Budding actors, Aashir Wajahat and Romaisa Khan are starring in an indie movie, John. Find out more!
The movie John seems to be a promising watch and is set to release on the 14th of July all over Pakistan. The movie casts Saleem Mairaj, Aashir Wajahat and Romaisa Khan, Faiza Gilani, Rashid Farooqui, Mohammad Ehteshamuddin, Tabish Mughal along with Raza Samo. Produced by Fizza Khanum and written and directed by Babar Ali.
The movie is set against the hustling bustling backdrop of Karachi’s vibrancy and volatility. John delves into themes of love, life, death and violence while urging society to re think certain connotations. Promising a gripping portrayal of the city’s streets with a premise that is raw, authentic but also one that demands change, John seems to be an awakening of sorts, brought to us by a young cast to solve issues affected mostly by the youth.
We hosted Ashir Wajahat and Romaisa Khan at the FUCHSIA HQ for a joint “John” interview. We grabbed a quick minute to chat with them about their film, career choices, their role in the movie and what they hope audiences will take away from the movie.
Aashir Wajahat As A Singer Or An Actor?
While chatting about Aashir’s singing videos going viral, we wanted to know if he puts one of his passions before the other? Where does his heart lie? Does he prefer being a singer or an actor? We discovered Aashir is young but worldly, with a razor sharp focus. His response to our question: Singing vs Acting confirmed our hunch!
He responded, having starting his career with acting, “Obviously, I have immense love for music, I think the process of making music is what I enjoy much more, you have much more control”. But he adds, he is at the same time getting more opportunities in acting and secondly, feels he loves music more but overall, is still learning the ropes in both his passions. So for now, he will be focusing on acting but music remains very close to his heart.
Romaisa Credits Her Fame To Tiktok
Romaisa rose to fame through her Tiktok content and we wanted to know if she believes that it had a big part to play in her journey to the silver screen. She agreed a 100%, “If Tiktok wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be here” She thanked her social media journey to be able to get on the silver screen in only a span of 5 years (since she began her digital journey).
Aashir Has His Parents Cheering Him On
Aashir’s parents are filmmaker, director and producers: Wajahat Rauf and Shazia Wajahat who have given us formidable projects. We were curious, were they onboard with his choice to take on acting or hesitant? He let us in on the fact that they were thoroughly supportive because they are in the same line of work themselves so they supervised him along the way, mentoring him as well. It sure might have been different if they weren’t in the same industry. “My father is a filmmaker and he would love for me to be in films as well but my parents were never forceful and would have been just as supportive If I had chosen a different career.” He adds fortunately for both him and his dad, he ended up developing a love for films.
Challenges On Set
The trailer shows how raw and authentic the sets are so it led us to talk more about the challenges they faced on set.
Romaisa: “It was challenging, the location was tough, no sets, real locations, as its an indie project. The resources had constraints but it has been a true experience of a lifetime. It has taught me how to be patient, how to handle things in life with so many learnings and it was all worth it!”
Aashir: “It was challenging but very fun, I think when we were shooting it 16/17 hours a day we didn’t really get time to understand what was truly going on but realised when we saw some footage.”
Expectations From Characters
Every character/role has expectations from the actor, goes without saying. Aashir and Romaisa spoke about their respective roles in John.
Aashir: “John is very different from my real personality and that in itself is a great challenge. He is a naive, vulnerable guy. Dialogues only help you till a certain point, what comes next is the body language, the emoting through eyes but we had rehearsed a-lot before so I was satisfied. “
Romaisa: “Maria’s character is very introverted and shy, far apart from my personal jolly, upbeat self. The role demanded a lower middle class girl who is shy yet independent, marries a guy she loves, has her own opinions, takes a stand and has a strong personality.”
Any Conscious Effort In Appearances?
Aashir mentioned he had lost a lot of weight for the film, so we asked the two actors if there were any other conscious efforts they had made in regards to their appearance.
Aashir: “My weight was really less, I had planned to get into better shape but the character required me to stay that certain way for over 8 months. It was unhealthy and I wanted to get fit. I had to keep my hair long which got difficult to manage, the layers of makeup everyday in the severe heat further put my skin through a struggle.”
Turns out, both the young actors were on an opposing path! Read on to know why…
Romaisa: “I was actually way healthier than my current self and lost a-lot of weight while shooting.“ Nothing drastic was done apart from that, she was carefree and had fun because there was no makeup or looking good at all times.
First Impressions
The two only had good things to say about their first impressions of each other. What exactly though? Scroll up!
Aashir: “I was a fan of her videos and had initially reached out to her to be a part of my song. I was blown away by her ability to play with her expressions and somehow we ended up doing the same film. We ended up becoming great friends in 2/3 days of the shoot.”
Romaisa: “I have known him since 2020, heard him singing and loved it, more importantly it was during the shoot she realised, Aashir’s a gentleman.”
She made it a point to commend him and when she met his parents, Shazia Wajahat and Wajahat Rauf, she made sure to tell them how well they have brought up their sons. “I was expecting a burger boy, who would be really spoilt.” She mentioned she doesn’t vibe with those kind, being a more desi kind of girl but Aashir has a great quality of adapting to whom he is around, has no superiority complex and is really down to earth.
Movie’s Possible Take Away
Last but not the least, we wanted to figure what do they hope audiences will take away from the movie?
Aashir sure is young yet wise, he said it’s a cruel world, it’s vital to become mature and smart early on because if you wish to navigate the world around you, you have to be thick-skinned and take care of yourself. While he also shared a bigger hope: may other actors and filmmakers get incentivized to make projects like this, it’s a risky direction but hope it opens paths for people like Babar And Fizza.
Romaisa spoke about how people are liking the trailer and the response so far has been great. She felt passionately about this kind of content and fresh faces being given a chance. She reiterated, people want to see fresh faces and there’s no lack of talent so the industry must work towards that.
We sure hope the indie project will be a good watch and are excited to see some fresh faces in the screen!
Have A Look At The Trailer Here:
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