Alyy Khan is one of the most polished actors because he has worked in Bollywood, Hollywood and of course, in Pakistani entertainment industry. In a recent interview with Mag The Weekly, Alyy Khan talked about his childhood, career and personal life.
Alyy Khan was inspired by his drama teacher, He grew up in cities which share the same coastline – Karachi and Mumbai. “I was in Grade 5 or 6 when Hema Devi, was hired as a drama teacher, who later became my guru. She must’ve seen a spark in me as she asked me if I would like to join her professional theatre group, the Hema Kalakendra school, which ran all year round outside of school.”
When asked about what Hollywood and Bollywood mean to him, Alyy Khan put it quite simply, ”Places to make money. I can’t be more cynical and boring but that’s the truth, they’re a means to an end.” These two entertainment industries are considered superior to the Pakistani entertainment industry but Alyy Khan doesn’t believe in that. “The perception is they’re better than us but the reality is questionable. What qualifies better? Better at management? Yes, they’re more organized, but that’s not the be-all and end-all. Better actors? Yes, but I’m not saying our actors are bad. Coming to narratives, yes, better screenplay, but that’s only Hollywood. Is the Emirates A380 any better than PIA’s 777? Both fly to their destinations.”
Even though he has worked in films like Don 2 and A Mighty Heart, he found himself gravitate towards Pakistan. Why? “Jagjit Singh in PIA got me here professionally, but psychologically, because I was born here. Personally, I feel great potential in this country.”
Currently we can see him in drama serial Pakeeza on HUM TV where he plays an abusive and deplorable husband. For the experienced actor, this was the by far the most challenging role for him to essay. “I couldn’t convince myself that a person living like that socially can behave that way, so there was a great dichotomy which I had to struggle with and I had long chats with my wife after which I decided to go for it. Misbah Khalid wanted it to be aggressive. Being a dad, I have to feed two kids so I decided if I do it, it’ll be the best bad guy anyone has ever played.”
What is he up to these days? Alyy Khan said that he is trying to ‘reinvent himself”. ”I get bored of myself after a couple of years and feel the need to remould my personality for that’s the demand of my loved ones. They think I sometimes do not come across as a very nice person even though in my heart of hearts I think I’m a very gentle and caring person.”
The spelling of his name has always confused me, and this is what he had to say about it: Mum had finished reading Doctor Zhivago or some other Russian book which is why the ‘y’ replaced an ‘i’.