No one can play Waheed Murad onscreen, says Adil Murad on possibility of father’s biopic

Adil Murad, son of iconic Pakistani actor Waheed Murad, has expressed his reservations about a potential biopic on his legendary father. While acknowledging that a biopic is an honour, he said he is against the idea because he believes no one will be able to do justice to the role.

In a candid conversation with ZAH Entertainment, Adil said his reluctance stems from knowing nobody could recreate the subtle nuances that made Waheed Murad an extraordinary actor.

“For a biopic to happen, someone or the other will portray Waheed Murad on the screen, right? My question is, will we be able to accept anyone else — I know I won’t be able to — in that role?” Adil mused.

He emphasised that Waheed Murad’s distinctive walk, talk, and even his subtle gestures were integral to his on-screen charm, making the task of portraying him a Herculean one. “The big screen doesn’t spare anyone,” he said. “Even the wrinkles on your lips are so prominent.”

Stressing the difficulty of capturing his father’s essence authentically, he pointed out that while mimicry can be achieved in smaller formats, replicating the Hero actor’s magnetic presence on a grand scale is an entirely different matter.

In addition to these concerns, Adil has repeatedly faced requests for remakes of his father’s hit films. His response has always been a stern no because of one reason — “Bring me actors like Waheed Murad and Zeba, and then we’ll talk. That is the first challenge. If you want to remake or reimagine, bring me someone who can fill their shoes. Bring someone who is even five per cent of the greats they were,” he said.

In response to the argument that a biopic would be an honour for anyone, Adil reiterated that a lot of effort goes into making biopics that are worthy of the title of “tribute”, citing the example of Ranveer Singh’s portrayal of Kapil Dev in 83 and Ranbir Kapoor’s portrayal of Sanjay Dutt in Sanju.

“Did you see how Ranveer quite literally moulded himself into that person? It takes hard work. Biopics are a result of sweat and blood. Even Sanju was amazing. I haven’t seen such an actor in our industry.”