Spoof: Khalid Malik shares how NOT to become an actor in Pakistan

KARACHI: In today’s day and age, social media has become the driving force behind a lot of decisions. How well something will be received online (or not) is a major concern. Speaking of the entertainment industry, topics explored in projects have also been affected by it, hence creativity suffers. Similarly, an actor’s worth has boiled down to their social media following instead of their craft. In a recent video, actor, producer and RJ Khalid Malik shares his tongue-in-cheek take on what NOT to do to become an actor in Pakistan.

Many actors feel sidelined due to lack of popularity; it’s as though their market value has decreased because of some so-called social media ‘stars’ overshadowing them. Highlighting what has become the grounds for getting work in the industry, Khalid Malik reveals the following.

1. “If you are a trained actor and are very passionate about acting, you can’t become an actor. Forget about it, brother. We don’t need a trained actor.”
2. “If you come on set on time and give your 100 per cent to the character, you can’t become an actor.”
3. “If you don’t have at least 40k followers on Instagram or 100k followers on TikTok, you can’t become an actor. Followers are more important, you don’t need talent.”
4. “If you want the budget to be according to your talent and calibre, you can’t become an actor.”
5. “If you expect to get the money on time 0r ask for it, you can’t become an actor at all.”
6. “If you don’t want to be a part of a group or lobby and just want to do good work, you can’t become an actor.”
7. “You know how much character actors are in demand outside Pakistan. Here they are valued too. ‘Character’ actors for roles of protagonists’ brother or sister.”
8. “If your complexion is slightly off, your nose is a little tilted or you have got a lot of hair on your shoulder, you can’t become an actor.”

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In between sharing these valuable notes, he also hinted at how the budget is low when it comes to paying talent as opposed to those who are rising on social media or the ones not committed to their work. However, towards the end of the video, he reaffirms that hard work pays off. “Who told you, ‘you can’t become an actor’. You CAN become an actor in Pakistan, you can become anything and everything. All you have to do is, believe in yourself; your hard work will definitely pay off,” he concluded.