Pakistani drama 'Jafaa's star Usman Mukhtar discusses future projects and return to UAE

The actor plays an oncologist in the popular drama 'Jafaa'

By Mahwash Ajaz

Published: Tue 3 Dec 2024, 1:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 3 Dec 2024, 3:33 PM

There are some actors for whom it takes decades, multiple projects, and a constant presence on screen to become a talking point. But there are some artistes who immediately capture the audiences’ imagination even if they’ve done selective or a sparse collection of work. Usman Mukhtar, critically acclaimed and a man of many talents, has such power. He has worked in a few dramas and films, yet he has a popular appeal that seems to be growing with every project he appears in. He was seen in Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay opposite Mahira Khan in 2020.

Currently, he's on TV in Danish Nawaz’s Jafaa opposite Mawra Hocane. He was also in Umro Ayyar- A New Beginning; to promote this movie, he visited the UAE and received a lot of love and appreciation from the audiences here.

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His character, which was initially termed as a ‘big green flag’ because he becomes a support for Andaleeb (Sehar Khan) who is struggling with her own battles, takes a turn in the show when it is discovered that he has been quietly dealing with a diagnosis of azoospermia, a male infertility condition. Mukhtar addressed the conversation around his character, his thought process in choosing scripts and how UAE is a place he would love to be in.

“I love UAE,” he says, “my sister used to live there and I have visited there many times. I would love to get a golden visa too and start working there as well. The audiences gave us so much love for Umro Ayyar, people who weren’t from Pakistan saw it in the UAE and were amazed that this was made in Pakistan.”

So why do we see so less of him on television and in films, when he is such an impactful actor? “An actor is never really satisfied with what he’s offered,” he responds discussing how he carefully chooses his scripts, “and very rarely does it happen that everything works together perfectly. I also work less because of my mother; I wish I had started working in dramas earlier.”

Usman’s mother is Nadira, who also was a Pakistani actress in her time; due to her illness, Usman is mostly based in Islamabad while most of the drama industry is based in Karachi. “My mother’s bed-ridden and it’s very difficult for me to go to Karachi and shoot.” Shoots in dramas usually range from 45 days to three months (and can go on for more), and dramas are seldom shot in Islamabad.

“Jafaa, when I read the script,” he explains, “I found it more sensible than the rest of the scripts I was reading. And it had two issues, domestic violence and male infertility, which I feel are topics we don’t talk enough about. We don’t talk about how domestic violence, I’ve seen it happen to someone very close to me, and we don’t go into the nuances and the details of how the family and how the person in question (the person who is abused) is being affected.”

Numair’s character received a large share of criticism when he didn't not speak about his condition to anyone, leading to disastrous consequences. Numair, from a green flag, turned into a big red flag. “We want to see things in black and white, Numair is clearly grey,” Usman explains. “When they had turned Numair into a green flag, I was kind of face palming myself because I knew it was going to ‘come back’! But that happens to me too – when there is a character I love and they do something that I don’t agree with – it frustrates me. Zunaira (his wife) used to joke that – are they giving good reviews? Wait for another 10 episodes! I feel because we don’t get to see grey characters or characters like Numair who is a good person but he has this issue, we are simply dividing them into black or white or red or green flags. We’re not making the kind of shows that portrays grey. When I was younger we used to have such good shows too – we had all kinds of genres. We had comedy and horror too. I remember Ainak Wala Jin, Ulta Seedha and Haqeeqat. We need to offer more diversity onscreen.”

Why wouldn’t Numair tell his wife or anyone about this, is the question. “There is a reason why you say, ‘this is my deepest darkest secret’,” he explains. “He couldn’t talk to his mother or sister; he tried explaining it, but that conversation turned into a joke. He didn’t have a father he could confide in. He’s a 38- or 39-year-old oncologist – and you may be a doctor, but people don’t always see things scientifically when something happens to you. In an ideal world, he should have told Andaleeb and Andaleeb should have understood. This is what we’re trying to tell people who are going through this, we must create a society where they can talk about this so that they feel ‘okay, I can talk about it!’”

Did he learn about this condition, and did he speak to anyone going through it, in order to build his character? “We had a house-help, who was like a brother to me, when he got married, he discovered he had this condition. And it was near impossible for him to talk about it. I’ve seen how difficult it was for him,” Usman recalls. “His wife would keep calling him and I could see his frustration. Nobody has a set template on how to react to something like this. When someone’s struggling with anxiety and they’re triggered by loud sounds, they might say, ‘hey leave me alone!’ but a normal person would wonder why this person is behaving this way. Numair keeps saying he doesn’t want to get married but it’s difficult for him to come around to talk about this.”

Initially the audiences loved Numair because he stepped up as the only support for a young girl who was struggling to be understood. He helps Andaleeb gain self-esteem and self-worth. Usman seems non-nonplussed. “I think these are normal things that men would do, saying that she’s too young to get married or that he needs to help this girl out,” he protests. No they are not, as TV heroes can often be toxic and controlling. “Then we need to question what we’re showing on TV.”

Discussing his future projects, Usman said he would love to do comedy. “I signed up for two Ramadan dramas but couldn’t do them – I wonder if that is even in my kismet. But I would love to do comedy. I would even love to do an out and out villainous character, I haven’t had an opportunity yet. A negative character that gives me that actor’s margin.”

Regarding films, Usman is convinced that Pakistan needs single screens. “A normal family cannot afford 1,500-rupee tickets with an add-on of food and beverages. It’s the masses that make you a hit and a miss, and if they can’t access your content you can’t thrive.”

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