The last two years have been rough for the entire world in terms of every business, especially tourism and hospitality, says Hasan Zaidi. The actor adds that since there was a restricted movement, even showbiz came to a standstill as no shoots were happening, the industry couldn’t produce much so yes things got affected. It goes without saying that the economy of the entire world got affected.
“But the show must go on and work has started, although with a slightly smaller budget. We are relentless in terms of our appetite for entertainment and I think that has taken us forward to keep entertaining and producing new content. I think yes there has been a bounce-back in terms of television, movies, and web,” he adds.
As far as the pros and cons of being a part of the entertainment industry is concerned, Hasan Zaidi says, “There are a lot of pros as you get to fulfill your dream, you get to act, sing and do anything you want to be involved in showcasing your talent. It’s a beautiful platform and once you get viable projects you get the kind of recognition you are looking for. You are seen, liked, and appreciated by the people and there is so much scope of collaboration after that to continue the journey. The cons are that it is a very time demanding thing, and sometimes does have its virtues on the wrong side where people sometimes do get selfish, don’t have time for anything else and make some tough choices. Anything and everything you do when you are in the public eye is scrutinised and over scrutinised and there is a lot of wrong meaning taken out of it. One has to be open, careful and responsible especially in the day and age of social media.”
As an actor, everything has been special for Hasan Zaidi. He is happy to have played so many characters, to hone his skills, develop his craft and branch out to different mediums and stories.
“Over the years I feel grateful to have become somebody who somewhere is regarded as somebody who can deliver and that itself is a big opportunity. To be able to keep working, to inspire people, to be able to tell stories and become a medium of change and take storytelling forward in a beautiful way has always been the aim. I think in terms of my films there was Vikram Bhatt’s Horror Story, in terms of TV shows, it would be Ek Ladki Anjana Si and after that Hamne Li Hai Shapath, Khotte Sikke and Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana, have been an absolutely wonderful experience. These projects made a mark in my career,” he shares.
Hasan’s career goals are “to be a working actor and do viable projects” with good storylines. He wants “to keep inspiring and be inspired”.
“I am not dissatisfied about how my career is going but yes you want to be part of good projects and stories. I want to work more but never want to be overworked. I want to have my time off to be able to disconnect from one project and move to the next good one,” he says.
Giving a message to his fans and his goodbye note to 2021, Hasan adds, “Stay safe, be responsible, and have fun. You must follow your dreams and do not fall for any social media gimmick. You don’t need a lot of likes, you don’t need the approval of a lot of people in terms of the way you look. Remember, you are absolutely wonderful, unique as who you are, so just enjoy and embrace your life. 2021 has taught us a lot of lessons. It has given us hope, more determination. 2022 is going to be wonderful with all these lessons taken forward and I hope it is a great year for everyone,” he ends.
