Chosen Actors

Our film Dacoits had 3 main characters. All the actors were to be mature as demanded by the script all the characters required were supposed to be in the age range of 22-25 because Dacoits in our society are classified as frustrated teenagers. Mostly, guys in their late teenage commit these kinds of crimes so & as far as the role of Imran goes (The Driver) again a mature middle class guy would fit the description who would be allowed to drive at night. So, it was obvious that we had to bring from outside as we ourselves weren’t appropriate for these kind of roles.

Imran –Sahal Manzoor Sheikh

This is Sahal Manzoor Sheikh, 24 Years Old, currently studying in fatih university Turkey. Sahal graduated from LSE & is in Turkey but came to Lahore visit & after few meetings he agreed to help in our film opening. Sahal was an experienced actor as he did theatres in his university days in Lahore. He is a very versatile actor too, Sahal led his drama team to different competitions in his university days & have also worked in few small time film projects, so he was a complete acting package. Sahal was firstly considered for the role of Bilal or Usama (Dacoits) & it soon it was confirmed that he would be playing Bilal but something was off with him playing Bilal’s character, we even shifted him to the role of Usama to bring back his charm but every time he played a Dacoit’s role we failed to bring the best out of him. So, finally we decided to try him for the role of Imran(Driver) & just after the first rehearsal of his in the role of Imran, he managed to charm everyone with his performance. Though there was never a doubt about Sahal being a tremendous actor but he certainly was being wasted in the role of a Dacoit. With his cute perky looks he most certainly suited the character of Imran who was the victim of this gun point robbery. At the start we didn’t actually sorted out an exact face or a body structure of a person for this role but after Sahal started this role, he was being fitting perfectly in every aspect for this role. Firstly, his middle class brat looks were good enough to suit the role. Then, his innocent face made audience love him & support his character throughout the sequence even when he’s being mugged audience feels bad about him being the victim & getting dragged into all of it. Sahal took the role of Imran to another level which is a gifted technique to only some actors. Sahal brought great energy to the sets whenever he was rehearsing or shooting. He was

always kind & would fit in every role, with his experience he also told us a lot about different techniques to get the best out of a character.

Dacoits:

Bilal- Gul Abbas

Gul Abbas is 24 years old, completing his masters from LSE. Gul was always considered for the role of a Dacoit we never had any doubt about that but the real issue was that in which Dacoit’s role he would do his best. Gul was never a professional like Sahal but no doubt he is a talented guy with some natural acting skills. Firstly, Gul was doing the

role of Bilal but then we swapped both Dacoits for a better view though that failed as Gul didn’t had that voice power that was needed for the role Usama. Gul with his creepy expressions & intense movement did justification to his character. Gul came out on top for his role though he had the least dialogues of all three characters but his job of supporting his fellow Dacoit & keeping a Lookout while Bilal was to the job, Gul did that perfectly.

Bilal- Muaz Sheikh

Muaz is again a LSE student completing his masters with Gul Abbas. Muaz could be said was the hardest piece of puzzle as casting his character was the most difficult. Firstly, Muaz was considered for the role of Imran because of his looks & body structure. Muaz was supposed to be the protagonist but could not carry the burden of leading the whole cast to the conclusion maybe because of lack of experience or the fact that Sahal outclassed him in the role of Imran. But, however next thing we know that we had to use him as a Dacoit & again the issue risen was which Dacoit Bilal or Usama. Now, after a lot of discussion & rehearsals we finally concluded him the role of Bilal as Bilal’s character needed to be loud enough to scare Imran when mugging him. Muaz lacked experience so we had to work on his acting skills but soon surprisingly he truly justified his character with his silent mysterious looks. Muaz who looked a lost cause at start came out as an amazing character. Muaz spoke from his eyes when threatening Imran & that was amazing, he had this look of fear which made him perfect for the role of Bilal.