The rising star Samar Abbas Jaffri divulged details about his heart warming stories, his inspirations and who was the one person who was there for him during it all! Scroll on to find out!
Samar Abbas Jaffri, an actor, model, guitarist and a great singer. This young guy is not just one budding star but also shows a high potential of making it big. Currently starring in the highly viewed drama, Mayi Ri he is winning hearts. Mayi Ri talks about the heart wrenching journey of a child bride. It courageously aims to challenge cultural boundaries and inspire a sense of responsibility as a society. Produced by Dr. Ali Kazmi and Fahad Mustafa, the project aims to change societal mindsets, is directed by Meesam Naqvi with its concept, storyline and characterisation by Sana Fahad.
Samar & His Family
While divulging details about his personal life, he shared how he belongs to a family of 5; his mother, father, an elder sister and his paternal grandmother including as he termed it “his baby Floyd (his pet dog, a German Shepherd)” which he says he fought really hard to get. He did his schooling from City school, Karachi and Lahore Grammar in Lahore. He even revealed he has lived in Bangladesh for a year, which is where he started his school life. Having moved multiple times between Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, him and his family finally moved to Karachi about 2 years ago. Born and raised in Karachi, his roots are in Mirpur Khas, where his father is from.
Who Discovered His Talents?
When we asked about how he discovered his penchant for singing and acting he revealed, he remembers going to his Chachu’s house in Mirpur Khas, where he would be made to practice his vocals and model in the garage just for fun. He says:
“It has been there, my family found it and as for acting, when I did the play Ponay 14 August, tou meray Ali chachu nay mera fan page bana dia, back in 2013. He remembers his Chachu’s advice who said “agay social media ke game hai, tum dekhna!”
He adds, “He would always promote my work on social media and more than half of the people watching it on YouTube would be my family members.”
His Special Appreciation For His Mother
He remembers while not enjoying his studies, he was really good at all the sports in school, be it basketball, cricket, football or badminton. As an outsider he does feel bouts of anxiety around his success because his journey wasn’t simple or so to say, easy. He shared – it’s been 11 years and now he got his big break onscreen and it’s really the belief he had in himself that kept him going. He conveyed special appreciation for his mother:
“All thanks to my mother who would take me for all my shoots, commercials, would be there on sets and auditions sitting from day to night even though everybody would be waiting at home, she would be there for me.”
He also credited his two uncles (Chachu’s) for having discovered his singing and acting talents and further encouraging them.
Lessons In Staying Humble
He appreciates his family for making sure the rising fame doesn’t get to him,
“I have observed in friends and generally in the industry, jis din ap kay ghar walo nay maan lia kay app kuch hai, uss din say meray khayal say downgrade shuru hai. I am actually glad they dont show it”
Sharing an anecdote for the above, he said he recently went to Mirpur Khas to visit family and his dad sent him in a bus, so his manager was rather surprised and spoke to his dad about how and why he sent him in a bus to which his dad replied: “betay ko zameen pay rakhna hai humnay.” Samar said he is actually thankful to his family for this habit of theirs.
He spoke about humility and stardom: Being humble is super important, I have learnt this from Messi, who is the best athlete in the world, but he still never accepts the fact and would never take his name if you ask him. “Mai tou phir ek chota mota actor houn”. Even Shahrukh Khan is such a helpful star who is kind and supportive to everyone around him and teaches them. If such big stars are so humble, what reason do I have to not be?
His First Memorable Performance At Ali Zafar’s Concert
While he further told us how he had been participating in singing competitions in school, he continued to do that through his school life and his chance to shine was when performing alongside Ali Zafar. He got the opportunity through his manager who was also managing the event and decided to do it for free because there were so many big stars, but the performance went so well and crowds were so energised, they ended up paying a good amount as a token to appreciate him. He also revealed he was really nervous going up there to perform with such big names who would then follow. Best part? Samar dropped hints at starting his concerts again very soon!
A Super Shy Guy
Girls, he also admitted he is super shy and would rather faint than express his feelings to a crush. He says he is bad at expressing his feelings, but the good thing is he has a guitar and can sing them instead.
“People think I am really rude, it’s a common misconception about me it’s just that I am too shy, and I can’t talk.”
What impresses him in a girl is the way she converses, when she knows what to say and when and secondly her dressing sense but the very first thing, he notices in a girl are her eyes, “I see the eyes.” After all, eyes are the windows to one’s soul, no?
A Quick Fun Q & A With Samar Abbas Jaffri!
1. How did you get into the drama world?
Samar: I had auditioned for several production houses before. One day, I got a call from Big Bang. They were looking for a fresh face and they asked me to visit their office for a screen test. Got lucky and bagged the role.”
2. What made you venture into acting?
Samar: The fact that I always wanted to be in the shoes of my favorite people back in my childhood. I used to say, “Kaash main inki zindagi jee raha houta”. Acting gave me a chance to explore different souls and emotions which I believe is something similar to what I always wished for.
3.What convinced you to do Mayi Ri? Was it something particular in the script?
Samar: I loved the script when I went for narration. I genuinely wanted to play Fakhir with all my heart because I fell in love with his character. Maybe, Fakhir is the reason why I chose the script.
4.Who were your role models growing up, would you say they have changed in the current years?
Samar: I loved watching John Cena back in my childhood. The reason why I went on with a “Never Give Up!” Attitude in my life, ha-ha. Other than him, I look up to Lionel Messi and Ali Zafar as they’ve taught me the real meaning of humility in life 🙂
5. If you could only listen to 3 singers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
Samar: Ali Zafar, Arijit Singh & Auj Band.
6. What does your typical Saturday night look like?
Samar: Me lying on the bed with my guitar or maybe doing some stupid stuff with my crazy buddies.
7.How do you maintain a balance between work and school? Or plan to?
Samar: I leave studies! HAHAH, just kidding. It’s tough honestly. You’re working 12+ hours a day and once you are home, you’re not in that state of doing anything else except for sleeping. But it can be manageable if you have good teachers who understand your workload and are willing to help you out with homework and assignments.
8.What drama/tv shows are you currently binging?
Samar: Not a big fan of TV shows or Netflix series but watched Gumraah recently and I loved it. Currently waiting for Madaari and John to go on OTT platforms so that I can watch some quality Pakistani movies as well.
9. What’s next for you?
Samar: Hmmm… you will soon find out 😉
Hope you enjoyed this quick, fun chat with Samar Jaffri and if we get the hint, it’s possible we are going to be seeing him very soon in something new! Until then here’s an unplugged jamming session with him below!
