Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan lets us in on a secret. He may be dressed impeccably in white slim jeans, pink shirt and fitted beige jacket, but he claims he doesn’t overthink fashion.
“The strange thing is that I don’t know what’s in my wardrobe. I have such a small closet and my clothes are [rolled up] in a tight ball. Hopefully I will get a bigger wardrobe this summer because I am constructing a new house,” said Khan in an exclusive interview with tabloid!.
The Khoobsurat actor was in Dubai last week to launch the men’s range DQ For Men for the UAE-based label Drama Queen by designer Barkha Shewakramani at the store in Business Bay. While he may be clueless about the contents of his wardrobe, his style philosophy is classic.
“I observe a lot and I try to pick out what looks good on me. I like to keep it basic and simple. Never too flashy. Remember, whatever suits you is the best, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be the trend or the rave of the season,” said Khan.
“Fawad Khan was our natural choice for my men’s label because he has become an icon of sorts after his first Bollywood film Khoobsurat. He has an international appeal too and is effortlessly chic,” said Shewakramani.
Khan made a spectacular splash in Bollywood last year with Khooburat, a fairytale romance also starring Sonam Kapoor. In Khoobsurat, Khan played a suave Rajasthani prince, Vikram Rathore, who finds his match in the flaky-but-fabulous physiotherapist Mili. Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t Kapoor who walked away with top honours: It was unanimously declared that the Pakistani creative import Khan was the surprise package of the film. His swoon-worthy portrayal won him the Filmfare Award for Best Debut this year.
“Khoobsurat was a game-changer of sorts. In fact, every project of mine has been that because it created some milestone or the other. Khoobsurat introduced me to this huge, amazing audience so close to my home. In a lot of ways it has changed my life, but the game keeps changing,” said Khan, adding that no one can ever steal the thunder from Kapoor. Just like his take on fashion, he has a no-frills view on how his career in Bollywood has taken off.
“Being a part of the Bollywood industry gives you to the kind of exposure that’s unimaginable. You also tap into this experience of technical expertise that this industry has been carrying along for several years. I didn’t take part in the industry with an agenda in mind. If it happens, great. By chance it became really big and I am thrilled about it.”
But the 33-year-old dreamboat admits that he knew he had a good chance at a warm reception in India. Much before his Bollywood film debut, Khan had already won hearts after the Pakistani serial Zindagi Gulzar Hai aired in India. He played devilish rich boy Zaroon Junaid, who finds himself falling in love with Kashaf Murtaza, a sensible girl who isn’t as privileged or spoilt as him.
An army of women swooned after his dark, desirable character and in an instant he was hailed as Pakistan’s answer to Mr Darcy, Elizabeth Bennett’s love from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
“I give all the credit of [my] success to the team. Plus, it’s safe to do that because if a project bombs, then you can always blame it on them,” said Khan, with a laugh. Painfully polite throughout our interaction, this was perhaps his sole attempt at humour. But he was back in diplomatic form a split second later.
“But jokes aside, whenever you do something with a little bit of honesty, loyalty, dedication and you are in sync with the people around, then something good has to come out of it. You get that feel-good factor out of it. But I could never have perceived how big it was going to get it.”
He has just one rule before taking on a role.
“My character has to be alive. It can’t be a mere prop and it has to have a life of its own. I need to have that space to play around and the scope to interact with the people around me. That freedom would give me a lot of margin to improvise with,” said Khan, adding that he’s making the best of what’s coming his way.
Every day, a rumour or two crops up about the Bollywood projects that he has signed up for. Doing the rounds now: A film with Saif Ali Khan in director Sujoy Ghosh’s film and rumours of him replacing actor Shahid Kapoor in Reema Kagti’s conman drama Mr Chaloo.
“I can’t make any comments on that front. Nothing has been committed or finalised. I am cautious and until it is not all penned down and until you hear it from the proverbial horse’s mouth, it is all conjecture. All I can say is that I have come across some amazing filmmakers. Now the difficult part is to make that choice. But announcements will be made soon.”
While he may be tight-lipped about his next career move, he’s more than happy to spill the beans on the compliment that floored him.
“When Anil saab [actor Anil Kapoor, the producer of Khoobsurat] dropped in on the sets, he said: ‘yeh ladka aankhon se baat karta hain’ [This boy acts and speaks with his eyes]. So when an actor of that calibre makes such a statement, you know you are doing something right … It doesn’t get better than that.”
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