'India Always Takes Advantage Of Pakistani Actors', Says Akshay Kumar's Baby Co-Star Mikaal Zulfiqar

Mikaal Zulfiqar has worked with Akshay Kumar in 'Baby' and in Shoot on Sight with 'Naseeruddin Shah'.

New Delhi: Pakistani actor Mikaal Zulfiqar, who has appeared in a few Indian and Pakistani films, recently stated that Bollywood takes advantage of Pakistani actors. Zulfiqar has worked with Akshay Kumar in 'Baby' and in Shoot on Sight with 'Naseeruddin Shah'. In an interview on 'The Knock Knock Show', Mikaal discussed his earlier experience in the Hindi film industry and stated that Indian directors often cast Pakistani actors in clichéd roles. 

If he wasn't given the same respect as Indian actors, the Pakistani actor stated he would be happy to work in Pakistani television and film.

"India jo hai hamesha advantage leta hai ek Pakistani actor ka. Ab woh kis tarah leta hai? Somewhere down the line woh apse aisa ek kaam kawayega jisme yeh dikhaya jayega ki yeh ek Pakistani actor aya hai, ya toh the role that you are given is such," he said in the interview.  

Mikaal went on to say that he has noticed in his career over the past one to two decades that Indian filmmakers do not usually cast Pakistani actors in notable roles.

"And my reason for that is that I don't mind jab tak equal grounds pe liya jaye aur hume uss tareh na portray kiya jaye. It is what we deserve, level-playing field pe hume khada karein. Just to do a supporting role, koi aisi cheeze karna jis se aapkta mazak yahan ude, it is not worth it. So jab level-playing field hoga tab theek hai, other than that we are fine here," he said. 

In 2007, Mikaal Zulfiqar made his acting debut in the Bollywood crime thriller 'Godfather', starring Vinod Khanna. He then had roles in 'Shoot on Sight', 'U R My Jaan', and 'Baby'.

Several Pakistani artists had success in India prior to the 2016 ban, including singer Atif Aslam, actors Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan, among many others.