Afzal Khan, more
popularly known as Jan Rambo, has spent a lifetime entertaining the Pakistani
audience; it was almost two decades ago when Khan played the character of Rambo
in PTV drama Guest House — this role earned him a title he is proudly living
with till date. The actor is currently co-hosting the Express Entertainment
morning show, Rambo, Sahiba aur Aap which he feels is based on the idea of pure
entertainment. Despite his love for dramas and TV shows, Rambo feels strongly
about Lollywood.
“Not many films are
being made right now, but if you say this is a permanent thing, then I am not
ready to accept it,” says Rambo. “Maybe not today or tomorrow, but films will
be made again because when it comes to entertainment, the biggest medium is
ultimately film.” However, at the same time, he is content that new
developments are taking place in film-making; TV actors and directors are
entering the film scene.
“Being a hero in a film
is like becoming the president of some institution. I will do films no matter
what happens,” he exclaims, adding that doing films is a part of his future
agenda. “Some friends of mine in television have started making films which is
a good thing but they will have to integrate people who are actually associated
with this industry.” He feels this is integral because until this is done, “the
project will have the risk of looking more like a long play as compared to a
commercial film.”
Rambo has also been
connected with Punjabi theatre apart from doing the occasional film; Shahid
Rana’s Dunya is one of his latest films.
Television drama
Times have changed
since Rambo first stepped foot in the industry and although his acting skills
and leading man looks have remained intact, he feels the industry has changed
drastically. “Earlier, there was only one channel so there were more opportunities
[to learn]; now, there are a lot more channels so actors have become busier
than ever,” he says, adding they have less time to prepare for their roles.
“Before, we would spend the entire week thinking about how we would perform our
specific role.” He feels it’s more about quantity now and less about quality.
Rambo believes the TV
industry has retained its focus on romance and drama themes in the past few
years and this has left little space for action or comedy; he feels films of
all types should be made. “If you look at India or Pakistan, they both produced
an array of films in the ‘70s but now, in India, only one type is being made —
action-comedy,” says Rambo, explaining this is due to the medium becoming a
pure commercial one.
He admits he wanted to
produce films but took a back seat because of the circumstances in the film
industry. “I’ve wanted to make a comedy film for a while now, but these days
it’s all about action,” he continues. “I had considered the commercial value of
doing so as well but then the industry’s situation was not that healthy
either.” However despite these hindrances, Rambo says if he ever makes a film,
it will purely be comedy.
As far as acting is
concerned, Rambo says he feels it’s time to branch out; he has succeeded as a
comedian and now wants to experiment with different characters also. “I have
done comedy for years and have earned respect for it also. So now I want to try
out different roles, maybe even a negative one,” he says. “The issue is
whenever an actor does a certain character really well, directors and producers
seem to permanently fit him into that specific role and don’t let him become a
versatile actor.”
Published in The
Express Tribune, February 4th, 2013.
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