What do you want to become?
Whomever you ask this question, you’ll get the answers similar. Doctor or engineer or pilot. That’s it, and nothing else. It seems there is nothing beyond these few fields. When I asked Usman Khan the same question, he answered something very different and weird (for our society) with confident tone of voice, “Actor, I want to be an actor.” It is normal to have a negative perspective about acting, singing and dancing in our society. Then what happened to Khan? Why did he choose something which everyone thinks cheap?
Usman Khan, 19, a handsome, charming young boy, from Lyari, is a pious person in the eyes of elders and a fun loving and jovial guy amongst his friends. He found his passion for acting and theatre while performing some plays in his school. One of his teachers recognized his talent and recommended him to join a theatre group called ARM theatre. Usman went there and joined the group. That group started to polish him through different theatre plays around Karachi.
When Khan’s parents heard that their son wants to be an actor they didn’t like it at all and told him to stop it and study, to choose a well-respected profession. Children cannot fight against the parents will and start to pursue what they decide them to be. Usman Khan is soul to stop at nothing. Instead of fighting verbally for his right to choose the career, he went to achieve a good name in theatre performance to help his motive to win in front of his parents. He says, “My parents don’t like this field. They don’t like to see me an actor. But when I received awards, their mindset started to change. Now they say with proud, “Do whatever you like.”
Khan loves art as well. He enjoys paintings and he is a good photographer too. In an art competition of Lyari Got Talent, 2015, he won the best painting award too. He wants to be photo journalist to be able to show people things they have never shown before.
How did he come out of his shell?
In school, Khan preferred to sit at the last bench of the classroom. Not because he was not good enough in studies but he was shy. He was not confident enough in talking to the people around, not even with his classmates. Theatre plays changed his life, gave him self-confidence and courage. He gives the credit of this to his teacher Mr. Jaleel Ibrahim, who has been a prominent name in teaching and changing the lives of people in Lyari.
Achievements
Khan continued to pursue his passion He Played various theatre plays throughout Karachi
. He received best theatre award on 23rd March 2014 at Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi. In the same year, Lyari Got Talent event was organized, where Khan’s team performed a theatre play called ‘Play for Peace’. Khan proved his talent their and received best performance award. He recalls that ‘the best moment of his life. His determination to succeed is strong enough. Through his enthusiasm, he’s going to find many new doors. Good Luck Usman!
