Ali Kazmi son of the veteran actors Rahat and Sahira Kazmi decided to move across border and managed to peruse career in both the countries.
The actor is currently shooting for the television prequel of The Taken trilogyby Liam Neeson.
Talking about the prequel he said that, “It was a coveted role to bag. I returned from working on “Dobara Phir Se” and sent my tapes and they loved it”
The director has previously worked on House of Cards, West Wing and Game of Thrones.
However, his new beginning in Canada was not as full of glitz and glamour initially.
“Honestly, going from being a chocolate hero to nothing at all is a big blow especially because I hadn’t auditioned in a decade,” says Kazmi. But, he was determined to make a career in acting soon after he joined the Toronto Film School. Even after graduation, he did his share of commercials and finally got his break in Canadian TV with The Border in 2009.
Following that, a stage play called The Indian wants the Bronx truly changed his life. Produced by an Indian theatre company, the lead role of Gupta that Kazmi essayed was originally done by Al Pacino
The play was the outset of a prolific career and thereafter Kazmi continued working in Canada for six years until Mehreen Jabbar’s Jackson Heights came up.
Comparing Pakistan’s film industry with that of Canada and even Bollywood and Hollywood Kazmi explains, “The process is the same, so is the talent. The only difference is the efficiency with which things are done.”
Kazmi has worked on a number of films that are running at festival circuits and are being released online. “The last film I did was Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys which has been released all over Canada but I am still trying to get it distributed in Pakistan”, he added.
He also worked on Punjabi rom-com Sardarji directed by Rohit Jugraj.
He also starred in the lead role of a Canadian short film titled Coffee at Laundromat, which has been selected for the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner
Moreover, Kazmi has also done a voiceover for The Breadwinner, an animated film being co-produced by Angelina Jolie.