A long way from Hollywood, actor Faran Tahir shared his
experiences and love for the performing arts with the audience at The Second
Floor (T2F) on Sunday.
Famous for his role as a villain in the movie based on
Marvel’s superhero, Iron Man, Tahir has worked along the glitterati of
Hollywood, including Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman and Kevin Bacon. He also played
Starfleet Captain Richard Robau in the 2009 film Star Trek.
But what he counts as an achievement was being able to
convince the director and producer of Iron Man to change some parts of the
original script which depicted Muslims negatively. Instead of portraying the
bad guys as belonging to one religion, the altered version showed them as
soldiers of fortune who were in it for the money, Tahir explains.
“After seeing the script, I spoke to them [director and
producer] and explained that it was a superhero movie, in which the bad guys
can be mercenaries,” he said while speaking at the T2F. “To my delight, they
saw the point.”
According to Tahir, who has appeared in over 40 television
shows like Supernatural, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, the script writers do not
know the reality. “They don’t know what we are like in real life and it is not
their responsibility to clear misconceptions about us.”
It’s not all glitz and glamour
Born in the United States, Tahir initially decided to
graduate in business and economics but then realised his passion for the
performing arts and studied theatre at University of California, Berkeley and
Harvard University.
Formal education in acting was important for him. “In my
case, it was better to study theatre. I was trying to create a niche for
myself. I didn’t have friends or the network and I can’t change the colour of
my skin, so I needed to be better prepared.”
When he started his career, Hollywood wasn’t making roles for
South Asians. “I have seen my share of tough times. I have even lived off my
car. But I guess once you make a decision, you find ways to survive.”
Nevertheless, times are changing as filmmakers create movies
for a global audience, he said. “Hollywood cannot cater to American people
alone.”
More people from this part of the world are writing and
producing, he said. “Still, people should protest if they feel that we are
being wrongly portrayed in movies and injustice is being done.”
Pakistan and the arts
Tahir admits that being a Pakistani brought challenges in his
acting career but he took a stand when needed.
Commenting on Pakistan’s entertainment industry, he said that
Turkish soaps were being aired because they were cheap.
“I believe there is value in home-grown issues which are
better appreciated. My problem is that if we don’t start working on that now,
valuable creative people might start leaving the industry.”
Winning an Oscar is not Tahir’s ultimate goal. “There are a
lot of great actors who didn’t win an Oscar. For me, the achievement is
recognition of my entire work.”
Tahir is appearing in four movies due to be released this
year, including The Tomb where he will appear alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Sylvester Stallone.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2013.
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