Mustafa Burmawalla played the lead role along with Kiara
Advani in the recent film ‘Machine’ directed by Abbas–Mustan. Though the film
was directed by his father,
Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla, his film debut was no easy task. With a deep-seated inclination towards direction, Mustafa
completed a two-year
film-making course at the New
York Film Academy before
returning to India, where
he attended acting classes at the National School of Drama (NSD) under
the guidance of NSD Director, N K
Sharma. “After coming back from New York, I applied everything I learnt while assisting my father and uncle.
I believe that you should keep learning different things that help you grow. Even now, I attend
small acting workshops which help me keep up with what is new,” says Mustafa,
the elder brother to Shabir and Zainul.
Meeting expectation as a son of a famous filmmaker is very
difficult and Mustafa says that it is not a ticket to films. “I had to start
preparing for the film nearly 8-9 months in advance. First I had to work on the script of the film
to understand each and every scene and dialogue of it. I had attended acting
classes by N K Sharma,
which helped me shoot a 13-minute showreel. Then I had to convince my father and uncle that I was best suited for the role,” he
explains. Commenting on the
lukewarm response the film received, he adds, “Abbas-Mustan films are famous for keeping the
audience engaged throughout.
I don’t know what went wrong with this film. We put all our efforts but the
audience was not convinced,” he adds.
However, Mustafa is already onto his next project as an
actor. Over the last three years, he has also written scripts for films, especially thrillers for
Abbas-Mustan and a romantic film. “For the upcoming film, a different director
will be directing me. I never wanted to be an actor as I was always into
direction. I was the assistant director to my father for films like, ‘Players’,
‘Race 2’ and ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon’,” says Mustafa, adding, “Direction helps you gain a different perspective.”
Abbas-Mustan has many hit films to their credit, and Mustafa
remembers ‘Baazigar’ as the first film he ever watched as a kid. “I didn’t
understand films at that age and I was petrified of Arbaaz Khan in ‘Daraar’. After the first screening
of the film, I didn’t want to go near him. Imagine as a kid watching the climax
of that movie and then walking
up to that person,” says Mustafa with a laugh.
A foodie, Mustafa
battled hard to get into shape. “My biggest challenge was to lose around
70 kgs as I weighed almost 120 kgs. After getting a personal trainer, I made a
routine timing for everything and I followed a very strict discipline, waking up at 4:30am or 5am. Almost a year ago, I lost most of the weight,” says the actor, who also loves cooking.
Mustafa is also obsessed with shoes and has a collection of
over 100 pairs. “There
are a few custom made shoes in the collection. I might have worn just 20 per cent of those I own. I love shoes and I
pick up interesting pairs
when I am travelling but now online shopping makes it even more easier,” says
Mustafa, who is presently
enjoying the rains in Goa.