Nayyar Ejaz

Some Lesser Known Facts Nayyar Ejaz

• Nayyar Ejaz is an established Pakistani film and television actor who gained popularity for playing the antagonist Salman in the Pakistani TV serial Dhuwan (1994) and Kali Das in Laag (1998).

• To pursue his studies, Ejaz moved from Quetta to Lahore, where he lived with his elder brother.

• A keen sportsman since childhood, he wanted to become a cricketer. He used to play at the under-19 level. He has also played grade cricket and a few first-class matches.

• However, he had to move back to Quetta to take care of his ill father.

• In ninth grade, Ejaz played the role of Pakistani actress Azra Aftab’s father in a TV serial. In an interview, while talking about the same he said,
  

  Once, I was in ninth grade, I played the role of a father in a TV serial, where Azra Aftab played my daughter! People thought I could get away with playing the role because I looked and sounded much older than I actually was”

• In Quetta, one day Ejaz was visiting a friend’s clothing store when his husky voice and captivating demeanour attracted Tariq Mairaj, a PTV director. After a few days, Tariq contacted Ejaz and offered him a role in a drama. Although Ejaz was a little hesitant at first as he wasn’t a trained actor, he accepted the offer and ventured into the Pakistani entertainment industry.

• He had a short stint with the Federal Government in Quetta before he pursued a FA, BA, and MA in political science.

• After making his acting debut with Asghar Nadeem Syed’s first play, Zindagi Jis Ke Naam, Ejaz came into the limelight with the TV show Dasht (1993) in which he played a stammering youngster named Shaikh, who witnessed his parents’ murders.

  

• At the beginning of his career, Ejaz appeared in a lot of TV shows on PTV. Ejaz gained popularity for starring in PTV’s show Dhuwan (1994). The show follows five friends, who take the challenge to fight against terrorists and drug dealers. In the show, Ejaz played the role of Salman, a business tycoon and drug kingpin who has connections to narcotics and other criminal activities.

  

• In an interview, he revealed that he was paid a meagre Rs. 300 for his first film.

• In 1997, the versatile actor played the role of Guru of transgenders in PTV’s show Janjaal Pura. The show amassed immense appreciation for discussing family planning issues and showcasing the lives of transgenders for the first time in Pakistan as before it was considered a social taboo.

  

• Another popular show in which he appeared was the action crime drama Laag (1998) on PTV in which he played the role of a tyrant Indian soldier Major Kaali Das.

  

• Other shows on PTV shows under his belt include Madar (1990) as Gul Mast, Baarish Kay baad (1993) as Qadir Bakhsh, Haqeeqat (1999) as Lala, Aan (2000) as Mehfooz, and The Castle: Aik Umeed (2001) as Munawar Mama.

  

• In 2007, he played the negative role of Mir Alam in the TV show Sarkar Sahab on ARY TV.

  

• Other shows on ARY TV in which he appeared include Hania (2019) as Vohra Sahab, Barfi Laddu (2019) as Iqbal Halwai, and Khwaab Nagar Ki Shehzadi (2021) as Jamil Khan.

•  In 2014, he starred in the Urdu-language action film The System in which he played the role of an evil and corrupt politician.

  

• In 2017, he played an antagonist Sheikh Sultan al-Baklawa action comedy film Na Maloom Afraad 2. The film follows three unfortunate souls who plan to steal Sheikh’s gold commode on their shortcut to wealth but things go comically wrong along the way.

  

• In the same year, he played a transgender don named Marzi in the romantic socio-comedy film Mehrunisa V Lub U.

  

• Nayyar Ejaz played the role of Sheikh Sahab, one of Butt Sahab’s enemies who takes Anya hostage, in the romantic action comedy film Teefa in Trouble (2018).
  

• In 2019, he gained international recognition for playing the role of Chand Kamal, a surreptitious talent manager-cum-journalist, in the romantic drama film Baaji. Ejaz received Best Supporting Actor Award at Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (2019) in Mississauga, Canada, for his role as Chand Kamal.

  

• In 2022, he appeared in the Pakistani Punjabi-language action film The Legend of Maula Jatt in which he played the role of Jagoo Natt.

  

• He is also known for playing the film roles of an anti-feminist lawyer in Actor in Law (2016), a terrorist preacher named Molvi Nasser in Saya e Khuda e Zuljalal (2016), and Ikramullah in Janaan (2016). Other Pakistani films under his belt include O21 (2014), Janaan (2016), Geo Sar Utha Kay (2017), and Ghabrana Nahi Hai (2022).

• Once, in an interview, Ejaz recalled an incident in which he got slapped in public because of one of his villainous roles. In a film, Ejaz played a role of a vexed husband, who, while shaving his face thinks that his wife is having an affair with his friend; therefore, he cuts the face of his wife with the shaving blade. Ejaz said that one day, while he was sitting at the Islamabad airport a lady approached him and slapped him hard on his face. When Ejaz asked her the reason behind it, the lady confessed that earlier she used to talk to her husband while he shaved his face, but due to Ejaz’s vicious character in the film, she got afraid that her husband might cut her face with a blade.

• Dawn Icon magazine gave Nayyer Ejaz the title of  “The man with a thousand faces” in 2021 for his excellent portrayal of different characters over the years.

• He is inspired by the American actor Robert De Niro.

• Nayyar Ejaz was dubbed as ‘Villain of the year’ for playing numerous villainous characters in 2016. ^[4]The News International

• Once, in an interview, he claimed that Shah Rukh Khan’s popular “K-k-k-Kiran” dialogue was inspired by his character Shaikh, a stammering youngster, from the TV show Dasht (1993).

• Nayyar Ejaz in an interview claimed that Shah Rukh Khan drew inspiration for his popular dialogue “K-k-k-Kiran” from Nayyar’s character Shaikh from the TV show Dasht (1993).

• In 2016, he gained media attention for taking a jab at the government for his high electricity bill. In a video message, the actor blasted the PTI government’s incompetence and said,
  

  I just received an electricity bill of Rs 40,000 for one meter… and the other is for Rs26,000, my brother and I live together. How are we even consuming this much electricity at home? Are we living in the WAPDA house? Shame on such tabdeeli [change].”