Hamza Ali Abbasi talks evil characters, acting methods

Express Tribune

05-03-2025

Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi recently sat down with Ahmed Fozan's podcast to discuss his career, his acting methodology, and his nuanced portrayals of morally complex characters. Best known for his roles as Afzal in Pyarey Afzal and Noori Nath in The Legend of Maula Jatt, Abbasi reflected on the similarities between the two characters, the lessons their arcs impart, and how he approaches emotionally demanding roles while maintaining a clear boundary between performance and reality.
The Pyarey Afzal star believes himself to be unlike actors who immerse themselves in their roles months prior to acting and can't seem to detach themselves from their fictional characters for months after the shooting finishes. In a direct comparison, the podcast host brought up Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who, in an interview with The Scholar's Avenue in 2014, spoke about his acting method. "I'm not a computer, I can't just switch myself off. The way we, as actors, take from the character's life, the character takes from our life – and it's hard work," said Siddiqui.
Abbasi responded to the comparison with admiration but expressed his own ease in coming out of character the moment the director calls cut. "I respect actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who live in their characters for months," he said. "But for me, the deeper I dive, the more I fumble. I need that clear separation." All he needs is a rough character map.
The Maula Jatt star believes this technique is particularly beneficial when playing morally ambiguous roles like Afzal and Noori Nath. "If I let my characters seep into my life, it would be exhausting. Noori Nath is ruthless, and I have to leave that energy on set."
Written by Khalilur Rehman Qamar and directed by Nadeem Baig, Pyarey Afzal is a widely celebrated Pakistani drama that aired in 2013. The serial follows Afzal Subhanullah, a small-town boy who becomes embroiled in the criminal underworld due to unfulfilled love and misplaced loyalty. Initially introduced as an innocent romantic, Afzal is soon swept into a world of violence and crime, leading to his tragic demise.
On the other hand, a cinematic juggernaut, The Legend of Maula Jatt was released in 2022 and became Pakistan's highest-grossing film. Helmed by writer-director Bilal Lashari, the film reimagines the cult classic Maula Jatt (1979) with a contemporary touch, boasting a massive budget and an ensemble cast that includes Fawad Khan as the titular hero, Mahira Khan as Mukkho, and Abbasi as the menacing antagonist, Noori Nath. "Afzal committed murders, having become a gangster and of course, so did Noori Nath," Abbasi shared on the podcast, "but they both met tragic ends, and that's what I appreciate about their arcs."
Throughout the discussion, Abbasi emphasised the importance of portraying antagonists with depth rather than labeling them as outright evil. He argued that the best-written villains are those driven by ambition rather than innate wickedness. Noori and Afzal both made terrible choices but to Abbasi, but their motivations weren't black and white, which makes them interesting to him. Moreover, both Pyarey Afzal and The Legend of Maula Jatt ultimately deliver cautionary tales. Afzal meets a tragic end, and Noori Nath's unrelenting hunger for power leads him down a path of destruction. According to Abbasi, it's this moral reckoning that makes the characters successful.
For Abbasi, acting is about exploring human nature while maintaining personal boundaries. "I love what I do, but at the end of the day, I leave my characters on screen," he concluded. "That's how I stay grounded."