


JS: I was disappointed after being replaced from Zahid’s film but I didn’t give up. I felt horrible and frustrated and it’s something that I still cannot forget.ĮT: How did you cope with that incident that made you the star you are today? A distributor from Punjab Popular Films was against my selection because of my previous flop and had threatened to not buy the film if I was not removed. Shafi Mohammed who was cast as the lead actor in Zahid’s film said that we should just enjoy working together so I agreed. However, on the sixth day of filming I was replaced by Faisal Rehman. It was for a supporting role so I was doubtful about accepting the offer. JS: My first film Dhamaka was a flop, but I still managed to get another offer from Zahid Shah. PHOTO: ANIS SHAKURĮT: Have you had any bad experiences in the industry since you first started? That’s how my journey to stardom started. I was paired with Shabnam, one of the best heroines of that time. The film titled Dhamaka was written by Ibn-e-Safi and produced by Mohammed Hassan Talpur. Amar Ali Zaidi, the Salgirah famed director liked my audition and selected me for the lead role of his film. There were many others there and I didn’t have any expectations of getting selected either.

He asked me to go for an audition and I did. JS: Back in 1974, I was doing small roles on radio and theatre and was friends with one of the cameramen, Madad Ali Madad. Words melted out from his soul in a revealing interview with The Express Tribune as he divulged out his days of struggle, his return to the film scene and his turbulent marriage with Salma Agha.ĮT: What was your first film? How did you land that role?

From being part of Pakistan’s biggest blockbusters like Na Maloom Afraad, Wrong No., Jawani Phir Nahi Ani to working with Bollywood superstars like Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor in Tamasha, there isn’t anything that JS hasn’t excelled at. It’s the first lesson I learned as a professional actor. “As an actor, I think your job is to show up on time. If he has survived all these years in the spotlight relatively intact, it is definitely through a combination of amazing work and his kind approach towards people and life generally. It’s 2017 and JS still offered to hold the door for me and his mannerisms were exemplary. This is typical JS appearing to break the fourth wall of his celebrity status to welcome us. Boyish energy and cheerful cadences still unmoved from four decades on the screen this is classic JS – a superstar of the highest order. He has been around for decades and at 60 plus, he is refreshingly unchanged - hair a bit thinned, face slightly fuller, but otherwise, still the same JS. For those of us who came of age in the late 1980s, are unquestionably familiar with Jawed Sheikh and his plethora of work.
