Panchayat actor Faisal Malik: Never imagined would be offered a lead role
The Panchayat actor will be shooting for the feature film Hanuman Bhaiya in Uttar Pradesh
The Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Panchayat actor Faisal Malik is gearing up to play the lead in a feature film, says it’s something he never dreamt of.
“Back in 2002, I came to Mumbai to become an actor but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be offered to play a protagonist. Hero banne ka to sapna bhi nahi dekha tha. Writer Sharad Tripathi will direct the film Hanuman Bhaiya where I play the title role. Bahut hi pyari se kahani hai set in a small town. Currently, we are in the pre-production stage and are looking forward to starting the shoot in Uttar Pradesh after July this year,” says Malik, a UPite.
Before Malik’s character deputy pradhan Prahlad Pandey from the popular OTT series become immensely popular, the actor had done small roles and started a production house with shows like Smoke (2018) and Uninvited.
“Panchayat changed it all. Offers started pouring in and since then I’m going with the flow. Makers have started taking me seriously, so I am also taking up new challenges. Kafi kuch kiya hai jo aane wala hai,” says Malik on his recent visit to Lucknow.
In Ritam Srivastava’s OTT Series tentatively titled Qahar he plays a professor, a cop in Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper, again a cop in Dedh Bigha Zameen with Pratik Gandhi, a professor in the series Dating Shating besides web-film Jo Tera Hai Woh Mera Hai with Paresh Rawal and Amit Sial.
“All my production work is on hold for now as the market is also very unpredictable these days and then of course acting is keeping me busy. But I am looking forward to producing a film that will be shot in my hometown,” he shares.
Malik wants to focus on himself, but his comic avatars are not letting him do so. “I am serious about focusing on health but due to continuity in my series as well as other comic roles are not allowing me to do so. But kuch na kuch toh karna padega on this front...my love for food is also a culprit,” says the self-confessed foodie.
