Pakistani Actor Adnan Siddiqui on Taking Creative Control: ‘Give Me Something Good Or Listen To My Offer’

Adnan Siddiqui believes an actor has no boundaries, certainly not politically drawn ones that define geography on a cultural and sociological level. Toward the end of our conversation, the Lahore-raised actor and producer reminds us how – once upon a time – India and Pakistan were one country.

He does this in the context of the hate comments he received via social media for mourning the passing of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in February. “The kind of hatred in those comments [online] that was really sad to see. Just because our two countries are not in a good situation, it doesn’t mean you should say, ‘Accha hua chala gaya’ [good that he died]. My heart bleeds to see such comments.”

Siddiqui can speak about these topics only because he’s an actor who has built stature and experience over the last 31 years, a contemporary to the likes of Humayun Saeed (who are also close friends) and also crossed over into Bollywood with 2017 film Mom, alongside the late actor Sridevi. In 2007, Siddiqui also shared cast credits with the likes of Angelina Jolie and Irrfan Khan in the Hollywood production A Mighty Heart, which detailed the kidnapping of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Television dramas remain Siddiqui’s forte right from the Nineties and he recently added reality shows such as Tamasha (similar to U.K. series Big Brother) to his list. With the latter, he was accused of copying the Indian counterpart Bigg Boss and its host Salman Khan. “I got bashed like anything,” Siddiqui says with a laugh. He had to clarify that he wasn’t copying anyone. So influential was his role as a host who enters the house and mingles with the contestants — an original idea introduced in this format — that the Indian counterpart Bigg Boss host and superstar Salman Khan too began entering the house to participate in activities as part of the recent season 14. “I wrote a post then to say, ‘I rest my case.’ I was getting a lot of appreciation from India as well,” Siddiqui adds.

At this point in his career, choosing (and creating) roles is an important journey to navigate to Siddiqui. That’s also where his role as a producer – the founder of production company Cereal Entertainment – comes in. He describes his process of sitting down with writers and network teams to share ideas and “one-liners” and how it evolves into show or film productions.

That kind of creative control is important for Siddiqui, because the entertainment industry in the subcontinent has often been driven by select producers or channel owners, according to the actor. “That’s the reason you have to raise your voice and make yourself available. It’s teamwork at the end of the day, because an actor is made by a team and you’re supposed to support them, not just go and do your lines like a puppet,” he says.

As producer of his company’s first feature film Dum Mastam in 2022, Siddiqui recalls how he was grilled by critics about why he didn’t take on the lead role in his own production. “It wasn’t for a person of my age, so I didn’t do it. I had to be loyal to my work and it’s not like I was doing this just for me,” he says.

The actor and producer’s thought processes and personal philosophies are often backed by his experience in a wholly different field – marketing. “I worked with telcos, I worked with multi-national companies. So I know how to treat myself as a brand,” Siddiqui says. Doing his own SWOT analysis, the actor knew he had to grow by working on more international projects. “I strongly believe that actors have no boundaries. It’s all about spreading your art and sharing and learning from other countries as well,” he adds.

Even as Siddiqui is seen as captain of the team Lahore Falcons in T.V. game show Jeeto Pakistan League – “It is something of a battle, but in a very sweet way,” is how he describes the happenings – and Tamasha, there’s an upcoming movie from Cereal Entertainment in which he’s also acting. The actor adds, “I’m selecting some scripts for my next movie. Then I’m writing a serial with a team, for myself.”