Arif Zakaria: Undervalued / underutilised?

In this hyper era of visibility, if you aren’t seen somewhere everyday, people assume you’re dead, says the critically-acclaimed actor

OTT platforms can’t seem to get enough of Arif Zakaria these days. He has played the role of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in not one but two web series, Hutatma (2019) and 1962: War In The Hills (2021). He is also playing the lead role in the web film, Ahaan, and the antagonist in Deepa Mehta’s web series Leila as well as in Qubool Hai 2.0. 

Arif says the [show] business today is driven by social media and paid publicists

(Clockwise from above) Arif didn’t prep a lot for his role in Haunted; (inset) Arif learnt Bharatanatyam for Dance Like a Man; Arif played a hermaphrodite in his debut, Darmiyaan; Arif channelled his own quirks for his character in Ahaan; (inset) The actor played two roles in Gilli Gilli Atta; Nanak Shah Fakir altered Arif’s body clock

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