Paras Masroor is a distinguished Pakistani television and theatre actor, renowned for his versatile performances and powerful presence. Born in Karachi, he developed a passion for acting early on and honed his skills at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA). Masroor’s career began in theatre, where he gained critical acclaim for his roles in various stage productions.
Transitioning to television, he quickly became a household name with notable performances in dramas like “Sang-e-Mar Mar,” “Muqabil,” and “Ranjha Ranjha Kardi.” Known for his ability to portray a wide range of characters, Paras has earned numerous awards and accolades. His dedication to his craft and humble nature make him a respected and beloved figure in the Pakistani entertainment industry.
Fashion Collection: As per our research, you belong to a Sindhi Suffi family, and your father and your grandfather both belong to the art industry (Poet, writer, musician) so being a writer and actor what do you think it is just because of your genes or you wanted to be someone else other than being an actor?
Paras Masroor: It’s natural and a God-gifted thing that I was born in a family where Art, culture and Sufism were very common. My grandfather made a lot of contributions to Sufi poetry and literature. He wrote in 7 languages altogether. A few of his contributions were named as follows; “Koliyaat e Masroor”, and “Masnavee Heer Ranjha”.A book in the Siraykee language named “Manzoom “.Also Persian and Urdu poetry “Prem Sagar”. He has a vast contribution related to Sufism. Similarly, My father Bedil Masroor Badvi followed the same path of art and literature and made a lot of contribution to the Sindhi language. He did a lot of work for the Sindhi literature. He served as a director and producer in PTV. My father is also a writer, composer, and musician, and my mother is an actress and a poetess. So I was raised in an atmosphere of art and culture where different musical events used to take place all the time. Being born in a creative family I developed a love for art, music, sculpturing, sketching, drawing, singing, and dancing, as a child. Since childhood, I was a creative child of creative parents. My parents wanted me to be an Engineer, I studied engineering to some extent but then I did my Master’s in Mass Communications Media sciences, specializing in advertising and Public relations. I was doing theatre at KU as I had a theatre group under the name of “Darwaza” the dramatic society and we did many productions during this time. Then “NAPA“ opened in 2005, and I joined it and pursued my career in acting. So I would say since childhood and belonging to such a happening inherited cultural family I ultimately and eventually became one. I am happy where I am today.
FC: For most of your characters in film or TV drama, you performed a character role, not a main lead, why? Does this industry only want good faces, glitz, glamour style, and PR? Or are you satisfied with it or does that bother you?
PM: Well I am a character actor, so I am a versatile actor and I can play any role, and lead roles accordingly. I just want the role that should have some substance to it which I am playing, also it should have some key role in the drama and have significant importance. As I’m inspired by the Indian actor “Ifran Khan” so when he was asked about some character that he would be able to play, he answered back that of course I can play any role and become anybody as a character actor, in fact that’s our strength. Nowadays trends are changing vastly. Now acting counts a lot not only the looks. Yes if given a lead role I can perform it well and act as a hero too, can transform and become one as I have full faith in my abilities as a character actor. But given the required support and proper production, Then I can go to any level and perform any role and as a hero too. As an example, we can take the drama “Parizaadh”, where the hero wasn’t a pretty face and not a fair complexion, great physique, average status person, he was an ordinary human being and interestingly enough I was offered the lead role of the same drama. So storytelling is changing big time, now no more great body, fair complexion, tall handsome heroes are required to make a play a hit. If needed can work on it, transform myself, and do it to the best of my ability. As far as PR is concerned I didn’t work on it much, of course in this field of glitz and glamour we need a great PR for a successful career and I also need to work on it. My heart desires that yes I should be offered lead roles with substance not only shimmery personality roles of heroes with a handsome face only. Character actors are all about taking challenges of any kind and transforming accordingly.
FC: Which is your best performance to date? And why?
PM: Different plays and projects are close to my heart according to the time when I played them. One of them was “Safaidh Khoon, a theater play directed by Zia Mohyeddin, I played the role of “Bahram”, Talat Hussain played the protagonist and I played the antagonist. Zia Mohyeddin was my mentor, it made this play memorable, and a great honor to work with such legends. That was the play for which my father patted me on my back for my performance which made it even closer to my heart as I always wanted to make my parents proud and happy including Zia sir. And it was my 1st commercial play and many reasons to make it close to my heart. Another drama was “Sang e mar mar” which was my come-back drama in 2016, with one of my favorite co-stars Sania Saeed and Nauman Iajazh. Another reason was that I got an award for the best supporting actor in the drama and four people were nominated for it along with myself Farhan Saeed Gohar Rasheed, and Imran Ashraf, so it was my comeback drama serial too. My debut drama “Kharashain” on TV ONE with Saife Hasan, my favorite Director and a great human being to work with, due to him, this is close to my heart as well. He is one of the best directors in Pakistan. I worked with him in theater as well we worked together in India to make our country proud with our performance. All these projects are close to my heart with a significant difference.
FC: Is there any role you want to play and still, it is not been offered to you? And why?
PM: Yes there are several different roles which I would really like to perform. One of them is a romantic, maniac lover who transforms from being Ashiq e majazh to Ashiq e haqiqee, and a character of the clown, an intense gangster who is a great human being, good at heart but became a victim to the circumstances and society. I would like to do a character that has some transition to it and where Method acting can be applied. In TV we don’t have much margin to apply it but in the case of a film and theatre we can exercise this method provided actors are paid handsomely. Unfortunately unlike in Hollywood and Bollywood where Amir Khan, and Shahrukh Khan, are celebrities, the stars are paid huge amounts and can easily apply method acting by transforming themselves while taking a break from work for a year or more, here in Pakistan, delays in payments happen often and not a good amount is paid to the actors. It’s a dilemma. Still we as actors try to entertain and perform to the best of our abilities with limited resources. I really wish that I get a writer who writes a particular character exclusively for me, hence keeping in mind that it will only be performed by Paras Masroor.
FC: Do you think acting can be taught in Acting school or is it God-gifted? And if your answer is Yes, then whoever has not been able to join acting classes, how will they become good actors/Actresses?
PM: I think acting can be taught, and one can be a born actor too. Yes, skills can be polished by observation with experiences or by joining some Drama schools. many actors have not been able to join any drama school but they turned out to be great actors. I feel that if I had not joined any drama school or academy then it would have been very time-consuming to learn, It would have taken me several years to become a good actor, as I believe acting is a practical thing that we learn with experience, and would have learned it by visiting different people, producers and directors to get a chance to work, or through PR, taking a lot of risks, buttering people, and then getting some work.
I have observed many actors who were initially very average actors but with the passage of time and working in many plays now they have become polished and really good at their craft, but their journey has been pretty difficult, not a bed of roses. I never wanted that for myself. I didn’t want to waste my time by going through this process, if one doesn’t get chances and opportunities and wants to work on his craft then acting school is the best option as the more we work, the more we learn. One can practice and learn this as much as possible by joining an acting school. Fortunately for that matter, We have NAPA which is dedicated to this. I personally never wanted to go through this process, I always wanted to work with great, legendary actors and wanted to be the best at my craft even before joining the media industry as I never wanted to be a mediocre. I worked for three years and learned acting and work with big celebrities and experienced actors and got praised that I didn’t seem like a new actor, it was as if I had been working for a long time. So that is a big advantage one gets by practicing their craft in drama school. So I wanted people around me to know that acting learned in drama school with natural talent combined can bring out the best and that is a major difference, that an actor can not be a good actor if he does not learn acting, similarly a doctor can’t be a doctor without going to a medical school and same is for an Engineer, that he can’t be one without learning engineering. A director has to learn direction, a writer has to learn writing, to do direction & screenwriting practicaly. One has to learn one way or the other whether he or she goes to the learning school or not, and has to be in the company of such people and atmosphere where one can grow, one’s intellect can grow, like in old times PTV used to be an institution where one could learn during rehearsals, etc. Nowadays trend is changing big time, it’s an old school of thought that if one is a born actor then one can act else it can’t be taught. When we see stars and celebrities who are would actors today and are inspirations for many people, they also joined drama schools, to learn then practice, and became great actors today. We take them as our inspirations today and we are their big fans and we love to see their work. Still one can act with their gut, acting can be good or bad, as acting is no ones authority. People who want to join this field should join academies. Many celebrities like Irfan Khan, Nawazudin, Shahrukh Khan, Anthony Hopkins, and Daniel Day-Lewis, all of them has done theatre and joined drama schools and today we see their work with respect and they are one of the most sought-after actors. It is lucky if one learns acting while working throughout the years and has not joined any drama school.
FC: What is your favorite genre, Acting or Writing, and why?
PM: I would prefer acting. Yes, I do write sometimes, I like to do poetry usually, but I am not a full-time writer. Although I wrote a few telefilms and short films, a few went on air. I believe in acting we have a writer and director inside of us and when we do acting we deliver what we absorbed through acting. Yes, my favorite genre is acting, and acting is my passion.
FC: Pakistani content is not on the OTT platform, as compared to the presence of Indian content, this is quite alarming, what do you suggest as your opinion and what is the solution? Do you think we should open our own OTT platforms? and support them so we can coup the top tier OTT in the world most of the OTTs have either Indian content or other languages content, and Pakistani content is not in their queue, So your suggestion on this?
PM: Yes, our content isn’t on OTT, it’s on Zee, and Amazon, Netflix, we need to make web series, with great layered storytelling with twists and turns, awesome, outstanding content, pre and post-production, different genres of every kind are the keys which are required for an OTT, Our work should meet the world wide criteria for web series. Also Pakistani content needs to come out of drama-making to design web series, as it’s a different genre altogether, we can’t make a drama and watch it on OTT just like that, as a web series is like a stretched movie with a proper pre-and post-production, etc. Of course, we should move towards a web series for the future. As the future is OTT majorly. We have a young lot of filmmakers, with outstanding potential who make the best short films for their thesis and get appreciation in festivals abroad, as they are remarkable and exceptional, with quality content, cast-wise and meet the worldwide standards. Also, majorly as they don’t compromise on the content, or cast, and have strong, different content, full-baked actors from Theater to work. In my opinion, these youngsters whether they studied abroad or here in Pakistan should be promoted and supported by investors and stakeholders as they are capable of making international worldwide content that can be showcased on OTT. We still need to develop in this area, we still lack in this area, and we really need to work on it as the upcoming time would be of unique genres and not the run-of-the-mill content, we have to work up to the world standard to be on OTT big time. By working more on the above, we can get a lot of appreciation for our work, making our presence known on OTT. By working on all these areas we can get huge access to OTT, working on these few aspects we can be on OTT, after making the best dramas should work in this genre known as web series, as web content is different, many people are working on it, they should make many dedicated OTT platforms which are hence produced for young content writers and their work which should be showcased worldwide, for the future perspective, it should be shown on dedicated renowned OTTs as well.
FC: You also did a few films, what is the main difference between Films and TV dramas?
PM: There is a major difference between films and TV dramas. Unfortunately in Pakistan, we have mixed actors working in films as well as in dramas. Technically Films are featured, documentary, short length, long length films, pre and post-production, screens are different with different cameras lighting, and techniques from TV dramas. Directors are different too. Here we don’t have a lot of screens already to show films. I am a film actor basically and did a few films. Now good films are being made, and being a film actor I would like to work in films, and would love to get more chances to work in films. As I am a theater actor and because of quality work I am in demand, so I do dramas, but my first preference would be working in films, and would like to get more films in the future and work in them. I’m very passionate about working in films.
FC: What do u like the most, TV, Film or theatre?
PM: Theater is my first love, my passion, and cannot live without it. Secondly, I like Films, if good content, a good cast, and direction are practiced then I would like to do as many films as possible. If offered good films any time my first priority would be to work in films only. Thirdly dramas, as we are offered to work with a reasonable amount of money, we are also in demand and have good direction, and the work with the best cast is provided that’s why I work in drams too. Also to look after oneself financially, the financial point of view for daily expenses in life is also very important, one has to work in some medium one way or the other. Another reason that makes me proud to work in drams is that our Pakistani dramas are very popular and the best in the world. We can also observe that by reading the comments and reviews on uploaded dramas on YouTube, and especially viewers category from all over the world especially Indian audiences watch our dramas with zest.
FC: Are drama or theatre actors paid enough or they are underpaid? And what can the government do to support artists? Your suggestion to the Government?
PM: I believe that Artists should be given royalty for their work as long as they are alive and after their retirement. I am a big proponent of that, as many artists passed away asking for royalty from the government, unfortunately, there is just talk but no action from the government and cultural department, and I am not aware of what is the conflict of interest or the Western interests behind it. Many artists when departed conditions were fragile physically mentally and financially. Only a ticker is been displayed or news is shown on different artists that he/she passed away but the majority or most of the audience is unaware of their grave circumstances. Royalty is a right and all over the world, it’s a law that if a writer wrote a book and been paid, after that no matter how many times that book is bought or Published or translated into different languages, a royalty would be paid for it. Similarly, if an actor plays a character in a drama if it’s telecasted again in different languages, actor’s faces are being used, and he has to be paid the royalty, unfortunately, there is no such law in Pakistan. Artists are just paid one time and that’s all is done. If I give you my example, I have worked in different plays, and if I retire then according to law all over the world I would have been paid royalty, I would have been very comfortable and have a better financial status that is because then this profession has been a stable profession.
FC: Are you single or married ? Is there any reason? What are your marriage plans?
PM: Yes, I am happily married, Alhamdulillah with two children.
FC: What is your hobby other than your professional acting and screenwriting?
PM: My hobbies are painting, sculpturing, traveling Listening to music, hanging out with friends. Guitar playing, Also composing and writing my songs .To Be alone in mountains listening to music of my choice, chilling around there with lots of peace and serenity of nature.
FC: Where did you get your childhood education from?
PM: My early childhood education is from Quetta St. Marries convent school and Karachi. Later education is also from Karachi.
FC: Did any weird situation happen in your life or on the sets? Or both? Explain if any.
PM: Well life is unpredictable and things happen in everyone’s life that are weird or unpredictable. Nothing particularly happened as such on sets and in my life, even if something happens, I move on with my life as life is such like that.
FC: Favorite TV, Theatre, or Film Co-Star? And why?
PM: Some of my favorite Co-stars are Sania Saeed, Nouman Ijaz, Uzma Hasan, and Shabir Jann, and would like to work with them always whenever given a chance. Especially with Uzma Hasan, I got to work with her in three plays, Sangh Mar Mar, Angaan, and Pheli see Mohabbat which were great plays and the audience liked our on-screen chemistry and our couple a lot. Another reason also is that Uzma herself is a Theatre actress and she is a very refined, hardworking actress and has been working with “Ajoka” theatre. So I think we both being from the same theatre background, this combination and level of understanding are much higher, helps to work effortlessly and it is easy to understand each other and above all, she is one fine actress herself.
FC: Who is your inspiration in the theatre or TV?
PM: Undoubtedly my first and basic inspiration is “Bedil Masroor”, my father, then my grandfather “Faqir Ghulam Ali Masroor”, and my mother “Mahjabeen”. Then in industry, my inspiration is my teachers Zia Mohyeddin Sahab, Talat Hussain Sahab, and Anjum Ayayaz Sahab. In Indian theater and cinema are Irfan Khan Sahab, Nawaz u deen Siddique Sahab, Naseeruddin Shah Sahab, and Om Puri Sahab. Also in females Shabana Azmi Jee and Sumeeta Patel Jee are a few of my inspirations, I always wanted to work like them.In Pakistan Tv and theatre is Sania Saeed, Numan Ijaz Sahab, Qavi Khan Sahb,Nayyar Ijazh sahab, Sohail Ahmed Sahab, Irasa Ghazal jee are a few names which do inspirational and down to earth work.You love to read, it is essential to study, read, and observe different authors for screenwriting, and for being a good actor.
FC: What do you think? Who is your favorite author and why?
PM: I am not a full-time screenwriter, I am an actor and a director and I did direction for the theater. I will InshAllah debut for TV and film soon and meanwhile, I am working as a screenwriter. I do write for myself and do poetry. My favorite poets are Mirza Ghalib, Nasir Kazmi Sahab, Sahir Ludhyanavi Sahab, Habib Jalibh Sahab, Majaazh Sahab, Khumar Barabankvi Sahab, and Javed Sabah, a poet of present times. Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Ashfaq Ahmed, and Deputy Nazir Ahmed are my favorite writers which I like and have been reading. I also like the writer Umaira Ahmed and the dramas based on her novels. I like the direction and screenwriting of Stanley Kubrick, and Anurag Kashyap. Mentioning again that I’m not a screenwriter but I am hoping and working for the best. InshAllah will show up with some good-quality writing soon.
FC: Any suggestion to the people of Pakistan or the World?
PM: My message to the people of Pakistan and people worldwide is that spread love and peace with your words, habits, and attitude as time gets shorter and shorter day by day. No one is here forever in this world so be happy and let others be happy, So live happily and let others live happily.
