Haris Waheed as Shayan in drama Bas Tera Saath Ho, is entertaining audiences in a role that’s been part taken on many times over and yet, part original makeover – as if this was the very first time we’ve seen a spoilt brat take on the oft-beaten track of villain-negative character, rolled into one. This, because Haris has perpetually reinvented the character to give it a signature spin – a skill audiences are beginning to club him with, and in a good way. Which is why we think it’s a great time to revisit the characters that stayed with the crowd long after the drama called it a day.
There are actors and then there’s Haris Waheed. The role might be one we’ve seen onscreen a million times over, but almost as if he reads your mind, and before you mentally slip into the ‘been there, watched that character before’ mode, Haris will add a twist to the role and make it his own. It’s for instance how Shayan rocks off the chair when speaking to Mursaleen in the office, or how Umar in Tumharay Husn Kay Naam quietly slips into the greenest flag you’ll ever see without being performative, or all set to impress the girl without grand gestures or dialogues – just being a regular, relatable guy – the toughest acts to pull off onscreen. Or even Anas, dear Anas in Pamaal, who lost in love every time, even though it wasn’t really his fault, and Tabraiz – the very dark villain who still managed to reserve a spot of sympathy despite his unequivocally dark deeds. Haris Waheed has perhaps been one of Pakistani Drama Screens standout showmen, snatching the limelight in subtle, yet surprising (and unpredictable) ways.
And this is why his characters deserve a revisit for all the times he’s made us forget that it’s been written and done before – but not quite like this.
Shayan in Bas Tera Saath Ho
Shayan has gone rogue multiple times in the scope of the drama. With 38 episodes down, one would wonder how many times can a dark, negative character, a Pakistani household spoilt brat reflected off the screen in multiple stories, still manage to catch some eyeballs, but he does. It is in Shayan telling his friend he needs to use the toilet at a peak story moment, or feverishly scanning the room he has to escape from, and grabbing a taxi sign when it’s a matter of life and death, or inventing a random term for Faham that clicked with fans – ‘Fish Faham’ to show his derision and make the audience laugh despite all else. Shayan has even sparked conversations on whether it’s really him or his parenting that is to blame for the utter mess this character manages to create around him.
And that’s the skill an actor brings with him when he’s not just acting out the motions but making them his own.
Tabraiz in Jaan e Jahan
This man lost in love, tragically poetic, brought up by a woman who fought her own demons and hence, held inside him, a turmoil of emotions that failed to survive a world that was often of his own making, and often, a product of what he was destined to become. Tabraiz, despite the very dark world he inhabited, managed to win our sympathy vote, his final scene depicted the story of a lost, misguided soul, and yet again, even though we knew he was meant to meet his end, it pained audiences to watch him go. Tabraiz evoked human emotions, striking at the grey in the storytelling and giving us a character who scratches beneath the surface to reveal a complex personality that craves attention, love and acceptance – in Tabraiz we saw a child who received none of these and hence, embraced the darkness.
It is an art to be able to conjure up so many emotions in the average Pakistani drama viewer, and Haris Waheed managed to do just that with a character that haunted viewers throughout the story.
Anas in Pamaal
Anas did it again. He made us feel sorry for him. And it wasn’t in the grand emotions or tear-jerking dialogues, but in the expressions, the mood, the trembling hands when he sat in Raza’s house for the first time, taking in the grandness of it all, knowing that he’s met a challenge he might not be able to overcome with all the love in the world. Haris Waheed and Saba Qamar shared an endearing chemistry onscreen – him, totally in love, her, friend-zoning him every time, and yet, one wished they could be together, although knowing that that’s not where the story lay.
Sometimes, they say the drama isn’t just about the lead characters but the ones that make it happen around them. And that’s why Anas was so significant in Malika’s story. He showed us what could have been for her, and yet, what tragically, was never meant for him. Not every actor can deliver a sensitive character who stays just on the edge of the story and yet, keeps audiences invested.
In a powerful tale such as Pamaal, Haris Waheed did that twice in the screenplay and every time, it made us sit up and take note.
Umar in Tumharay Husn Kay Naam
Umar was a welcome surprise as was the storytelling in Tumharay Husn Kay Naam. From giving us a complex character marred by his parents fragmented relationship, to a regular guy who gave off green flag vibes, a bit of self-deprecating humour, a lot of ordinary yet extraordinary, Umar managed to steal audience sympathies yet again. It was in the way he interacted onscreen with Sarah (Maha Hassan’s character), the way he mentioned his past relationships and accepted hers and even in the way he accepted a runaway bride. It was also the way he bonded with Sikander (Imran Abbas’ character), his father, over heartbreak – a thread that had us sway emotionally between the father-son strained relationship to a wholesome comfort watch, all in one story. Haris managed to make Umar – a character we had never seen before onscreen, so normal, so relatable and yes, so refreshing for Pakistani drama screens – deeply non-toxic and deeply relationship-worthy at the same time.
Pakistani dramas have fielded multiple character roles, penned stories that are different and then again, not so different, some set apart and vividly original and some, not so, but it is the actor that is able to stand out by using his craft not to take on a new role, but a role that’s been done often enough, and yet, make it his very own – that’s the one to watch.
And that is exactly what sets him apart from the rest. It’s when the comments section applauds his art and Pakistani drama fans remember the role long after the curtain falls on the story.
Haris Waheed is one such actor who has proved his mettle, not once, but many times over.
