Haris Waheed has never really been the actor who needs to constantly prove that he belongs in the room. Currently being seen as Shayan in Bas Tera Saath Ho, he has taken on a character that is easy to dislike but not quite as easy to dismiss. Shayan is flawed, makes questionable choices and creates his own mess, but Haris doesn’t see him as your typical villain. There is something more complicated going on underneath, and that seems to be exactly what made the character worth exploring.
We sat down with Haris to talk about Shayan, why he eventually said yes to the role, and what goes into judging his own work when he isn’t particularly interested in seeking validation from everyone watching. The conversation also moved beyond acting, into his relationship with Allah, his curiosity about the world and the surprisingly simple things he believes can bring a person peace.
This article is an excerpt form FUCHSIA Magazine’s YouTube interview.
Shayan Is Not Your Typical Villain
For Haris, the most interesting thing about Shayan is that he isn’t simply a “bad guy” who can be neatly placed into one box. When asked whether Shayan’s personality comes from being neglected by his parents or being spoiled by them, Haris pushes back on the idea that there is one straightforward explanation for everything the character does. He believes Shayan isn’t inherently bad, even though the choices he makes eventually catch up with him.
What makes Shayan particularly interesting is the idea of redemption, or rather the lack of an easy one. Haris explains that while second chances exist in life, they don’t necessarily mean everything goes back to normal. Sometimes you get the chance to realise what you have done wrong, but you still have to live with the consequences and clean up the mess you created. That distinction seems to be important when understanding how Haris approaches Shayan.
It was also part of what made the character challenging to play. Haris explains that there wasn’t an enormous amount of material on the page when he initially took it on. Bas Tera Saath Ho was being written while it was being shot, meaning even the actors didn’t know exactly how the story would unfold. They had an idea of where the character arcs were headed, but not necessarily how they would get there. Shayan, meanwhile, was often reacting to the larger events happening around him rather than driving the story himself.
That could easily have made the character feel like a filler role, but Haris found his own space within it. The process involved a lot of collaboration with director Qasim and the team, and eventually, the character clicked for him. And perhaps that is why Shayan feels more layered than the usual television antagonist — there is an attempt to understand the person behind the actions rather than simply playing him as someone audiences are supposed to hate.
Why Haris Waheed Said Yes To Shayan
The decision to play Shayan wasn’t exactly immediate. Haris had already worked with Qasim on Jaan -e – Jahaan, so the director’s call was certainly one reason he listened. The project had been discussed for around two years, gradually taking shape before finally moving towards airing. At one point, Haris had even decided he wasn’t going to do it.
Then the timing worked.
He was already working on another project with the same team, the conversation around Bas Tera Saath Ho came back around, and Haris eventually decided to go for it. What followed wasn’t necessarily an easy character to play, but it was one where he felt he could find his own space.
And that seems to be quite central to Haris’ approach to acting in general. When asked whether he seeks validation for his work and how he knows whether he is doing a good job, he doesn’t really seem interested in waiting for someone else to tell him he’s doing well. Instead, he describes a constant process of observing himself and being critical of his own work.
For him, useful criticism is worth listening to, but not every opinion deserves to become something you carry with you. Acting is subjective — something can work for one person and completely miss the mark for another. Haris says he tries to separate genuine criticism, the kind that helps him grow, from the noise that comes simply because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
There is something quite freeing about that approach. Instead of chasing approval after every project, he seems more interested in remaining his own critic and continuing to observe, learn and improve. The validation, if it comes, comes later.
From Allah and Travel to Finding Your Own Peace
The conversation with Haris eventually moved away from acting altogether and towards something much more personal: his relationship with Allah and the way he makes sense of the world around him. He talks about having a curiosity about the world from a young age — looking at the sky and wondering what exists beyond what he can see, wanting to travel, experience different places and understand their histories and significance.
For Haris, travelling isn’t simply about escaping a routine or visiting somewhere new. It is also about feeding that curiosity, experiencing things for himself and finding signs of a higher power in the world around him. He speaks about having the freedom from childhood to carve out his own understanding of his relationship with Allah, rather than simply accepting a definition handed to him.
That same idea of finding meaning for yourself comes through when he talks about peace. His answer is surprisingly simple. He mentions breathing properly, getting morning sunlight, sitting on the grass, spending time with family and talking to the people you love. None of it sounds particularly complicated, and perhaps that is the point.
For Haris, peace isn’t necessarily something grand that you have to search the world for. Sometimes it is in the most ordinary things, depending on how you choose to see them. As he puts it, “You can see peace in anything, honestly. Depends on how you see it.”
And maybe that connects all the different parts of the conversation — from playing a complicated character like Shayan to dealing with criticism, questioning his own work and understanding his relationship with Allah. There doesn’t seem to be a single fixed answer. Whether it is a character, a career or life itself, Haris appears more interested in observing, questioning and figuring things out for himself rather than simply accepting what is placed in front of him.
