ISLAMABAD: Upcoming actor and Internet personality Khaqan Shahnawaz has said he is a fan of Mahira Khan, one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses in Pakistan, and looked forward to sharing the screen with her in the future.
Shahnawaz, a law graduate who is in his late twenties, gained fame with dramas like “Accident,” “Barhwaan Khiladi,” “Yunhi” and “College Gate.” He most recently played the role of a Pashtun boy in the drama series, “My Dear Cinderella,” which started airing on Hum TV during Ramadan and concluded with its final episode over the Eid holiday.
“Who wouldn’t want to? I still want to share the screen with Mahira Khan and be in her presence,” he told Independent Urdu in an interview last week. “Mahira Khan is a star and I have always been a fan of hers, still am.”
Shahnawaz recalled catching a glimpse of Khan from a distance at a wedding but unfortunately wasn’t able to meet her.
“I couldn’t meet her because she came for a very short time,” he said. “But I saw her from a distance and I said, ‘That’s a star,’ because she had an aura when she was walking.”
When asked about future projects and if would like to work in an action project, Shahnawaz said action was not a preferred genre on Pakistani TV, long known for romantic comedies and family dramas.
“I think we don’t make that many dramas that fall under the action genre but definitely, if I had the option to choose between an action drama or a romantic comedy, it would have been a tough decision,” the actor said.
“But right now I had the option of a family tragedy or a romantic comedy and I went for the romantic comedy [My Dear Cinderella] because the character was very different from my real life character so I thought I should experiment and I should check if I can step into this character.”
Shahnawaz, who rose to fame as a social media star, said he still identified largely as a content creator.
“If you look at my Instagram profile or TikTok profile, I have uploaded content recently and I keep posting regularly,” he said. “My entry into acting was a lot easier because of content creation, I will say this.”
