Acting is in my blood; my grandmother, mother and father are all actors and it was a natural choice for me to also get into acting,” says Shariq Hassan, son of Riyaz Khan and Uma—whose debut film Pencil is releasing today. Talking about how he bagged the role of an anti-hero in the film, he says, “My interests were primarily photography and football but I liked acting too. Director Mani Nagaraj approached me for the role and I really liked the script. Hence there was no need for a second thought to say yes.”
“Acting wasn’t as easy as I thought. I was quite confident before the shooting, but after standing right in front of the camera, I was dumbstruck! I didn’t know what to do and when to say the dialogue. It was only after a couple of takes, I was finally able to deliver my lines,” he says. My parents helped me a lot when it comes to acting. They taught me how to react for certain situations. They lent me a useful hand to hone my acting skills. But once I stand in front of the camera, it is all about how I emote and what I do,” adds Shariq.
Talking about his character in Pencil, he says, “I play an unusual role in the film. My character has different shades—both positive and negative. I’m the son of rich parents in the film and it’s a playboy kind of character, who is naughty and carefree.” Shariq says that he also had a nice experience acting with GV Prakash in the film. “We were both new to acting, and got to know each other more,” he says.
Ask him if he would like to follow the footsteps of his father in playing negative roles, and he says, “I like character roles more. If the part I play is of prominence, I’ll take it. Coming to negative roles — yes, I would like roles that have an ample scope for performance in them.”
Another cool news for the family is that Shariq’s younger brother Shamshad will also appear on the silver screen in the film Sutta Palam Sudatha Palam! “Shamshad plays the main role in that film which is a children’s movie. We are all awaiting its release,” he signs off.
