His father still remembers the sound of a bomb blast outside his house in Afghanistan, minutes after his son was born. The newborn was named Sebghatullah (Color of God) Bayat. He was a born rebel who rarely attended classes after marking his attendance. Football was his favorite sport, and thanks to his father (Zabiullah Bayat) who was a martial arts expert, he got interested in martial arts too.
He also had a weakness for films but they were banned during the Taliban rule. Anyone found indulging in these "illegal activities which went against religion" was put behind bars for a minimum of six months. Sebghatullah graduated from the Afghan Institute of Technology with his mind on "magic of films". He got a job as the head of security in an Australian firm and made lots of money. After the Taliban went out of power in 2003, he produced and acted in a film titled Farz flopped and he was in dire financial straits. He continued acting but wasn't happy with the films he was getting.
during taliban rule in Afghanistan, with some friends, he saw Hrithik Roshan's debut film, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. That DVD he had bought from the underworld because it was risky to sell it openly was so bad they could only see the film post interval. But after seeing it, Sebghatullah decided to leave for India.
"I shared two rooms in Pune with several boys from Afghanistan who left after completing their studies. But I stayed on and moved to Mumbai where Prem Chopra introduced me to Kishore Namit Kapoor who offered me a scholarship in his acting school," recalls Sebghatullah who changed his name to Sameer Ali Khan. And I'm thankful to Mr Kishor Namit Kapoor Sir.
He got a break in a short film, God Is Dead, which was screened at Cannes. He followed up with roles in Krrish 3, Happy New Year and 18.11... A Code of Secrecy and his good martial skills helped him out to be a part of these big film. His upcoming films include Ranveer The Marshall and Airlift. He is also designing the fights for Randeep Hooda's Do Lafzon Ki Kahani.
Things were going well till last week when the teaser of his first Hollywood film, Rock The Kasbah, started playing in Afghanistan. Co-starring Bruce Willis and Bill Murray, it is directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson. Sameer who plays the main villain is dressed like a Taliban. A section of the Taliban still active in Afghanistan, sees him as a foreign agent out to ruin their culture and has been sending him death threats.
The violent messages have been coming since Sameer took a group of Indian actors, including Suniel Shetty, Geeta Basra, Parikshit Sahni and Alyy Khan, on a tour of Afghanistan as a goodwill gesture. A royal reception with the support of the government was hosted for the delegation and included a convoy of 75 air-conditioned, bullet-proof Land Rovers.
The threats are growing. From "we'll cut off your hands and legs" to "we'll kill you if you step into Afghanistan again". His family has moved to the US and if the threats don't stop, he plans to join them soon.
He says, "I never knew things would take such a violent turn for something I was doing peacefully. I have been loyal to my roots and my country. What I do and achieve is only to bring honour to my country. I pray that the madness ends soon and Afghanistan returns to normalcy.
We have so much talent lying idle and the best of locations. I hope that those in power, and the people, specially the youth, realise the mistakes made and work to build a better future. I hope to return home some day."
0 comments:
Post a Comment