Pak scribe who inspired character in Bajrangi Bhaijaan on cloud nine
NEW DELHI: Pakistani television journalist Chand Nawab is over the moon that he inspired a character in the hit film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which features Salman Khan as an Indian who sneaks into Pakistan to reunite a speech-impaired girl with her family.
“I saw the film on the first day it was released in Pakistan. And I was very happy with the way Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrayed me in Bajrangi Bhaijaan,” Nawab told HT on phone from Karachi.
Six years ago, 52-yearold Nawab became a hit on YouTube after his colleagues posted a video of his flubs as a prank. It was this video that inspired the character of Chand Nawab, a Pakistani journalist who helps Salman Khan in the film.
“I want to thank (director) Kabir Khan, Salman Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the way they portrayed me and Pakistan in the film. Nawazuddin has done a good role,” said Nawab, a reporter with Karachi-based Indus News.
“I was on a TV show with Kabir Khan and he suggested I should come to Mumbai and work in films,” he added.
Nawab said he had been receiving calls from friends and colleagues to discuss the character in the film. “Others have been coming to my home with cakes and sweets. My colleagues and bosses have expressed their appreciation,” he said.
And thanks to the film, there have also been offers to appear in Pakistani television commercials. “There have been some offers, let’s see what happens,” said Nawab, whose mother hailed from Agra and his father from Bharatpur.
But there is also a tinge of regret. Nawab said he would have been happier if his wife Riffat, who passed away last year, could have watched it with him, adding that his ‘sasural’ (in-laws’ home) is at Tonk in Rajasthan.
While Nawab is now basking in the fame, he was earlier upset by the video on YouTube that started it all.
But as time passed, Nawab changed his opinion about the video that features a series of flubs he made while recording a P2C or piece-to-camera, the clip that anchors a television report, for a report about people leaving Karachi to spend the Eid holidays with their families in the interiors of Sindh.