Waleed Zaidi is an upcoming Pakistani actor who has successfully dabbled in theatre for the past 13 years and has now also turned his focus to TV and Film. With an impressive body of work already under his belt, Waleed has multiple projects he is currently working on including the setting up of his own production company, working with Ali Noor on a project that is a mix of music and theatre, working closely with actor/ director Ali Tahir and producing an Urdu farcical comedy based on the British Television sitcom Fawlty Towers.
Waleed was born in 1989 in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, the land of opportunity as he jokingly likes to call it. “The first character I played was a wolf in first grade in Saudi Arabia. I was the villain and the main character. The first time I realised I had some sort of stage presence was at age 10 when I did a solo dance at my eldest brother’s wedding on the Indian song chayan chayan”, recounts Waleed.
Having completed his Bachelors degree in Business Management majoring in Marketing and Finance from King’s College London, Waleed exercised his entrepreneurial skills when he began a kids wear brand with a friend, and is also Partner at a Dubai based company called 11th Experience which does fashion events for the likes of PFDC. Waleed has also done drama coaching at educational institutions such as LGS, BNU and TNS. In 2007 Waleed along with two other friends initiated B Theatre Productions under which they have produced many theatre plays, the journey from then to now being quite a successful one. “Now I am completely focusing on acting which is my true calling”, explains Waleed.
Currently Waleed will be appearing as a character named ‘420’ in Ali Tahir’s directed TV serial Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain to air on BOL Entertainment very soon. Furthermore, “A project initiated by Ali Noor (Noori) involves me in the theatre aspect of it. I believe it will revolutionise concerts and theatre (its a mix of both) in Pakistan, and it will take off right after Muharram”, reveals Waleed. Waleed is currently appearing in ARY’s drama Visaal, playing a character called Doodhpatti who is a street thief that the main character Akku takes under his wing and they end up forming a duo. Waleed is in addition focusing on digital content which is the future in his opinion. “There is a satire based online show called “Urtee Khabar” (web series) which I am producing with Ali Tahir and working on with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Comedy, in which we post two minute content thrice a week”, says Waleed. He also works as a freelance creative consultant in his spare time, the last project he worked on being the Ramzan campaign for a well known telecommunications company, where he headed the ideation process.
