If we had a nickel for every time a Pakistani telefilm has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube, we’d have exactly one nickel, because that’s the number of times this feat has been achieved: only once!

Geo Entertainment TV movie, Ruposh, recently became the highest viewed television content online in Pakistani entertainment history, becoming the first local release to cross the 100 million plus views mark on YouTube. The film – which was also a ratings hit when it aired on television – reached this milestone within two months of its January release, and also trended at number one on YouTube in Pakistan for 10 consecutive days, remaining in the top trends for a month. Not only that, but its reviews and reaction videos were also popular globally on the streaming service among Internet users from countries including India, UK, USA, China, and Germany. How impressive is that!

The tale of a good girl (portrayed by Kinza Hashmi) who falls for a bad boy (Haroon Kadwani), Ruposh was written by Nooran Makhdoom, directed by Ali Faizan, and produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi under the banner of their production house 7th Sky Entertainment. And they are all understandably excited about the unprecedented success of the project. The cast and crew recently held a party to celebrate the movie’s various record-breaking achievements, with a number of A-listers – including the likes of Feroze Khan, Imran Ashraf, Faisal Qureshi, Moomal Sheikh, Nadia Hussain, and Saboor Ali – joining them at the gala to cheer their success.

“Ruposh was a special one in many ways, especially because it was one of 7th Sky Entertainment’s signature projects,” Abdullah Kadwani tells Instep. “Like every other project, we put in all our hard work to bring together the best content for our audience.” He says a lot of planning, effort, and thought went into Ruposh from the beginning of its journey, and that he is pleasantly surprised by its reception. “We stand here today, we see it has broken all records and created history! Did I expect this? Not at all. We all knew how much work went into this but to cross 100 million views in just two months and creating many other records including the highest ever GRPs (gross rating points) in the history of Pakistani telefilms or setting a new benchmark for the industry is not what we had envisioned. We are truly blessed to see how Ruposh has become yet another accomplishment for us.”

Haroon plays the protagonist Salaar Shah, a troubled young man still dealing with childhood traumas that are continuing to cast a shadow on his personality and life. Why do antiheroes in general and angry young men in particular make interesting protagonists? “As a society we see many Salaar Shahs facing the same harsh reality,” Haroon answers. “Shadows from the past that take over their present. The problems parents face in their relationship later tend to overshadow their children’s personalities – it’s a reality that exists. It’s not just about antiheroes; I believe whatever the viewers can relate to, whether it is an antihero or not, will make it an interesting watch for the audience. Something they have an emotional connection to, or something they can learn from, be it parents or the children themselves. That is why angry young men make interesting protagonists – their personality is commonly found within our society.”

The actor says that working on this project and essaying this role was quite challenging. “Working on Ruposh wasn’t easy,” he reveals. “I put my blood and sweat into this. 22 days of madness – worked day and night, which I believe is the hidden secret behind such appreciation, although I never thought that it would become such a massive success. I am extremely humbled and gratified to see the record-breaking numbers since my telefilm released.”

Haroon feels that Ruposh is special to each viewer in its own way and that there are several reasons it has won the hearts of its audience. “It is one of the only projects to have portrayed a tale of romance between two young college students with unexpected twists of revenge, betrayal, and heartbreak,” he says. Haroon feels the elements behind the film’s success include “the onscreen chemistry between [the protagonists] Salaar and Zooni that was adored by our audience, the wonderful direction by Ali Faizan, powerful storyline, phenomenal OST, and amazing production values.”

Speaking of the production, being the son of acclaimed producer Abdullah Kadwani must have its perks. Has his father given him any advice for his acting career? “My father Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi uncle have always been my biggest mentors,” he replies. “Without them it would have been impossible to achieve such success. They are true visionaries, the driving force of my motivation and the pillars that stand by me at every step. They provide critique which encourages me to perform better which is why I am truly grateful to this dynamic duo. I’m more than blessed to have Abdullah Kadwani as my father because he has always advised me to stay humble, focused, dedicated, to work hard, and to stay honest with [my] work.”

And that is precisely what Haroon plans to do. He promises us that he is working on something very interesting at the moment that will hopefully arrive on our screens soon. We can’t wait to see what this young man does next.