Meet Yasir Hussain: unlike others of his generation, he wants to do more than just act — he wants to write as well. Be it film, television or theatre, Yasir is making his mark and is considered as one of the better comedic actors at present. Like the great Moin Akhtar, he is good at hosting ceremonies, performing skits and playing any character at the drop of the hat.
“What started out as a means to become rich later became a way to avoid bad scripts,” said Yasir, explaining his love for writing. “When I started acting in Islamabad, actors were paid Rs500 and writers were paid Rs1,000 by the NGOs who backed the project,” he said, “In order to generate a stable income, I started to write. Later when I was offered to act in TV plays; I couldn’t stand some of the scripts and decided to use my writing skills to avoid working in substandard stuff.”
Yasir, however, doesn’t like to be called Moin Akhtar’s successor although he has co-hosted events like Lux Style Awards and the opening ceremony of the Pakistan Super League recently. “Moin sahib was one of the greatest performers Pakistan has ever produced,” he said, “If I can perform even a little bit like him, I would consider that an achievement. I still have a long way to go to be known just as an actor, being called the greatest comedian’s successor will shift my attention from doing quality work.”
The journey to success hasn’t been an easy one for him. From changing his base to Karachi (from Islamabad) to struggling as a VJ on a local music channel, he has been there and done that. “I want to be known as an actor who can write,” he said, “I love acting but feel that writing scripts is fun and challenging at the same time and that’s why I charge more for writing!”
Yasir Hussain tells Omair Alavi after being overlooked during awards season
The talented artist elaborates on his work in film. “In Ho Mann Jahaan, portions of my script were retained,” he said, “Lahore Se Aagey and Band To Ab Bajay Ga are my upcoming projects as an actor/writer and writer respectively. While I play the lead as Moti in the former, I will not be acting in the latter. Band To Ab Bajay Ga features Fahad Mustafa (who is also producing the film) and will be directed by Anjum Shehzad whom I feel are as enthusiastic as I am about the project.”
Talking of Moti — the character that made him a household name — how was it conceived? “I try to create characters from people around me and Moti is based on a friend of mine named Ishaq,” he related, “I have known him from childhood and although he asked me not to reveal his name (because his wife won’t be happy about it), I have announced it. He still stutters in real life although he believes that now he is cured.”