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Journalism of Courage
Mohsin Khan was one of the most recognisable Pakistani faces in India through the 1980s and little of it had to do with his abilities as an opening batsman. Cutting his cricketing career short, Mohsin married Indian actress Reena Roy, shifted base to Bombay in 1986 and went on to become a middling success. Currently in Karachi as a television actor and director, Mohsin remains in touch with the game, though it’s films that’s remained a closer association.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Mohsin talks about his entry into Bollywood, saying, ‘‘It was all an accident. They would call me and ask me to act whenever I was touring India with the Pakistan team. But I would constantly ignore the offers.’’
But then his marriage happened and things changed. So much so that Mohsin even got a chance to act with leading stars like to Anil Kapoor, Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Aditya Pancholi. ‘‘Yeah, finally I had to relent and accepted a movie — Batwaara — JP Dutta offered. As it transpired, when I was finishing that movie, I had four more offers.’’
As was obvious, Mohsin had to deal with a lot of ‘‘leg-pulling’’ from his teammates, then captain Imran Khan included. But after his first film was released, ‘‘My teammates wrote letters telling me that I was a bloody good actor and I couldn’t stop laughing.’’
But in 1991, as Indo-Pak tensions grew, Mohsin shifted back to Pakistan. After his stint in Hindi films, Mohsin tried his hand at Pakistani movies and even became a leading star in Lollywood (the Lahore equivalent of Bombay). But for the last couple of years Mohsin is involved only with Karachi-based television serials after he decided to he could no longer ‘‘shuttle between Lahore and Karachi’’. As things stand right now, he has just completed his first directorial venture, a television serial called Pyas.
But though he went back, Mohsin took back not only memories, but also a host of new friends. ‘‘The people of India gave me a lot of affection and love. I was never made to feel like an outsider. Jeetendra and the late Vinod Mehra were some of my best pals.’’
Strangely though, Mohsin doesn’t miss all that anymore, mainly because ‘‘there was an incident with the Shiv Sena which started making me feel uncomfortable. I met Balasaheb Thackeray, and he even assured me that I was like his son. But I decided one day that I need to come back. I even returned signing amounts and came over.’’
Cricket, however, stayed a part of his life through the whole razzmatazz. ‘‘Cricket will always be in my blood. I have always followed cricket via TV and newspapers,’’ Mohsin says. That’s what brought him back to the game recently, and in the mid-1990s, ‘‘Majid Khan, as CEO, then asked me to take over as the coach of the A team. I was surprised but I accepted it and for one full year I was with the juniors. I enjoyed my stint very much.’’
And about the question all former cricketers need to be asked once, what does he feel about the touring Indian team? ‘‘Their batting is good, but as we all know, they are weak in bowling. Saurav is not saying it, but I am sure he is missing Harbhajan and Anil Kumble,’’ Mohsin signs off.
