Junaid Khan doesn't take competition too seriously
In most of his roles, he is immaculately dressed in dandy three-piece suits, one even in a baby-pink hue. Alternatively, he wears designer polo tees and well-cut jeans. So it is unusual to see him answer the door dressed in a casual aqua polo, sweatpants and flip-flops.
With nine years in the industry and some 37 television plays done, Junaid Khan — the lead vocalist of the band Call, songwriter and actor — has had no particular career highs nor lows; he’s just done consistent work. I am meeting up with him to find out what it is like being on a constant career plateau.
“Everybody is in a race, we are all competing, but I don’t take competition that seriously,” he tells me in response.
“Mujhe kissi se aagay nahin nikalna [I don’t want to get ahead of anyone]. I don’t want to be number one. I believe that I’m on a journey, and I want to explore myself on this journey. [I want to see] how much I can prove myself as a musician or as an actor. I don’t want to earn a lot of money, so acting is not a business for me.”
Junaid loves the performing arts, and had done theatre in university but his acting career only kicked off when director Jawad Bashir asked him to do a soap, Kabhi Naa Kabhi, for which he also composed and sang the title track.
“It was a Lahore production whereas the industry was in Karachi. But after that soap, I began getting offers from Karachi. In 2011, Momina Duraid finally offered me the lead in Mujhe Roothnay Naa Dena which opened the door for back-to-back offers from MD Productions. I did Mata-i-Jan Hai Tu with Mehreen Jabbar, followed by Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai, which had Saba Qamar who had just done the hit serial Maat and also Mawra Hocane making her debut.”
Actor Junaid Khan is in no hurry to reach the top or to partake in the rat-race to stardom. He would much rather make it on his own terms and at his own comfortable pace
Although it was early in his acting career, he still accepted a negative role in Mata-i-Jan Hai Tu.
“I thought that working for a big name such as Mehreen Jabbar would get me noticed. Also, the role had margin for acting even though it required being loud and involved body language. Later, in Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai, my role also had negative undertones. This is when brands were beginning to reject me as my image was becoming negative, so I took a break and resumed my career with positive roles.”