Fawad Afzal Khan (Urdu: فواد افضل خان; born November, 1981) is a Pakistani film and television actor, producer, rock singer and an occasional model. Khan has established himself as a critically and commercially acclaimed actor in Pakistani television and film industry. He has appeared in Pakistan's highest rated television shows in genres of romance, comedy and social drama.
Khan rose to prominence in the Pakistani movie Khuda Kay Liye released in 2007 and later as a lead actor in commercially acclaimed soap opera's Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai, for the later which he won Best Television Actor at the Lux Style Awards. In 2014, Khan made his Bollywood debut in a romantic comedy film Khoobsurat.[4] for which he received Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Khan was a leading member of nu metal band Entity Paradigm until 2012.
Personal life
Khan was born on 29 November 1981 in Karachi. He spent earlier years of his life abroad. Khan in an interview shared that "the nature of my father's job required his family to travel, so we moved to Athens, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Riyadh and then went to Manchester during the Gulf War, moving back to Lahore closer to my father's retirement". He was 13 years old at that time and since then he has been living in Lahore.
[1] Khan obtained his
A-levels from LGS Lahore and went on to complete his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Lahore.
[5] He first acting performance was amateur acting in a theater play called
Spartacus during A-level in 1999.
[2][6]
Khan married his teenage sweetheart Sadaf Aftab on 12 November 2005 after a courtship of 8 years from whom, he has a son named Ayaan.
[7] He terms himself a hopeless romantic in real life and proclaims he can take a bullet for woman he loves.
[8] Khan, in collaboration with his wife, established a clothing brand called
SILK by Fawad Khan.
[9] It is a luxury
Ready-to-wear brand, debut collection was launched in August 2012 at Lahore by Khan.
[9][10][11]
Diabetes
Khan, developed type 1 diabetes at the age of 17 after he met an accident that damaged his pancreas. Khan does not shy away from talking about it and encourages adapting a healthy lifestyle. He recollects the memory of the accident as "While it did it not hit me while I was at the hospital, when we were driving back from Islamabad to Lahore, it was raining in the car and my two sisters were sleeping next to me at the back and it struck me for the first time that there were things from there on that I would not be able to do in my life and sort of felt disabled. I did not let anyone know how I was feeling in the car, but I broke down inside".
[12]
Interestingly, he admits to have a very bad sweet tooth and credits his wife for successfully managing his diabetes. He wears a small device on his arm all the time which monitors his sugar levels.
[13]
Career
Film & television
Khan first appeared on TV in a sitcom called
Jutt and Bond back in 2001. His next acting stint came in 2007 with a Pakistani movie
Khuda Kay Liye where he portrayed the role of a young Pakistani urban musician named
Sarmad.
[14] The movie was a huge commercial and critical success however Khan could not continue in cinema owing to the poor infrastructure of Pakistani cinema at that time.
[15] Khan spoke about his experience with the movie as "It was a total knee-knocking experience. I was extremely nervous, I had very little can of film to work with. We were using one of those noisy old cameras to film. Every time the camera would start rolling, I’d be thinking, “This is it.”"
[16]
He decided to pursue acting career on Television. In 2008, he stepped into full-time drama serials appearing in Anjum Shehzad's travel adventure drama series
Satrangi. Later he also appeared in
Dil Deke Jayen Ge and
Jeevan Ki Rahoon Main.
[17]
Khan at Silk Exhibition Launch in Lahore, in 2012
It was in 2010 when Khan earned major accolades in his television career from critics and audience for playing the role of
Hassan in Period drama
Dastaan, it starred
Sanam Baloch opposite him and was directed by
Haissam Hussain [18] After the success of
Dastaan, Khan and Baloch were cast in two more serials
Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan and
Akbari Asghari immediately after Dastaan. Both shows were declared commercially successful. Khan considers
Akbari Asghari as his career best performance; he played the role of a cunning villager named
Asghar who conspires to take hold of his uncle's wealth.
[19]
In 2011, Khan became a household name after playing the role of
Asher Hussain, a wealthy man who marries his middle-class cousin, in the critically and commercially successful drama
Humsafar.
[6] Humsafar received high Television Rating Points and went on to win the Best TV Play (Satellite) award at the
12th Lux Style Awards.
[6] Khan was praised for his performance and he won the Best TV Actor (Satellite) award for his portrayal of Asher Hussain in the same ceremony.
[6][20][21] After
Humsafar, Khan next appeared in the drama
Ashkwhich received mixed reviews from audience and critics for it's execution.
[22]
Next benchmark success of Khan's career came with the immensely popular show
Zindagi Gulzar Hai hitting the Pakistani television screen in 2012-13. He played the role of a rich college going student named
Zaroon Junaid opposite actress
Sanam Saeed. Khan's performance earned him accolades from both viewers and reviewers. He won multiple awards for the show including
Best Actor (Popular)award at the
2nd Hum Awards and
Best Actor satellite at
13th Lux Style Awards [23][24] His natural chemistry with
Sanam Saeed earned huge appreciation from the audience and critics alike; the couple won the
Best Onscreen Couple award in both popular and jury categories at the
2nd Hum Awards.
[24] The series was aired in India on the newly launched channel
Zindagi from 13 June 2014 to 18 July 2014.
In the first half of 2013, Khan was seen in two
Telefilms Behadd and
Armaan. He played the titular role in
Armaan, along with
Vasay Chaudhry and
Aamina Sheikh, a remake of the 1966 film of the same name.
[27] Khan was chosen for the role due to his similarity in looks and style with
Waheed Murad; the hero of the original Armaan. Later that year Khan's TV project
Numm was aired on
Geo TV. Numm was a highly anticipated show but met lukewarm reception from viewers after first few episodes were broadcast. Khan's portrayal of protagonist
Wali Bakht Khan, a feudal scion, was praised however overall response to the show failed to generate good TV ratings for the show.
Bollywood (2014-present)
Khan promoting 'Khoobsurat' on Red FM 93.5 in August 2014
Khan was supposed to make his Bollywood debut soon after Khuda ke lye was released. But due to unstable political situation between Pakistan and India after Mumbai attacks things could not materialize. "This is certainly not the first Bollywood project that was offered to me, Way back in 2008, I was supposed to fly down to Mumbai to meet several producers and directors, but I wasn’t able to make it. When Khoobsurat came along, there was no way I could say no. I mean, it was the chance to meet and work with a legend such as Anil Kapoor." said Khan in an interview he gave in 2014.
[28]
In 2014, Khan made his debut in Bollywood in
Shashanka Ghosh's
Khoobsurat opposite
Sonam Kapoor.
[29] A remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1980 hit of the same name starring
Rekha and
Rakesh Roshan, the film revolves around Sonam Kapoor's character, Dr. Mili Chakravarty, who is a middle class physiotherapist from Delhi.
[30] Khan plays Yuvraj Vikram Singh Rathore, Mili's love interest and the son of her patient; a Royal Indian family.
[30] Movie received positive to mediocre reviews, however Khan's performance was praised by the critics and noted as one of the highlights of the film.
[31][32] Moreover, the film emerged as a box office success, being declared as a "hit" by various media outlets. The film was particularly well received in the UK, UAE and Pakistan owing to Khan's following in these countries for his previous television work.
[33][34]
Music
Initially two separate rock bands,
Ahmed Ali Butt's Entity and Khan's Paradigm were both active in the Lahore music scene since 1994 and 2000, respectively.
[35][36] During the early 2000s, the two bands collaborated with each other on the title track for Khan's and
Butt's popular television sitcom,
Jutt and Bond, when the show's director suggested that they do the title song together.
[35][36] Led by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, the lead guitarist of Paradigm, the two bands collaborated and recorded the title song, Hamein Aazma, which played at the end of the show.
[35][37] In early 2002, advertisements for
Pepsi's Battle of the Bands began to air on television, calling upon entries from aspiring Pakistani bands. Since independent compilations and releases on record were lacking on both sides of the band, they decided to send in "
Hamein Aazma" as a collaborative effort, under the name of Entity Paradigm.
[35] It was during this time that
Entity Paradigm (EP) officially came into existence, with Fawad Khan as the band's lead vocals.
[35][38]
Entity Paradigm's debut album,
Irtiqa, released in October 2003 and received wide critical appreciation, especially the popular romantic track
Rahguzar.
[6][35] On 9 January 2007, the band disbanded due to various band members pursuing different projects.
[35] The band briefly reunited in 2010 to perform
Bolo Bolo in the third season of the popular TV music show
Coke Studio. In the same year, the band also released their patriotic single
Shor Macha, written by Khan, Ahmed and Salman, and recorded at The Albert Studios.
[39]
Khan is no longer associated with the band. He quit when his acting career took the front seat in 2012. The band members announced his quit on official Facebook page of EP quoting
As we all know that Fawad A Khan is extremely busy with his acting career therefore he has requested pardon from EP, Coincidently Waqar Khan has moved to Islamabad thus cannot continue with EP. Due to their current situations both are unable to give the time and effort that EP requires.We respect and understand their circumstances & wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. We all have been together since 1999 and over the years have become a family. They both will always be missed but will always be with us in spirit. We thank them both for offering EP their support for future. [40]
Writing
Khan is known for regularly improvising the scenes in his TV shows. He has expressed his interest in going behind the camera for writing and direction in future. To fulfill his desire, he co-wrote the screenplay of his
Telefilm Armaan (2013 film) with
Vasay Chaudhry and director of the movie Anjum Shahzad.
[41] Screenplay of the telefilm received positive reviews. He also wrote the lyrics for few songs such as
Rahguzar during his association with
Entity Paradigm.
Production
Reception
Khan is frequently hailed as the quintessential romantic face of Pakistani TV industry in the media. He is often credited with re-introducing the subtle romance to Pakistani television screens with his shows. According to
Firstpost His old-world mannerisms, rugged looks and the way he slips Urdu into his English all come together to make Khan seem distinct in a very charming way from the big, flashy world of Bollywood.
[16] He has been particularly applauded for possessing the art of speaking with eyes both in Pakistani and Indian media. Maliha Rahman of
DAWN wrote
Fawad Khan has eyes that can go from guarded to piercing in the blink of a moment. He just as easily switches from rock star to romantic hero to anti-hero.[42] Commenting on the acting prowess of Khan, the editor of
Filmfare mentioned
There is a thehraav in the way he handles his scenes. He knows the art of speaking with his eyes. His silences speak volumes. No other actor (and I'm talking purely in terms of acting here) made me come out in goosebumps as he does. [43]
Khan's show
Zindagi Gulzar Hai received unprecedented success in India for a television show in such short span. Khan was praised for his natural performance and good looks. His popularity created a mass swooning and collective hysteria amongst female audience. A term "Fawad Fever" started circulating on social media; denoting his popularity.
[44]An Indian daily reported
"Fawad Afzal Khan became a massive hit among girls since the first look hit the telly world. His charisma completely wooed the audience and they looked forward to the show" [45]
After the release of his debut Bollywood movie Khoobsurat, he sparked the leading Bollywood writers and magazines to take notice and applaud his looks and acting skills. He prompted
Shobhaa De to take notice and declare him, in a column, to be "the yummiest, most sinful treat in town".
[46] Another review on Miss Malini's noted
On the verge of sounding like Glenn Close from Fatal Attraction, I really think Fawad Khan was the breakout performer in this movie. He looks princely, acts princely, his face is princely, his beard is princely, and his biceps are totally king material. All hail Fawad Khan!.
[47] Koel Purie praised Khan's screen presence and wrote
Fawad shows you how a real man does it. It being everything. His quiet screen presence makes you fuzzy and tingly and you really believe any minute he's going to jump out of the screen grab you, kiss you right on the mouth and whisk you away into his palace. His silky dialogue delivery transports you to an enchanted bygone era. And when he takes his top off in the dark you want all the Khans and the Kapoors to stop waxing or simply keep their shirts on. India, please lets keep him.[48]
Post his Bollywood debut, Khan has frequently been voted into top slots of various
fan's choice and
editor's choice lists. Few among prominent ones include
Best Dressed,
Best Styled,
Google's Most Searched Male Bollywood Actors in India 2014[49],
Asia's Sexiest Men Eastern Eye [50],
Times Celebex: Bollywood Stars' Rating top 50,
[51] Best Debutant of 2014,
[52] and
51 Most Popular Bollywood celebrities of 2014 by MensXp [53] etc.
Humanitarian & Social Causes
Khan regularly participates in the charity and social causes in Pakistan and internationally. His most prominent association with charities include
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and
Islamic Relief. He dedicated his debut Bollywood movie Khoobsurat to the cancer patients of SKMCH&RC and routinely participates in the fundraising campaigns by the institution. Khan took forward his association with the SKMCH by appearing in its telethon fundraising campaign which was telecast on
ARY Digital Network in January and February 2015. In 2013, 2014 & 2015 Khan visited the UK and USA for participating in charity dinner galas and concerts organized by the various charities.
[54]
In 2012, Khan was appointed as a brand ambassador of the WWF
Earth Hour campaign. Commenting on his role, he shared that it was an honor to be associated with the cause and he hoped he would be able to convince people to adopt a safer strategy for energy conservation in future.
[56]
Brand Endorsements
Khan frequently appears in Print and electronic advertisements of the most popular fashion and lifestyle brands. His most notable endorsements include:
Filmography
Key
 | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
..
Television
Awards & Nominations
Fawad Khan has replaced Saif to play a charming womaniser in the drama after Excel's negotiations with Shahid Kapoor proved futile.
(Above) Fawad Khan as Hassan and Sanam Baloch as Bano of Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam.
