Characters like Chacha Afzal come along once in a while. Especially in a story where Meenu and Dr. Nofil take centre-stage, it was, but a wondrous surprise to watch a character that warmed the soul, like a hearty cup of soup in winter, dunked in crusty bread to add the cherry on top, as they say. Ali Tahir essayed Chacha Afzal with a charm and originality that tugged at the heart.
He wasn’t Mr. Goody Two Shoes who preached his way into the narrative, in fact, he was quite the opposite. Chacha Afzal worked hard to retain his domain over Kesar Kala by orchestrating a sneaky coup against young, capable, fresh-off-the-boat Dr. Nofil. He also told off Meenu for assisting Dr. Nofil to stay, but it was in the way he manoeuvered his moves, and came to an eventual awakening, marking his journey, and pulling back deeper layers to his personality, that went for the win. His emotional take on courage and chivalry, past references to his father, military service, the signature Chacha Afzal khaki sweater and Meenu’s helmet, all came together to give us a man who garnered unfathomable love.
But what really hit a bullseye was his unwavering commitment to Nasreen, his support for both Meenu and Dr. Nofil, his fears as a human who might give advice too impractical yet from the heart, and then, his bouncing back again to claim his original stance – Chacha Afzal was a lesson in humanity. And here, we ask him about his experience – the character that made him, (or the man who made the character, you decide), on the sets of Zard Patton Ka Bunn
The sneaky planning against Dr. Nofil, the anger with Meenu and then the genuine warmth for her. Plus a bit of humour and then, his sadness over Rani’s death and feelings for Nasreen – Chacha Afzal has many sides to his personality. Which one did Ali Tahir love best and that made him say yes to the role?
Ali Tahir: “Bilkul, yeh script writing ka kamal hai, ke itne shades isme daale hain, aur har character mein daale hain. In various ways, mere me bhi hain, aur yeh saare shades hi hain jo mujhe is character ki taraf le ke aaye.” He continues to reveal that there was a dialogue that drew him towards the script:
“Aur ek bahut hi sweet dialogue hai, jo Chacha Afzal aur Meenu kay darmiyaan hai, in which he hands over his helmet. When I read that, I decided that I will take on this role,… I connected. The thing is about connection, interesting things happened. So yeah, this is my answer.” Rounds off Ali Tahir. And if you’re wondering about the dialogue, we have it here for you:
Banda agar zindagi mein do choton se bachh gaya na, toh samajh kamyaabi hai…
Ek dimaagh ki chot, aur doosra dil ki chot.
In do choton se Allah tujhe bachaye…
And then he adds, with his signature humour: Naaraz toh nahin hoon, magar Doctor wali baat kabhi nahi bhoolonga!
“There is so much purity in it, there is so much love and affection in that dialogue. You know, he is wishing her well. Then that monologue jo hum log kai cheezon mein chhor dete hain ya hesitate karte hain aur sahi baat bhi ho phir bhi courage nahi hoti… that was the idea behind that dialogue.” Ali Tahir’s voice as Afzal Chacha resonated with the passion we had seen on screen as he deconstructed ‘Courage’ for Dr. Nofil: “Wo cheez mujhe buhat achhi lagi ke he is pushing him towards the right thing for the benefit of others.” Ali Tahir picked up the fine lines between Chacha Afzal’s character and reminded us exactly why we fell in love with the man.
If you were to choose one trait of Chacha Afzal that you related to the most and why?
Ali Tahir: “Chacha Afzal has a purity, I feel that in me and I saw a lot of it in Chacha Afzal, l liked that.” Responded the actor, instantly showing us why, not just him, but we all connected to Afzal. He continued: “He was not actually wanting anyone to get hurt. Like if he was conspiring against Nofil, he soon realizes that kisi ka bura ho jayega, aur pooray gaon ka bura ho jayega. Toh uski wo purity of being genuine, got me.” Explained Ali Tahir.
“Hamesha genuinely baat karta hai, ye uski cheez bahut acchi lagti hai mujhe, jisse purity nikalti hai. Aur doosra, mujhe uska ek wisdom feel hua.”
The writer has mentioned Chacha Afzal was a real life character in his life. Did you feel the pressure to get it right?
Ali Tahir surprised us by revealing that: “Chacha Afzal ka jo real life character hone ki baat hai, wo mujhe nahi malum thi.”
Aha, surprise! The actor continued to reveal:
“Ye cheez mujhe about 80% through the shooting pata chali. Aur mujhe bara achha laga, kyunke nazar aata tha dil se likha hai Mustafa ne. Zahir hai khud experience kiya hai kisi ko toh likha hai. Lekin meri aur Mustafa ki is baare mein kabhi baat nahi hai. Jo accent banaya yaa, jis tarha chalne ka andaaz tha ya jo uski ek positive vibe hai us character ki, wo sari cheezein mere apne nazdeek script parh ke mujhe samajh aayi.” Explained Ali Tahir.
The Sweater Coincidence
He went on to elaborate: “Aur kyunke Mustafa was being truthful, I also wanted to be truthful to the character. Baaqi ek ajeeb si cheez pata chali, jo ke release ke bhi kuch episodes ke baad pata chali aur Mustafa Afridi (writer) ko unki behen ne kaha, keh yaad hai, Chhacha Afzal hamesha sweater pehnta tha. Aur yeh ajeeb baat hai ki jab maine script parha, mujhe yeh feel hua ki iska ek British Army ka connection hai.
So how about him wearing a cap which is army-like and also wearing a sweater?
Kyun ke baap ki usse yaad bohat aati hai, uski guftugu mein humesha uska baap nazar aata hai. Toh mujhe yeh laga ke main agar yeh sweater musalsal as Chacha Afzal, apne jisam se laga ke rakhunga, toh I’ll feel secure, I’ll feel warm, I’ll feel good. So that is why Chacha Afzal wears a sweater no matter what season. And the strange thing was, that I didn’t know the actual Chacha Afzal also wore a sweater!”
“Mustafa Afridi also revealed to me that once the children hid his sweater, and he was very upset with them!”
On Developing the character:
“Saife and I spoke briefly about the character” Revealed Ali Tahir.
“We are both professionals and have been working since a long time. Main jab ek script parhta hoon, toh for me, the character has to physically appear in my mind. Toh mere zehen mein yehi appear karta tha, ke Chacha Afzal shalwar kameez pehnta hai. Accent ka bilkul discuss nahi hua. Maine apne taur pe usko develop kiya. Aur Saife ko maine scene se pehle bataya keh main istarha karunga. And Saife was open enough to let me try it and that’s how I did it. Baaqi his walk, so I developed a walk in which he leaned forward.”
The role has no family or wife or kids. Did you know this character would do as well and become such a fan favourite?
“Chacha Afzal has no family or wife or kids, he has no one. It’s a fresh feeling.” Responded the actor, who has played multiple fatherly roles. “So that was nice.” he smiled as he thought out loud. “I had no idea this would become a fan favourite. I am obviously extremely humbled to see that. Every time you put in your best which I always try and do and when fans respond; superb, awesome, to Oscar award winner, (he chuckled), the greatest actor of all times, pata nahi kya kuch logon ne bol diya, I mean that’s kind of them.” The actor responded humbly and then revealed that: “When people start noting details (because I, as an actor, like to put in details), but when those are noticed to phir maza aata hai. Sirf mota-mota koi achha, wah-wah kar de toh wo bhi buhat mehrabani hai unki. Lekin details mein as an actor mujhe zyada wo cheez excite karti hai. So, haan Oscar award ka bhi aaya beech mein, Oscar award milna chahiye. Well, I don’t think I will get it.” He smiled again.
An incident from the sets:
Ali Tahir: “Incidents happen in every serial. There were some funny, some serious, and some interesting – one when we were riding bicycles, Sajal and myself, independently. There was a scene in the 9th episode when Rani’s entire affair happens and Chacha Afzal is in a state of distress. It was a serious scene, but as I went ahead to complete the shot, I heard a sound behind me, and looking back, I saw that Sajal had lost her balance, fallen off the bike and landed in the bushes nearby. At one instance, I also slipped in another scene and fell off, but luckily we both didn’t get hurt.”
On the joys of sporting winter wear in summer!
“Phir humne shuru kiya tha sardiyon me shoot karna. And by the end of the shoot, it was summer.” Explained the actor.” Toh sardiyon me mujhe yaad hai main sweater pehnta tha musalsal. Aur baaqi saare bechare summer dikhane ke liye shalwar kameezon mein, sirf ek layer mein. Toh wo sab keh rahe the ke aap bare lucky hain, aap bare lucky hain. But when it was summer, and I had to wear that muffler, cap and sweater, I remembered their words!” Recollects the actor smiling at the visual. “I loved the entire shoot though, there was great camaraderie between all of us, sabke saath bari achhi dosti rahi, chahe wo Nofil ho, chahe wo Sajal ho, chahe wo apne Tanveer sahib hon, chahe Maulvi ka character ho, they all knew their craft, it was a well written script, so it was great that way.” Recounted the actor.
A message for his fans:
Ali Tahir: “I want to thank all my fans who sent me good wishes, I am truly humbled.”
He reveals he has plenty of work coming in soon and a biopic he’s very excited about. So stay tuned to this space as we bring you more from your favourite characters and actors. And as we close the curtains on Chacha Afzal, we give a shout out to a character who kept us entertained, juggling a purity of the soul with sparks of humour that added many smile moments to Zard Patton Ka Bunn. Adios and cheers to all the Chacha Afzals who make this society a better place – may we be them, may we know them, and may we raise them!
Zard Patton Ka Bunn is penned by the talented duo of Mustafa Afridi & Saife Hasan. The project is produced under Momina Duraid Production & Kashf Foundation. The cast includes Sajal Ali, Hamza Sohail, Rehan Sheikh, Samiya Mumtaz, Ali Tahir, Adnan Shah Tipu, Saad Azhar, Syed Tanveer Hussain, Chaudhary Muhammad Usman, Mubashir Mehmood, Adeel Afzal, Najma Bibi, Zaryab Haider & others.
