Babar Ali is a seasoned and versatile Pakistani television and film artist who recently garnered praise for his iconic filmy performance in ARY Digital’s mega-budget drama series Main Manto Nahi Hoon, which was written by Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar and directed by Nadeem Baig. The drama remained the talk of the town because of its captivating storyline, performances, and the presence of legendary actors like Saima, Asif Raza Mir, Saba Hamid, and Babar Ali. Main Manto Nahi Hoon garnered 500 million views on YouTube and around 1 billion across all digital media platforms. It also trended in the form of edits on social media, especially of Babar Ali and Saima, who were fans’ favourites in the series.
Recently, Babar Ali opened up about stealing the limelight in Main Manto Nahi Hoon among an ensemble cast.
On Vasay Chaudhary’s question, “It was a star-studded show, and despite not being the main lead actor, you stole the maximum limelight.” What does it feel like?” Babar Ali replied, “Let me tell you, Vasay, I start all my projects with conviction and faith. When I got the script, as we mostly get father’s roles, I also got the call from Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar, who said, ‘Babar, check this script by yourself.’ I then said okay, I will read it. It was Bin Yamin’s character, which I did with full honesty, and Allah gave me immense success. Although I had only a few scenes, I couldn’t even think that Allah would give me this much success. When I am given a script, I just start doing it and keep in mind what the director demands from me. We also put our efforts but mainly I am concerned about what the director needs from me. At that time, I don’t think of the outcome; I just focused on the performance. Those viewers who watched Main Manto Nahi Hoon expected my lines with Saima, but there were no lines between us when we had an encounter. I had a silent scene to perform, but I made it believable, and it was loved by the and was also used in edits but in reality I didn’t even shoot it with Saima.” Watch here:
He further added, “Landa Bazar was a different genre. Yes, it was also written by Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar. It depends on what the writer has in his mind regarding an actor. It is always great working with KRQ. He knew that I am capable of doing well in his dramas like Landa Bazar and Main Manto Nahi Hoon. Alhamdulillah, I was the only lucky actor or character who was praised in the reviews among the negative ones.”
Talking about his slap scene with Humayun Saeed, Babar Ali said that it wasn’t real and they used film technique for it, and Humayun acted so well that it looked real. Watch here:
