Pak actor resorts painting to survive after film career goes nowhere

Mumbai: A Pakistani actor, Shahid Naseeb,who has numerous television serials to his credit has been forced to become a house painter to make ends meet.

"I eat only once a day. I don't have a home here in Lahore so I sleep on the roads; my budget doesn't allow me the luxury of renting something," Naseeb said.

Naseeb went from riches to rags and was forced to become a painter because he was not getting enough roles. He has worked in serials such as 'Dullari,' 'Jab Usse Mujh Se Mohabbat Hui' and 'Iltaja'.

"Things are extremely tough for me right now but I know that there are many others in Lollywood and Bollywood who have faced such adversities before making it big," Naseeb was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

Naseeb who is now getting Rs 20,000 a month, is looking for new opportunities in the music industry.

"I have been trying to save some cash so I can release a song of my own now," he said, adding "I've met with some musicians in Lahore who are asking for Rs 100,000 to help me compose the track and my mission is to collect that much."

"I cannot go back to my village because everyone will laugh at my failure there. Even the labourers I work with taunt me by calling me names like 'Shahid Rungwala' and that makes me feel very sad," he said.

He claimed he had written the whole script for the 2016 action-thriller, Whistle, but was not given credit.

"Whistle seemed like a solid opportunity to me back in the day; I thought it would open a lot of doors for me but unfortunately, I was wrong. Now I am painting strangers' houses to earn some bread," he added.