“I’m versatile. I can do five things at a time and do them well,” says Tony Navaid Rasheed. Most of the fans swarming around him at airports and restaurants know him as the saucy film critic of Malai Mar Kay, a segment dedicated to Pakistani cinema in The Nadia Khan Show. “It was the most exciting turning point in my life. I was stunned at the popularity of my segment, as people began to recognise me from Dubai to Kharian (Punjab).”
For someone who has been a Pakistani film buff since childhood, the recognition was well-deserved. “Since the age of five I maintained a notebook, jotting down all the films I went to see. I scribbled down the name, cast and other details. I grew up reading film magazines like Eastern Film, Dhanak, Musawir, Mumtaz, Palak and Nigar, so I have a lot of background on film people.”
Tony was recently on a short visit to Karachi for an appearance in Yasir Jaswal’s under-production film, Jalebi. “I have a small but very interesting role in it.”
So what’s next? “Who knows? I’m still young and the sky is the limit!” says Tony Navaid Rasheed.
