His parents wanted him to become a bureaucrat. His teachers told him to go to Mumbai to pursue his dream. Saqib Saleem Wani, 29, decided to follow his heart and became a secret agent. At least, on screen.
He will be seen soon in a leading role in Apoorva Lakhia바카라s espionage drama Crackdown 2 on the streaming platform Voot Select. Wani acts as an agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India바카라s external intelligence agency. His character, Bilal, uncovers a threat to India바카라s security.
Wani, however, has tasted success after a long struggle바카라not only in the entertainment industry but also with the expectations of his family. His father, Mohammad Saleem, was the chief medical officer of the health department of Jammu and Kashmir. Saleem wanted his son to be a bureaucrat.
Wani, however, had experienced the pleasures of acting early on. In 1998, he acted in a drama, Ghar Ki Dahleez, on DD Kashmir, the regional TV station of India바카라s national broadcaster, Doordarshan. 바카라I acted as a thief,바카라 says Wani, 바카라and I enjoyed it very much.바카라 He was
already acting in plays and skits at his school, Linton Hall, in the Rajbagh area of Kashmir바카라s capital Srinagar. 바카라Someone introduced me to Doordarshan and my acting journey took off.바카라
A double life
Becoming an actor was, however, not an easy enterprise. 바카라People don바카라t think this is a viable career,바카라 said Wani. 바카라Everyone loves watching movies and TV serials. But they want their children to become doctors and IAS officers.바카라
His family, too, had similar expectations from him. So he took admission in a Bachelor of Commerce course at the University of Kashmir and then earned an MBA from the same institution in 2016. But he never gave up on his passion바카라acting. 바카라I would read about acting, I would perform in plays. I would read about the top actors in the world,바카라 adds Wani.
바카라All I wanted to do was act in films, in TV serials. But my family always had other plans for me. They wanted me to be an IAS officer. I was living a double life. Pretending to be serious about taking competitive exams but focusing on acting,바카라 he added.
A sacrilege
While enrolled in the MBA course, Wani bagged a role for a TV serial on Colours TV. 바카라I don바카라t think anyone had thought of combining a business degree with liberal arts,바카라 he says. 바카라It would be sacrilege.바카라 Wani feels he could have studied social sciences for his postgraduation or gone to acting school. 바카라But I got enrolled in the MBA course to keep my family happy,바카라 he says. 바카라One has to compromise at times.바카라
His family thought acting was a waste of time and energy. But his training in business and management proved helpful. 바카라MBA is all about personal development. It is about how you deal with people, and how you manage business administration. Now, looking back, I don바카라t think my MBA degree was useless. I learned a lot about businesses. And in acting, you should also know about business, economics,바카라 he says. But even as he was studying for his MBA, his teachers often told him to go to Mumbai. 바카라They would tell me that I could be a good actor and was wasting my time in a management course,바카라 he says. 바카라This was encouraging, but I completed my degree.바카라
Early struggle
Like many young actors, he began in theatre. But doing theatre in Kashmir is not easy. 바카라There is no acting school and hardly any culture of acting,바카라 he says. 바카라You have to learn techniques on your own.바카라 He moved to New Delhi, which has a vibrant theatre culture. 바카라I learned from all the great actors바카라Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan, Om Puri and Vijay Raaz.바카라
In the early days, Wani was often rejected at auditions. But eventually, he managed to bag the role of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He also assayed the role of Yousuf Shah Chak, a 16th-century king of Kashmir, who was defeated in battle by Mughal Emperor Akbar. 바카라It was very exciting to act as Yousuf Shah Chak,바카라 said Wani. 바카라His life is full of pain, love, and longing.바카라 The play was helmed by a director from Mumbai.
On small screen
Soon enough, Wani started getting roles on TV. He debuted on the small screen with a part on Crime Patrol바카라a highly popular true-crime series on Sony TV in 2012. He also played other roles, but his big break came with Bard of Blood바카라another espionage series on Netflix, where he shared the screen with Emraan Hashmi, Vineet Kumar Singh, Kirti Kulhari, and Sobhita Dhulipala.
The series was produced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan바카라s production company Red Chillies. 바카라That was my big break,바카라 says Wani, who acted as Talib, a fictional Taliban leader in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan. Talib captures four RAW agents, setting off a chain of events that comprises the narrative of the series. And what about his family members who wanted him to become a bureaucrat? 바카라They are happy when they see me on TV,바카라 he adds. From a Taliban leader chasing RAW agents to playing a RAW agent in the show, Wani바카라s life as an actor has come full circle.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Call of the Tinseltown")
Naseer Ganai in Srinagar
