Lahore to Hollywood – Defining the Art of Acting by Faran Tahir

Italics: Jungle Book, Iron Man, Star Trek, Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, United Federation of Planets, The Kite Runner, The Window, I’ll Meet You There, Anarkali,

Faran Tahir, who has already seen the heady heights of Hollywood hits is now also climbing the treacherous inclines of Pakistani entertainment.

The Pakistani-American actor was born in Los Angeles as his parents pursued degrees in acting and direction at UCLA. He was raised in Pakistan till the time he decided to return to America in the 80s to pursue a graduate degree in theatre from UC Berkley. Faran then went on to earn a graduate degree from Harvard’s institute of Advanced Theatre Training.

Faran Tahir started his stint in Hollywood in 1994 as he played Nathoo in Disney’s Jungle Book followed by starring in major Hollywood blockbusters like Iron Man and Star Trek, as well as countless other acclaimed projects like Prison Break and Grey’s Anatomy.

Faran is as accomplished an actor as they come, but despite all of his success, Faran stills describes himself with a genuine air of humility – a “student” by his own account – always eager to learn and improve, not just in his craft but in the art of being human. His true character – off the stage, that is – speaks for itself when he shares that his favourite part of acting is the exercise in empathy that comes with stepping into someone else’s shoes. While on stage and on the film set, he sees his job as provoking people to think about complicated characters and situations. “I don’t want to give you a nicely wrapped package, I want to give you something a little more messy,” he says.

“My faith and my nationality make me who I am. I don’t look at them as my weaknesses but rather, my uniquenesses.”

A beacon of light for an underrepresented community in Hollywood, Faran is of Pakistani-American descent. Having spent time living and working in both regions of the world, Faran holds a unique and insightful perspective on the dual-misunderstanding that affects the perception from both sides of his citizenship. The similarities – the connections – that make us all human are greater than the sum of even our greatest differences, Faran says. And similar to the empathy that he channels when he gets into character, Faran believes that practicing empathy is the key to living beyond the myopic lens of cultural conditioning and stereotypes, and expanding our worldview into a more global, inclusive perspective.

“I think our focus has always been on what separates us – what language, what colour, what traditions, what books… But why are we not speaking about what connects us? So, my message is – what I would want to be remembered for – is that I kept saying: let’s look for the connection.”

Whether portraying a Muslim Moor like Othello or a starship captain for the fictional United Federation of Planets, Tahir’s goal as an actor is the same: “to tap into what is human, what binds us more than what separates us.”

With latest projects soon to be seen, Faran Tahir will be playing a role in the much awaited play ‘The Kite Runner’ in the role of Baba, the father of protagonist Amir. Directed by Giles Croft, The Kite Runner is due to begin performances on July 6. The play, which will be the first one scheduled for the 2022-2023 Broadway season, is produced by  Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals.

While his international work continues Faran is also turning towards Pakistani entertainment. He shared that his work schedule hasn’t allowed him to work at length in Pakistan but now he’s working on a few projects that are close to his heart.

One of these projects is a movie that he is producing and acting in, titled ‘The Window’. The story will be focusing on the injustices that women in rural regions suffer from, and also stars Suhaee Abro, Faysal Quraishi, Sami Khan, Hameed Sheikh, Rubya Chaudhry and Angeline Malik. While filmed in English, the movie will also be dubbed in Urdu and Faran hopes to see it released in commercial cinemas in Pakistan and internationally, particularly in regions that have a high Pakistani immigrant demographic.

“I have to admit that it has been a hard road. I had no role models, no mentors, no guides, no connections. All I had was my resolve and determination not to give up.”

With such a heavy duty storyline, does he feel that The Window will fare well in Pakistan, where audiences have a penchant for highly commercial, light–hearted productions? We hope that Pakistanis, the world over as well the ones living in Pakistan, gravitate towards the movie. Besides, money is not everything. If we don’t bring in new genres, how will we know whether or not they will work? How can we hope for an energetic, growing industry if we don’t expand the menu? “I do want to eventually take The Window to film festivals but I don’t want it to become purely a festival movie, I want its story to be experienced by mass audiences,” says Faran.

His heart may be in the right place but The Window will be pinpointing atrocities endured by women in Pakistan. Faran feels it is his responsibility as a Pakistani-American, to correct the misinformation spread about Pakistan. With his work, he wants to celebrate the positive points of Pakistan and also analyse the weaker ones, and to tell the world that we are dealing with them. He doesn’t want another country to analyse Pakistan and its talent, now does he wish to wait for Hollywood or any other industry to show Pakistan in a positive light.

“The rights of women are very close to my heart and the directors, writer and I have basically looked at newspaper headlines and taken inspiration from them in order to construct a story. It’s a work of fiction but it is reality-based.”

Over the next two years, Faran will be working on other projects that will depict other sides to Pakistan. In his upcoming movie with director Iram Parveen Bilal, I’ll Meet You There, he will be enacting an undercover FBI agent who is raising his teenage daughter, mending ties with his estranged father, and hates that he has to report on Muslims in his job. “It’s certainly not my mission to show Pakistan in any particular light. I’m a storyteller and I just want to tell good stories, true ones, about my country.” Faran is also writing an adaptation of Anarkali, the play written by his grandfather Imtiaz Ali Taj, for cinema.

“We know our stories best and we need to start controlling our own narratives, to put up a mirror that depicts our beauty as well our ugliness. It gives out a message to the world that we are aware of our faults and we’re not going to be sweeping them under the rug. At the same time, we are celebrating all that is beautiful in our land.”

Faran’s success story also holds with him his undying faith where he shares his commitment of praying Namaz at sets whether in Pakistan or Hollywood. While co-stars would take breaks for yoga, he would take that time to pray.  It’s not something that Faran has ever wished to announced – although a lot of times, in between shoots, he does have to tell the crew that he needs a five-minute break to pray. It’s important to him says Faran, as that is part of his life and he feels that enriches him personally.

Undoubtedly, it is this self-assurance that makes Faran an anomaly, standing out in a niche of his very own. Slowly, surely, over a career that started out with him “sleeping in his car” and has spiralled up towards Hollywood blockbusters, Faran has retained his own identity. For Pakistanis all over the world — and for anyone struggling to make it big while remaining true to his or her roots — he is inspiring. Not only in the work that he has done, but for who he truly is.

We are super proud of you Faran, and of course would love to see many more actors from Pakistan taking the leap and working internationally, but the burden also lies on us, as Pakistanis and as their audience to appreciate and celebrate our actors. For over three decades Faran has been making Pakistan proud, and it’s time we praise and acknowledge our own people doing brilliant work outside the country and show support for our local industry.