Never settles on quantity over quality, actor Moazzam Ishaq

The ambitious and youthful actor, Ch Moazzam Ishaq, made his first-ever performance on television screens back in 2016 with the drama series ‘Haasil’. Still, he is not known to the masses as any other actor who began at the same time. Interestingly, he has his own reasons for it and does not consider it just an act of fate but rather a consequence of his personal course of action chosen for the career. Perhaps portraying the character of Ammar on Hum TV’s ‘Khamoshi’ in 2017 along with a cast that not only included Zara Noor, Bilal Khan, and Affan Waheed but also turned out to be the event that defined his expectations from his career most accurately. 

Not working on particular projects with potential prospects is a thing he does very often. Turning down the role of Shahmeer in ‘Qurban’ 2018, written by Zafar Mairaj, was done by him in the past, even though it turned out to be a hit drama serial. Even currently, he is deliberately staying away from the limelight due to his unpredictable temperament towards acting. Upon asking, he shared that proceeding with his career as a jack of all trades actor is still not on his menu. Some personal engagements and progress on a web series are what keep him mostly busy nowadays. Sadly, he couldn’t reveal much about the upcoming project.

Through a socially distanced telephonic conversation, Moazzam speaks about the vision he carries, the realities that an actor inevitably faces, and eventually what led him to be a part of Big Bang Production’s latest drama series ‘Dunk’.

Initially belonging to the small town by the name ‘Barwala’, not even Moazzam himself could have predicted such a chain of events that would land him into the world of showbiz. His educational background made a significant impact in determining this fate. Moving to the city of Jhelum and choosing Army Public College in 2013 as his alma mater had exposed him to the possibilities of life that he could choose for himself. That too of becoming an actor while completing his engineering degree. 

“It was not an easy road for me to enter this field, and I did the best I could to reach there. When I finally got to where I dreamt myself to be and appeared in hit television series, things started showing themselves to me very differently, and that is what made me rethink my way of doing things”, shares Moazzam. Getting fit into every role offered does not appear as a priority to him, and this distinguishes him from all others who try to carve out their careers by attaining every possible opportunity. 

An intriguing habit of the actor is to let his temperaments decide what to do and what not to do. He did not participate in any of the upcoming projects for almost a whole year before appearing again on the screens in 2017 for the television series ‘Khamoshi’. The role he had molded himself to perform was of ‘Ammar’, a young character with some very interesting things to say. It was an antagonistic role, but as the show continued, protagonist sentiments were felt for the character.

Looking back at his decisions in retrospect, Moazzam began getting recognition for the very limited amount of work he put out, only coming forward and being recognized for ‘Darr’, ‘Do Bol’, and ‘Khamoshi’. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that after making an appearance on director Ilyas Kashmiri’s ‘Khamoshi’, he got nominated in the 2018 Lux Style Awards for the category of ‘Best Emerging Talent’. “There were signs everywhere that not choosing quantity over quality was a recipe for success,” he added.

In the next year, he was under the spotlight at the 2019 Hum TV Awards. What distinguished it from the Lux Style Awards was the fact that this time he was among the winners of the show. He was deemed deserving of the Hum TV Award for Best Supporting Actor Male. That year, the best actor male was won by Humayun Saeed for his work in ‘Punjab Nahi Jaungi’.

Moazzam shares, “It was a truly electric moment when I got called to the stage and was given a once in a lifetime opportunity. For me, it was even much special as the theme of the show was based on Frieha Altaf’s ‘Mein Bhi: Me Too’ movement. I feel it’s something none of us is open to discussing, but as a nation, none of us can succeed if we do not solve the issue of harassment in the country”.

As a firsthand experience in the industry, Moazzam came face to face with the reality that he did not have any influential contacts who were helping many others. Lacking pride and prejudice, he got very disheartened upon being rejected by Nabeel Qureshi. At that time, he aimed at working in the west, where he would get to witness the extent of his luck and talent. “It was a rule of mine to never settle on quantity over quality. I decided to take a leap of fate once again and work somewhere away from all these invisible controlling hands”, he states. In 2019, the actor worked on both sides of the coin and became a part of Arc Agenda and Seal One’s cast and production crew.

Moazzam had a lot to say about the inequality of treatment given to actors, which solely depends on where they come from and who they know. 

“All my life, becoming an actor was my passion, and I truly thought that it would change my life forever. Everyone who knew me joked about it and made me believe that my mood swings would be the reason for my failure, but there was something much worse in reality. My plan to make my name based on what I bring to the table could not work in this environment. For a new actor, there are only two ways towards success. Either take your family relations, take care of all the worries, or agree to play any role you are offered, even if it disagrees with your mental portrait of you as an actor. I feel that I have been blessed beyond my imagination as I was not ready to do any of those and still get what I deserved”, Ch Moazzam Ishaq said.

Going against the flow often has consequences, and the same has happened with Moazzam. He shares an instance that occurred during the shooting of ‘Do Bol’ produced by Nadeem Baig, which aired in 2019. A camera crew member did something that was deemed unprofessional by Moazzam, which led to a quarrel between them. Being a man of a capricious mindset, he was about to quit his role and be on his way. The project was a very substantial one and rose to a lot of fame later when it got aired. Hira Mani, Affan Waheed, and Laiba Khan were among some of the star-studded cast.

Things got handled in time, and the crew guy was found at fault, so the situation got settled pleasantly. “It was a goal very high on my bucket list to work on a project being directed by the great Syed Wajahat Ali. Equally as important as completing it with dignity and my mental content”, he said in a peculiar tone. 

2019 was a year filled with huge ups and downs for Moazzam, and he also considers it an inevitable emotional roller coaster for him. He was pretty confident and hyped up to work in the Pakistani film ‘Laal Kabootar’ directed by Kamal Khan and was starring Mansha Pasha and Ahmed Ali Akbar. Once again, his role was concise yet meaningful. It was of Noman, a loving husband and a dedicated journalist who gets killed in the first part of the story. Ahmad Ali Akbar played Adeel. Moazzam had to pack up everything and in Pakistan and urgently move to the Netherlands to attend to a health crisis in the family. 

Lastly, he said, “Everything happens for a reason, and you will get your rewards sooner or later. Not being able to deliver my work in Laal Kabootar and missing the 18th Lux Style Awards at Expo Center, Karachi, made everything seem gloomy for a while. I was hoping that a film very close to me, Ali Zafar’s Teefa in Trouble, gets acknowledged. Surprisingly, it won the best film of the year. Always be optimistic!”