Asad Mumtaz Malik, who made his acting debut in Parizaad as Guru, has been in the entertainment world for a lot longer than you might believe. Despite the fact that this is Malik’s debut acting role, he has been directing for several years, most recently as the DOP for Hamza Ali Abbasi’s Alif.

Malik discussed his breakout performance and what it took to get the homosexual role of Guru.

Read more: Asad Mumtaz Malik aka Guru from Parizaad was shy to face the camera

“I wasn’t expecting the type of response I received,” Malik said of the affection he’s received thus far. It’s true that I received notes of gratitude from people all across the world. I’ve made video conversations and received video messages from all over the world.”

He confessed that he was afraid of the criticism that would come if he didn’t get the job right. “It was constantly on the back of my mind as we were shooting how I had toiled in the industry for so long and been rewarded with respect and acclaim.” I was afraid that if I didn’t do well, I would be chastised. People would question why I went into acting rather than sticking to what I knew. “However, I was able to overcome my fear and place everything in God’s hands,” Malik explained.

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“When I was offered the position and was told that my character was a guru for unisex individuals, I was quite scared,” the actor said of the sensitive aspect of the role. I’ve always been a macho individual. Aside from the fact that this was my first appearance, the most difficult aspect for me was that this was such a strange persona. I just wanted to double-check that it was expressed correctly.”

While Malik stated that he did not deliberately seek references, he did mention interaction with a trans guru when he was younger that influenced his personality. “There was just one person who came to memory who I had met as a child,” the actor explained. Adding, “They were the guru of a community of trans people.” The guru was so old that they didn’t even have teeth, and they always wore a long braid of white and yellow hair. I saw that they had a macho demeanor. The guru would take a seat while the rest of the group performed. That was my thought,” He concluded.