Director Nadeem Baig is known for openly sharing his thoughts about his favourite actors, and Humayun Saeed is definitely one of them.
Recently, Baig appeared as a guest on Say It All with Iffat Omar, where he discussed how Humayun Saeed compares to Bollywood’s Khans – Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan – in terms of suitability for action roles.
The host asked, “I heard that you are going to work on an action film with him, should we expect a transformation like Shah Rukh, Aamir, or Salman?”
Nadeem Baig responded, “I think the disadvantage Shah Rukh and Aamir is their body types. The advantage for Humayun is his personality and physique. If I didn’t know these three people and they were not stars, and they stood in front of me wanting to be cast in my next film, I would physically cast Humayun because he is tall and broad, which suits action characters, much like actors in Hollywood or South Indian films.”
“Since he was a romantic hero, the trend for romantic leads has faded, and such films have become less accessible for him. So he had to rediscover himself to survive in the action genre. Salman Khan has been the most successful in this transition because his body, face, and eyes suit action roles. I don’t think Aamir Khan suits action, but he does well in drama and other genres. Shah Rukh tries hard to look good in action roles.
“However, I tell you, if I have the same facilities and budget, and if you see Humayun doing action, he would outshine all of them. I would like him to work out for a year so he can become someone who is physically fit. But he really loves food,” Nadeem Baig added.
He also talked about how Arsalan Naseer won the Best Actor award, beating Naumaan Ijaz.
“For instance, in front of Naumaan Ijaz, Arsalan Naseer, who just entered the industry through YouTube, he gets an award for Best Actor. I’m sorry, this surprises me. Actually, such awards don’t exist in Pakistan. There is one award for fashion, and they have to include the film and TV category so that they have good attendance and good faces sitting in the front row. They give five awards each for film and TV. So it’s about the category. You cannot put Sajal Aly and Saba Hamid in the same category, it will be very unfair.”
Talking about the credibility of the current awards show, he categorically stated:
“I think the awards that are being given, they hold no value. I’m not saying this lightly, I mean, when something is so public, if you don’t acknowledge it, it diminishes your worth. The awards you give then lose their significance. It’s as if everyone just shows up today and gets one of these social media awards, including Lux, I don’t know what the format is, but when the public is voting, it can be hacked. You can hire 500 people to vote or do something else. At the end of the day, what happens is that you receive a surprise there that leaves you stunned.”
