilal Ashraf
Osman: Modelling.
Ainy: Yeah, modelling.
-Ainy Jaffri/Osman Khalid Butt
Osman: Ainy, a fitness guru.
Ainy: Osman is so multi-talented, he could be a journalist, he wants to direct as well. He already has five six million things that he wants to do, so woh kuch bhi kerley ga.
-Hareem Farooq
Osman: Hmm… she should be a talk show host.
Ainy: Producer maybe?
-Danish Taimoor
Osman: Like a gym owner, a trainer.
Who in this industry is someone you get along with so well that you would even call them at 4 a.m?
Osman: Maya Ali
Ainy: I would call Obi, we have spent the whole year together.
What is the craziest thing a fan has done for you?
Osman: Uhh, stolen my boxers. Yup, they were stolen backstage during a theatrical performance, somebody just came and because I had to change into this robe I rushed out and when I came back my boxers were gone.
Ainy: Done for me? Umm they have rather requested me to sign their shaved heads and their chests and that too at the airport. That was a bit strange but nothing super crazy, some fans sent me gifts but that’s normal.
What’s the meanest thing anyone has ever said about you as an actor?
Osman: That I can’t act! I mean it always hurts specially the long passages that people have written on how exactly is it I don’t know how to act but obviously being in the public eye you have to take this with a pinch of salt right.
Ainy: That she is expressionless!
If one day you woke up and you were one of the following people, what would you do?
Mahira Khan
Osman: I would call up Shahrukh and have like a very intimate conversation about his life because I want to know more about the man behind the facade, and I am sure that she has had that privilege during the shooting of Raees.
Ainy: I will be like tumey itni khoobsurat lagney ka koi haq nahi hai, not fair.
Feroze Khan
Osman: Probably take my shirt off and stare at my perfect body and take ten thousand selfies and upload them and be like FK Power.
Sohai Ali Abro
Osman: I would dance, I would dance like nobody is watching cause I think she is a phenomenal dancer.
Hamza Ali Abbasi
Osman: Delete my facebook account.
Ainy: I would stop writing such long facebook statuses.
What is the funniest rumour you have heard about yourself?
Osman: That I am married to Maya and have two healthy kids .There was also this article that came out saying Osman Khalid Butt enjoying with Maya and his children! Meiney apney director ka bacha pakra hua tha apney haath mey and somebody said that it was my kid. This was hilarious! Infact I just came to Lahore, my entire family lives here, so I came yesterday after a whole days worth of promotions and they were like acha tum Dubai gaye huey they na Maya Ali key sath apni shaadi ki shopping kerney key liye I was like I went to Dubai for the promotions of my movie, I didn’t go to Dubai to do my marriage shopping just because I took a picture outside Pull and Bear that doesn’t mean that I was shopping for somebody’s dowry.
Ainy: That I have a daughter and I am divorced.And now I think yeh toh phir bus kisi ka agenda hai key sab key bachein hain.
Kill, Marry, Befriend?
Mehwish Hayat, Mawra Hocane, Sajal Aly.
Osman: Marry Sajal, Befriend Mehwish because I don’t know her, Mawra toh meri purani dost hai toh kill her.
Bilal Ashraf, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Shehryar Munawar.
Ainy: I am already married so I don’t want to marry anyone, Befriend Shehreyar, Kill Nobody.
Two or three Worst things about your co-star?
Osman: In the first spell right before every shot Ainy would take a 15 min break to go to the washroom, so waiting in the cold would be kind of tough, umm… what else? Uh I think it’s a challenge working with her, I am quite jealous because you know we share alot of screen space and you know there’s this competition going on key scene kis ney ley liya and I think she has won that battle more times than I have and that as an actor you get very frustrated with like when somebody else steals your scene. The third thing is more of an envy thing like I envy how straight forward she is and how she doesn’t mince her words I am not like that so yeah you kind of hate the positives about other people too.
And as for Sadaf, one thing that I hate about Sadaf? Key yar woh toh superstar hai, humey subah uthna perta hai ussey nahi uthna perta so you know woh apney time ki maalik hai.
Ainy: Osman is very self deprecating matlab he criticizes himself alot.
What is the worst fashion choice you have ever made?
Osman: So whenever I get out of the house I have a style that I describe as hobo chic so you know I am wearing mismatched pajamas and chappals aur wahan pey rastey mey koi miljata hai and you know my hair is all messed up and somebody is like selfie I am like han han sure and you know when I look at myself in the selfie I am like WTF? so yeah you know it’s very hard this balancing act where you are kind of trying to have a public image as well and yet stay true to yourself.
Ainy: Yar I make them all the time, there are too many, when I am in a rush I just put on anything like my pyjamas, I go out in my night suit alot.
What is the one advise you follow in your professional life?
Osman: Be professional, it seems like a cliched answer but trust me it’s hard in this industry and I suppose another thing is that I don’t fall into the trap of politics whether it’s petty politics because all that does is waste time because instead of thinking work you’re thinking oh XYZ said this. Actually this is something I struggle with but now it’s been like 2017 resolution of mine that you know no more. I would not even entertain these thoughts, for me I think in this industry the biggest advice you could give anybody is be ignorant cause ignorance is a bliss. Focus on your work and that’s it.
Ainy: It’s a never ending learning process, you know you’re always learning.
What’s your geatest insecurity as an actor?
Osman: Umm it’s something that always remains in, like every time I give a shot and the director says it was very good let’s move on, I always think that I could have done a fifty thousand times better job than what I did, so the worst thing is, I start overthinking about it and when you’re supposed to go home and relax and de-stress I go like yar uss scene mey uss shot mey meiney yeh q nahi kiya.
Ainy: It’s to be believable as an actor well no that’s not my greatest insecurity it’s my lack of thinking in Urdu because 90 percent of the work I do is in Urdu and I wish that I also thought in Urdu, it is improving with time but I need a stronger grasp on it.
Among the recent Pakistani releases, which role do you think you could have performed better?
Osman: Armeena in Janaan. On a serious note I think everyone has done a fantastic job somebody asked me this question before too and I said Adeel Hussain from Ho Mann Jahaan and you know the reason for that is, you have seen Ho Mann Jahaan right so his character goes through this very major change, he quits the band right and then he finds out that the band has got this big break with coke studio so I have been in that spot, not exactly the same but I have quit something and found out that that thing has gotten suddenly very huge and I have been on the other side as well I have had people quit my play and then had a huge outcome so I feel I have kind of lived that, that particular plot line.
Ainy: Armeena’s role in Janaan. Uh shit she’s a friend.Do you guys agree? I dont know. Yeah definitely but no wait should I change this I feel bad. She will hate me, we’re friends. :/
Do you have any hidden talents?
Osman: Well I don’t think anything is hidden anymore but I think I am a quite skilled pole dancer.
Ainy: Oh by the wayI am a good dancer too, is that hidden? did anybody know? oh and I also know gymnastics.
How do you balance work and your professional life?
Osman: I suppose mera toh yeh hai key I live in Islamabad so I do a project whether it’s Karachi or Lahore or wherever mey wapis islamabad bhaag jata hun so you know I have my friends there my family there, my loved ones are there so that’s what I do basically the second my project finishes I just go back to Islamabad and reconnect with everyone and I think that’s what keeps me grounded as well.
If you could time travel would you go to the past or future? and why?
Osman: I would go to the future man, past is the past, we know about it. We watch series like Outlander and god knows how many period pieces so I think the future is something that is unknown, I would like to witness that.
Ainy: I would go to the future, I have made alot of mistakes in my past but I have no regrets so everything has led me to today so I am happy with the way things have been in the past,uh well I wouldn’t even go to the future I like surprises and I am happy living in the moment.
Money or Fame?
Osman: Fame. Neither actually. Umm a good role.
Ainy: Money.
How important are your fans for you? How do you connect with them?
Osman: I think I am pretty cool with my interaction with fans since my Youtube days, like I respond to comments on Instagram on Facebook generally whether it’s praise or critique. I am generally very open to both. Umm jo log post bhi banatay hain instagram pey the collages that they make all the oboholics and the osmayas so yeah I think I have fun interacting with fans. It humanizes you like woh aik parda hath jata hai, where you’re not just this unattainable object. You’re real human being like I share my flaws,so like I will post an awkward picture of myself and you know have a funny caption out there so I think that kind of works. That’s my personality, I don’t put up any airs or affectations for my public persona.
Ainy: They are everything, they’re very very important. I mean they are the reason behind all our hardwork. Well they are just very important!
What advise would you give youngsters wishing to join the industry as an actor?
Osman: Always believe in yourself because nobody else is going to believe in you and if you don’t believe in yourself then don’t expect the world to believe in you. Project self confidence, work at your craft always, never become complacent, never think acha mey pohanch gaya hun cause that’s where the downfall will begin. Always strive to take positive criticism and critique from people because that’s how you will grow as an individual.
Ainy: Just be ready for perseverance and hard work. It’s not all glitz and glam as a alot of people they see the glamorous side when we are infront of the camera, taking photos and stuff, they don’t see the hardwork and sweat and tears that go on behind the screens .
Also would want to ask the parents and guardians please let your younger generation enter this field because the thing that hurts me alot is that people of a slightly older generation even my own parents and family think there is this negative connotation when it comes to media and that is very prevalent in all standards of society.
Recently mujhe aik baat achi nahi lagi thi, there was this women who was like acha app film mey arahi hain, app hamay bohat pasand hain and then she turned around to her friend and I don’t know how to speak punjabhi but I understood she said Hayee Bichari pata nahi kis kaamon mey lag gayi hai and I understood every word and I was like you are appreciating what I am doing at the same time you’re insulting me for it. Don’t watch tv. You know you guys watch dramas, it’s the ladies of the country actually and that’s why dramas are mostly female oriented. This is something very important that I want to get out. You know they watch it, they celebrate it and at the same time they curse us and the hypocrisy is mind boggling but it’s there. I think everybody knows it key aye haye acting kerna hai nahi baita yeh hogha, log aisey sochein gey so this is just something that hurts me as that we work as hard as anybody else! I think if you’re good and you treat people well and you act respectively in your profession people will do the exact same with you. Jaisa app kertey hain waisey hi app key sath hogha, burey aur achey log har industry mey hotey hain.
And on that note, the Rapid Fire comes to an end. The film hits cinemas this friday guys! We cant wait to see the film and already have our tickets booked. What about you? Let us know what you think, in the comments section.
