Interview | Pak actor Humayun Saeed would like Manoj Bajpayee to play his role in hit show if remade in India

Celebrated Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed recently made waves with his impactful and much-awaited role in Netflix’s hit show The Crown, as Princess Diana’s lover, Dr Hasnat Khan. A meaningful role that marked the Pakistani actor’s foray into an international production of this magnitude, Humayun Saeed is busy making Pakistanis proud. Now, Humayun Saeed's widely-loved Pakistani romantic TV drama Mere Pass Tum Ho is releasing in India. The seasoned actor spoke to WION about his hit show releasing in India, why he thinks Pakistani content connects with Indian audiences, and his 'wishful' plans of travelling to the neighbouring country with family on vacation. 

Here are the excerpts from our chat here: 

WION: Your Pakistani show Mere Pass Tum Ho has been quite a success and now that it is releasing in India, how does it feel?

Humayun Saeed: Mere Paas Tum Ho is a show which was extensively loved in Pakistan and enjoys a huge fanbase. It brings me immense pleasure as Zee Zindagi DTH is all set and prepping for the huge launch of the show on a greater scale to reach even wider audiences. I hope as it did in Pakistan, the show receives a lot of love in India as well.

WION: Your character in the show, Danish, goes through a lot of emotions throughout the show owing to his wife’s cheating antics. How connected do you feel with Danish and do you think love is enough to sustain a romantic relationship?

Humayun Saeed: Danish and I have completely different personalities as he is comparatively more simple and more naive than me, but emotionally, I believe he and I are quite alike. As my wife and I have been together for about 25 years, like my character Danish in the show, I don’t want my marriage to end up like that because I love my wife. I sympathise with my character for the way his story ended.

WION: You are the producer of the show as well, so hypothetically, if the show had to be made in India, which Indian actors would fit the lead cast?

Humayun Saeed: I would love to perform the role of Danish if the show was remade in India. Among the Indian actors, (After a lot of thinking…) I believe Danish would’ve been best played by Manoj Bajpayee, and the stunning Arjun Rampal for Shehwaar’s character.

WION: Why do you think Indian audiences connect with Pakistani content?

Humayun Saeed: I think the simplicity of the characters is the connecting point for Indian audiences to Pakistani content. 

WION: Do you think OTT has helped blur the lines between the two countries with content from both India and Pakistan being exchanged and viewed?

Humayun Saeed: The OTT culture in Pakistan hasn’t developed as rigorously as it has in India and TV continues to remain the most popular medium for entertainment in Pakistan. However, I view a lot of Indian OTT shows on platforms like Netflix and Amazon and continue to support and love their work. 

Meanwhile, YouTube remains a platform that helps in blurring the lines as fans from India have consistently watched our dramas on the video-sharing platform. Zindagi too helps provide fans with cross-border content. 

Also read: Beware! Scammers are now using Barbie craze to scam you of your money

WION: At a recent event in Dubai, you mentioned that you’d want to come to India. Are there any filmmakers that you’d like to collaborate with?

Humayun Saeed: Visiting India has always remained on top of my wishlist apart from going there for work. I miss having vacations with my family and meeting all my fellow actors like Sharad Kapoor, Amir Khan, Gulzar, etc. I truly wish the barriers would open and we could visit each other’s events and celebrate together as artists.

WION: Any Indian actors and filmmakers' work that you watched recently and liked?

Humayun Saeed: There are multiple names that I would like to mention but my favourites remain shows/movies like Jubilee, Mirzapur, Sacred Games, Delhi Crime, Gangubai, etc. These shows and films have amazing actors who have performed phenomenally well.

Mere Paas Tum Ho will air in India on Zindagi channel's DTH services on August 2. The drama features Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan and Adnan Siddiqui in leading roles. 

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.