Touching base with Mirza Zain Baig

Mirza Zain Baig is one of the most talented and diverse artists to have emerged in recent years. Having started his career as a model, Zain made his small screen debut in 2016 with Nadeem Baig directorial production Dillagi that featured Humayun Saeed and Mehwish Hayat in lead roles.

After essaying a prominent role in drama serial Naulakha (2018) alongside Sarwat Gilani and Kiran Haq, Zain played Yumna Zaidi’s loving husband Saadi in Mehreen Jabbar’s Dil Kiya Karey that came to an end, earlier this year.

The model-actor also portrayed the character of Faizi, a simple and introverted young man in the now defunct Mera Rab Waris. According to Zain, Faizi is one character that is closest to his heart.

Presently, the actor is starring in three drama serials – Dil e Gumshuda, Malal e Yaar and Aas. In Dil e Gumshuda, which airs on Geo TV, Zain essays the character of a selfish and avaricious Nadeem. Besides Zain, the drama features Hina Altaf, Amar Khan and Agha Ali in key roles. However, in Malal e Yaar Zain is playing a feudal lord’s son called Malik Balaj and it won’t be wrong to say that he is doing a commendable job in all his projects.

“I believe an actor has to prove his craft by portraying diverse roles whether it is negative or positive,” Zain told Instep on why he chose to do a negative character in Malal e Yaar. “I never thought I would ever play the part of an antagonist so early on in my career but after reading the script I thought this is something I have to do. Even though, Balaj comes from a typical feudal background, and does things as he pleases, I would not call him completely negative. He is an antihero and he will slowly change his ways,” he said.

When asked how difficult or challenging it is to essay a villainous character, the actor responded, “In my opinion, portraying an antihero requires conviction and skill because if an actor who is playing a dark character isn’t believable or fascinating, it means losing the audience.”

He continued, “Essaying the role of Balaj was quite difficult for me as it was the first time I was portraying the role of an antihero and I was quite sceptical whether I would convince the audience with my acting. It is very important to do your homework and I did my research. I also observed the mannerisms of feudal lords, the way they talk, they way they walk and I made sure that the look (with the help of designer Umar Sayeed) was such that it made the character more believable and relatable.”

A chartered accountant by qualification, Zain firmly believes that an actor shouldn’t be afraid to experiment. “I have mostly done positive roles [in my career] and if an actor doesn’t have diverse roles to his credit then what’s the point?” he questioned.

As far as selecting roles is concerned, Zain shared that what matters to him the most is how substantial the role is. “I am very picky and before signing up for a part I make sure that it is bold. I also take into account whether I will be able to pull off the role or not. And of course there is the script, the production house and who is directing the project.”

Talking about socially-relevant plays that often come across as very depressing, Zain expressed, “The fact is that television has a wider reach and is the perfect medium to create awareness about social issues. I don’t think the content has become too depressing as there is comedy and romantic dramas as well, but it all depends on what the audience prefers to watch.”

Shining a light on future projects, Zain shared that he has not signed up for a new project as yet and is waiting for the right script.

On whether he has any films in the distant future, Zain told Instep that even though he has been offered a number of movies in the past one and a half years, nothing concrete has materialized. “For an actor it is a dream come true to do a movie so if I come across something amazing I will definitely do it. I will not do a film just for the sake of appearing on the big screen,” Zain said, on a parting note.