Famed Pakistani actor Imran Abbas became the latest star to be honored with the Golden Visa by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The actor, model, and singer gained quick recognition at the early stage of his career due to his skills and flawless looks. Being the youngest to six elder siblings, Imran has cherished and enjoyed every occasion with his family. One such special occasion is Eid-al-fitr, here is an excerpt on the same from Magzoid’s conversation with Imran Abbas.
1. You have prominently established yourself as a successful actor, and recently been honored with a Golden Visa. How did you start your career?
It was never my intention to become an actor, but rather I fell into it. I always wanted to be an architect and was studying in my final year at the National College of Arts, in Lahore when I started to be offered modelling contracts. Quite rapidly things spiraled from there and I came on the radar of Producers and Directors who picked me up for projects in their TV dramas and work flowed as such. From there Bollywood came into my life – Vikram Bhatt’s Creature was my first movie, starring Bipasha Basu, followed by Muzaffar Ali’s Jaanisar and then Ae Dil Hai Mushkil where I made a cameo appearance.
I feel wonderful having been issued the Golden Visa and am grateful, since prominent faces and individuals receive this. I’m really looking forward to exploring UAE even more now. UAE is very close to Pakistan so whenever I get time, I use the opportunity to visit, to explore and do lots of shopping, and see friends – it’s also a place where I get to meet my Indian friends too when I’m unable to visit India. It’s very multicultural and diverse so you get to meet people from all over the world in the UAE.
The UAE is a wonderful place to consider investment. Having the Golden Visa will now enable me to explore various options, perhaps around real estate, especially given the extraordinary architecture there is here. Though I am an actor by profession, I am a qualified Architect with a keen interest in architecture, arts and music, so this is something that really fascinates me.
2. What is your definition of the purpose of Ramadan?
To me, Ramadan is a month of patience and tolerance and I see it as an exercise for our soul. They say that if you repeat a habit for twenty days then it becomes part of your nature. From this we are taught patience, not just by virtue of abstinence from food and drink, but from everything that is negative. Things that are negative for our soul, our being, and our thinking. Slowly, this all filters into our personality and becomes part of it; it helps us disengage and almost repel from all things negative. The best things that come out of all of this for me is a sense of selflessness and altruism, where you strive to do things for others, where you engage in charitable acts, where you try to bring smiles upon faces and try to do anything that brings something positive into the lives of others. When this all becomes a part of your persona, then you view life through a completely different lens, and it infiltrates into your nature and becomes part of your life. It’s a wonderful exercise. Abstaining from food and drink is in almost every religion, whether its Hinduism or Christianity, but in Islam it extends further to include other things that are damaging to one’s own persona and soul, such the omission of anger; after observing the virtues of Ramadan for a period of thirty days it has an effect on one’s being and personality.
3. Given the change that Ramadan brings to our usual routines, how do you plan to:
Stay energetic throughout the day/perform your tasks with focus?
Time management is important. I am used to eating little and my diet is quite calculated, so it’s easy for me to divide up my meals. When its iftar I do struggle keeping away from traditional foods, like pakoras, and it is these types of foods that are eaten during the month. The sunnah is breaking a fast with tepid water and dates – such things that maintain energy levels, but do not have a detrimental effect on the body. We only need enough energy from our food as is necessary based on consumption of energy, otherwise any excess is deposited as fat. One should definitely watch what they are eating for iftar and sahoor based on their needs. In our field it is quite challenging as on shoot it’s not always in air-conditioned rooms – sometimes we are outdoors, sometimes we have action sequences, sometimes we need to stand in the heat. Our schedules are quite complex. Generally, people assume that actors lead a very luxurious life, which isn’t the case, since what goes on behind all of the glitz and glamour is a lot of hard work and grafting.
manage your time and balance between your personal, professional and community role?
These all-work hand-in-hand, simultaneously. If you’re doing charity, it doesn’t mean you need to allocate time to do charitable work. You can do this continuously, at any time and shouldn’t just be restricted to just Ramadan, though it is a wonderful virtue of the month. The most beautiful thing about the religion is that we shouldn’t bifurcate our religion with our personal lives; our religion is embedded within our personal lives so much so that you cannot separate the two. This is a basic tenant of Ramadan and our religion; we cannot separate our religious life and our personal life
4. What changes do you make in Ramadan to your:
technology usage?
I’m generally trying to cut down on my tech time and making a conscious effort to steer away from the use of technology too much, slowly. I am not particularly a gadget savvy, and I don’t know about a lot of technologies and applications but I’m happy and content being like that. My social media usage currently is what I feel compelled to engage in, when using Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, but I’m trying to bring back a little more routine to my life. With every passing day I am trying to cut down my screentime. Right now, I’m looking to get a farmhouse away from the City where internet is unavailable or limited. I want to spend time there when I’m away from acting and my usual schedule, to reconnect with nature and recuperate. This isn’t just specific to Ramadan, but generally, I do feel that it is healthy for us all to step back a little from technology for the sake of our mental well-being since it has penetrated us so much without us even being conscious of it.
social life?
I have a very limited handful of friends. I try to spend more time with my family, with my nephews, nieces, and siblings. I have lost both of my parents, which is a very unfortunate part of my life; had they been alive perhaps I would have been spending the bulk of my time with them. I don’t attend parties and get-togethers. I am more of a homebody – when I return from my work, I like to spend time at home. I am like this, not only in Ramadan but otherwise, where my lifestyle is more home centric. I enjoy spending time with my pets, my plants and even myself over spending time with people who aren’t on the same wavelength as me.
5. What’s your secret to staying motivated and consistent throughout Ramadan, especially when you hit mid-Ramadan slump?
In all honesty when we hit mid-Ramadan, I feel saddened that the month of blessings is nearing an end. I actually start to feel a little low instead of feeling elated that half of the month has passed. The number of blessings and mercy in this month, and the feeling of not having availed it all is saddening, so I make a conscious effort to become more devout, utilizing the remaining time as best as I can.
6. What are your tips for our readers on approaching the Qur’an and coming out a different person at the end of this Ramadan, In sha Allah?
We hold the Quran close to our hearts and we read it, however, we need to also understand and implement the learnings and teaching from it too. This is such a complete book that there is not a single worldly thing that we can’t extract lessons for; it’s a manual and guide for us. For us to understand and implement the learnings from the Holy Quran is important. The tafseer or science behind the scriptures is important, and thus we should seek guidance and explanation from those who are well versed and firmly grounded in knowledge, since it is not so straightforward for us to simply read and interpret based on our understanding. We should seek to learn from those who have been gifted to understand and interpret the Quran correctly, and without a shadow of a doubt the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his descendants, his companions, his disciples, and such gifted individuals are the best amongst those to correctly interpret and share the wisdoms and learnings with us.
7. What is the biggest positive change any particular Ramadan has brought to your life?
This Ramadan is unlike any other Ramadan that I have been used to having in the past. For the first time I am feeling a sense of hollowness and emptiness. I lost my father a couple of years ago and now with the passing of mother, it’s the first Ramadan without either of my parents. I am experiencing a huge sense of loss without having the shelter or blessings of my parents. However, this year I am also feeling a lot closer to my maker than before, which perhaps wasn’t the case in the past – Allah (SWT) loves us more than seventy times our mother, and though I have a deep sadness for having lost my mother, I feel a renewed sense of nearness with my maker, which is a blessing. I feel closer to my God and have more communication with Him, and am best able to share my sadness, anxieties, and pain, some which I can and cannot express, because He is the knower of what is in my heart. This Ramadan has been important for me from that respect and bettering my reliance on my maker.