I did not want to be a part of the crowd: Azhar Khan

Actor Azhar Khan will be seen with Celina Jaitly Haag and Lillete Dubey in Season’s Greetings

Coming from a business family, modelling or acting was never on Azhar Khan’s mind till he got a taste of it. While in Pune, his friends and acquaintances pushed and encouraged him to take up modelling. This got him to move to Mumbai. He gave himself a year to make it in the industry. “I was very clear with myself. I decided that I will give it a try, if it works out nothing like it, but if it doesn’t, then it’s okay. Unfortunately, a film I signed did not take off and I ended up spending two years in Mumbai. That’s when I came back to Pune.”

Actor-model Azhar Khan will be making his Hindi film debut with Season’s Greetings

Azhar went on to pursue business and invested his time and energy into it. “I realised that there is no point struggling it out here. I did not want to be a part of the crowd. I had come here to stand out.” 11 years later, things changed and the Pune boy was given another chance. He got called in for Season’s Greetings, directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, starring Celina Jaitly Haag and Lillete Dubey. “I think mentally I wanted to go back. I always felt a missing link. I am so glad that I got this chance again.”

So, how was it to face the camera all over again after a decade? “Well, I will be honest, I was nervous. My first thought was, let’s get out of here! Then I explained to myself that this is what you were waiting for. It was time I took it all in and did my best.”

He is full praise for his co-actors and feels blessed to have had seniors on his first project. “It helps to have such strong and talented co-stars as there is so much to learn from them.” For over a decade in Pune, Azhar is completely okay to experiment with Marathi films too. “I understand the language and can read it too. I would love to be a part of a Marathi film.”