Sami and his family secrets
RISHI NAIR REVEALS THE FAMILY SECRET IS ABOUT TO COME OUT…
Inside Soap has always had a good feeling about Hollyoaks’ newest family, the Maaliks – and with the recent addition of lawyer Sami to the cast, the clan is now complete! The arrival of the eldest son has sparked further investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the fate of the Maalik family’s father – which also concerns another village resident. Today we’re joined by Rishi Nair, who plays Sami, on the Hollyoaks set – and we’re ready to grill the actor on the Maaliks’ family secret, and his time on the show so far…
Hi Rishi! How’s life at Hollyoaks going so far?
I’ve really been enjoying it! I’ve been here about three months, everyone is very cool, and I’ve finally sorted out my flat in Liverpool – so I feel properly settled now.
What can you tell us about the father of the Maalik family?
We know that he went down for embezzling his company. Sami believes that he wasn’t guilty, and Misbah believes he was, so that creates friction. Yasmine and Imran don’t know anything about this, but Imran makes a big discovery this week, and that leads to a very emotionally heavy scene for the whole family.
Was it nice joining the show at the same time as Ijaz Rana (Imran)?
Definitely! The relationship between us is so good on and off screen, and he can always come to me if he has any problems. It was nice that we could lean on each other at the start, but also good that we had Harvey [Virdi, aka Misbah], Krupa [Pattani, who plays Farrah] and Haiesha [Mistry, aka Yasmine] here to show us the ropes. We get on so well, and all have lunch together like a proper family.
Sami is willing to do bad things for the right reasons…
We loved the scene between Sami and James at Nightingales! Would you like more of those?
I really liked it too when I watched it back! I reckon the characters bounce off each other well, and though Sami isn’t as dark as James, I think he’s still willing to do bad things if he believes they’re for the right reasons. It’s been really fun filming with Greg [Finnegan, who plays James] – I shot two scenes with him this morning!
How does Sami compare to previous characters that you’ve played?
He’s very different from the usual. I’ve been ‘rude boys,’ and the nice-guy love interests, and I also played Shere Khan in The Jungle Book on stage. It was good to be bad for a change and make some kids cry in the audience! Sami is a very pristine lawyer, and it’s the first role I’ve had for longer than a three-month period, so I’ve tried to delve deep into his character.
Is it fun playing someone who is so rich and successful?
Well, I shot my titles the other day and someone told me I was getting a Ferrari. I said, “No, I’m not,” but there was a