Shaz Khan
Khan in 2015
Born
Shazli Hafeez Khan

Oxnard, California, U.S
Occupation(s)Actor, director, producer
Years active2008–present
SpouseSaba Khan (m. 2012)
WebsiteOfficial website

Shazli Hafeez Khan, better known as Shaz Khan is a Pakistani-American actor and director who appears in English and Urdu films, and television series. After pursuing a bachelor's degree in finance from the Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree in fine arts from the Pace University, Khan made his acting debut with the acclaimed drama Moor (2015) and received praise for playing the role of a lawyer in the television series Yaqeen Ka Safar (2017), and a pilot in the combat war film Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018).[1][2]

Early life and education

Khan was born in Oxnard, California to Muslim parents, Nasir and Huma, from Islamabad, Pakistan. He belongs to a military family: his grandfather was an air commodore in the Pakistan Air Force, while his uncle is also an air commodore and "one of the top F16 pilots of his generation."[3] He spent his childhood between Pakistan and the United States, eventually settling in the suburbs of Philadelphia.[4] After high school, Khan ended up attending Pennsylvania State University, where he also boxed for the college team, completing a Bachelor of Science in finance.[5] He worked for a Fortune 500 company in the banking industry, though it would only last a few years. Khan ultimately left his stable job to pursue acting in New York City.[6]

Career

The next few years were spent attending the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, completing a Master of Fine Arts in acting. During this time, he worked in numerous plays and independent films, building his experience.[7] Khan established a reputation for doing whatever it took to immerse himself in a character. For his thesis play Hello Out There, he drove to a ghost town in Texas to do research, sleeping overnight in the haunted jail by himself.[8] For the short film Flutter, Khan spent a month getting into the physiological state to play a young cancer patient, including losing 25 pounds and shaving his head and eyebrows. He also ventured into some experimental work by making his own series of short films, writing characters for himself while he was auditioning for roles. Among them was a young sadistic Oscar Wilde in Importance of Earnest as well as a deluded boxer Ibby in Say It Ain't So.[9]

Even though he made his Pakistan TV debut in Mehreen Jabbar's 2012 drama Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu with the little role of lawyer Vicky,[10] followed by another minor role as David in Momina Duraid's Zid, his break occurred on a trip to Pakistan where he secured the lead role in the international feature film Moor, directed by Jami. He spent a month in a village in Balochistan, observing the behaviors of local Pashtuns to find the physicality of his character, and learning to speak Urdu in their dialect.[11] The film was hailed as one of the most critically acclaimed features in Pakistan, with Newsline Magazine claiming it as one of the best films Pakistan has ever made.[12][13] The film was selected as the Pakistani entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.[14] It was in contention as one of the dark horse contenders but didn't receive a nomination.[15] He shared the screen with established actors Hameed Sheikh and Samiyah Mumtaz. It was his debut in the Pakistani film industry.[16]

In 2016 he appeared in the romantic drama Dobara Phir Se directed by Mehreen Jabbar and produced by ARY Films[17] followed by Haseeb Hassan's Parwaaz Hai Junoon in 2018, both being critical as well as commercial successes, in-between having a substantial role in the 2017 Hum TV drama Yaqeen Ka Safar. He returned to the channel in 2018, with the leading role in the drama Lamhay.[18][19]

His upcoming movie, for which he wrote the script, is entitled The Martial Artist, the story of "a desi martial artist who fights in California... and eventually ends up coming back to Pakistan", an enlargement of his 2016 short film Say It Ain't So, that he also wrote, as well as directed, produced, edited and acted in.[20] In order to prepare for the role, he trained in MMA with the Brazilian coach Rafael Cordeiro, "one of the best MMA coaches in the world" who "has trained 13 world champions and trains fighters from Ultimate Fighting Championship", while also being trained in boxing, Jujutsu and Muay Thai.[21]

Personal life

Khan resides with his wife, Saba Khan, since their marriage in 2012, in California, and she gave birth to their child, a son, named Aayan, in January 2020.[4][22]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Note
2008 Better Luck Yesterday Tony
2008 The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Lebanese Guy Uncredited
2008 Guardian Doug Short film
2010 Adams Morgan: The Movie Lance Roberts
2011 We're Not Waving, We're Drowning Cameron Short film
2011 Out of Line Malcolm
2011 Acquaintance Adam Wally
2012 The Weekend Conrad
2013 Flutter Jake Short film
2013 The Man Behind the Curtain Abusive Boyfriend
2013 Importance of Ernest Bloke Short film; also writer and executive producer
2015 Moor Ehsaanullah Khan
2016 Haze Degan
2016 Say It Ain't So Ibby Short film; also director, writer, producer and editor
2016 Dobara Phir Se Asim
2018 Parwaaz Hay Junoon Nadir
2019 Heer Maan Ja Office Junior Employee

Television

Year Title Role Note
2012 Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu Vicky Supporting Role
2014 Zid David Supporting Role
2017 Yaqeen Ka Safar Daniyal Ali Khan Parallel Main Lead
2018 Lamhay Hashir Main Lead

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResultTitleRef.
201615th Lux Style AwardsBest Supporting ActorNominatedMoor[23]
2nd Galaxy Lollywood AwardsBest Actor in a Leading Role Male[24]
Best Male Debut
20186th Hum AwardsMost Impactful CharacterYaqeen Ka Safar[25]

References

  1. ↑ Elizabeth Kerr (7 October 2015). "'Mother': Busan Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  2. ↑ "From America to Muslim Bagh". The Express Tribune. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Ifrah Salman (27 February 2017), "Shaz Khan is all set to play a pilot in 'Parwaaz Hay Junoon'", Hipinpakistan. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 "A Conversation with Pakistani Actor Shaz Khan at 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival". Desert Local News -Daily News.
  5. ↑ Fouzia Nasir Ahmad (23 August 2015), "First person: Moor than an actor", Dawn News. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Exclusive Interview with talented Pakistani actor Shaz Khan Urdu Voa". وی او اے. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Fouzia Nasir Ahmad. "First person: Moor than an actor". Dawn. Pakistan.
  8. ↑ "Hello Out There – Press Room". pressroom.blogs.pace.edu.
  9. ↑ Irfan Ul Haq. "'Moor' star Shaz Khan to turn boxer for his first short film as director". Dawn. Pakistan.
  10. ↑ "From 'Parwaaz', Shaz Khan's flight is unstoppable", Pakistan Today. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Moor The Film: 10 Unknown Stories From The Sets". playwire.pk. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Best of Pakistani Cinema: Sarmad Khoosat, Shaz Khan and Adnan Jaffar lead". Uk.blastingnews.com. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016. SKhan added multiple layers of complexity to his character with top-notch facial expressions and transformative gestures. When faced with a complex situation, Khan realised that there is a certain level of morality ingrained within him. He just can't let it go. It's a genuine and a persistently strong performance.
  13. ↑ "Movie Review: Moor". Newsline.
  14. ↑ Nyay Bhushan (14 September 2015). "Oscars: Pakistan Selects 'Moor' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ↑ Scott Roxborough (20 November 2015). "Oscars: Foreign-Language Dark Horses". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. ↑ "Shaz Khan turns MMA fighter for his big screen comeback". The Nation. 29 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "First look of 'Dobara Phir Se' unveiled". The Express Tribune. 3 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Arshad, Aisha (17 August 2018). "A Story of East Meets West - Zara Noor and Shaz Khan's 'Lamhay'". HIP. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  19. ↑ NewsBytes. "Shaz Khan on Lamhay that goes on air tonight". The News International. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  20. ↑ Irfan ul Haq (24 September 2018), "Actor Shaz Khan just finished writing a script for a feature film", Dawn News. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  21. ↑ Desk Report (11 April 2019), "Shaz Khan gets martial arts training from MMA legend Rafael Cordeiro for his next film", Dawn News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Actor Shaz Khan and his Wife Photo Shoot Before the Birth of their Baby Boy Ayaan". Review Pk.
  23. ↑ "Complete list of winners of 15th LUX Style Awards 2016 | SAMAA".
  24. ↑ "Galaxy Lollywood Awards 2016 (Winners)". 13 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "Hum Awards 2018: Yakeen Ka Safar wins big". Dawn Images. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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