.jpg)
Fasi Zaka
[Very informal Chit Chat]
1. Is your image what you had in mind for yourself when you started out, or has it been shaped by your fans and the industry? (Or any other external factors)
It has been shaped primarily by the audiences, who are quite disparate. Those who read my political columns in The News have no idea about my anti-intellectual radio show, and vice versa. A holistic impression is not out there. At one point all I was known for was in relation to music, and because of distance from it with the political satire show News Views and Confused, that has abated.
2. What were the difficulties you faced when you tried to establish yourself?
I think I have been extraordinarily lucky because it has not been really difficult. A confluence of chance events helped me enormously. Plus since I have never quit my day job and career, downtime in media for me is not a life or death situation. But where I have had difficulty is in nagging a straight up political analysis show because everyone wants to slot me into something with humor.
3. Are you open to experiments and trying out new things when working?
Well once something is established, I rarely mess with it until a naturally evolved new idea comes to mind. But what I do always do is make sure none of my material is repeated across different mediums, which is why I never include one liners in my serious column, or try to intellectualize something too much on radio. Discrete personas for every medium.
4. What are 5 things fans don’t know about you?
a. I got a second division in my FSC
b. I was President for Graduates at my College in Oxford.
c. I once did research for the World Bank\
d. I bite my nails to the extent of disfiguring my fingers.
e. I am actually not very social, avoid gatherings and parties.
5. How good are you with money? Do you handle your own finances or let your manager/accountant/sibling/partner/mum/cat handle them for you?
I am terrible with money, my needs expand proportionately with what I make. Have made good money over the years but have no savings, no car.
6. What is the latest thing you bought and why? Was it money well spent or just a waste?
A pair of caterpillar shoes, have been wearing two pairs of Birkenstock sandals for years now, needed something to cover my feet. I like it, but I miss the freedom of sandals.
7. What are the top 3 things on your birthday wishlist?
a. A Nintendo Wii
b. A 1972 Celica
c. An apnea sleep mask.
8. Which ONE song is your absolute favorite?
Night Train by Guns’n'Roses.
9. What was the wierdest thing a fan ever did /said [on air, through e-mail, in person etc]?
A guy once came over to my office who I had been avoiding for two years because he kept calling liked a crazed stalker. When I finally met him he said he wanted to learn from me, I offered to help him with whatever he needed. Then he said he wanted to live with me and would bring his stuff over in two days. Had to deal with him politely and have been avoiding him ever since.
10. What part of being a celebrity do you like? What part do you dislike?
I like the mails people send sometimes, they are full of trust and genuine affection. What I don’t like is when people stare politely, I would rather have them come over and say hello.
11. What music are you currently listening to [what's on your i-Pod]? Name one song you wish with all your might, your heart and your soul you had written?
Times Like These by the Foo Fighters.
12. How easy is it to promote yourself in Pakistan? And abroad?
Well, it’s pretty much difficult anywhere in the world; if you are extraordinary then it will make sense for everyone to help you out. Abroad is infinitely more difficult than Pakistan.
13. When signing a contract, what do you look at first? Besides the money, I mean.
Contracts don’t matter. What really matters is the level of understanding between the two parties on what they want, and some level of trust. Very few people actually ever go back and look at the contract, dispute resolution rarely quote that.
17. What do you expect to see in a new entertainment magazine such as Ink?
Hopefully a lot of insightful pieces about the entertainment industry that moves beyond the superficial understanding of people in it.
fassi i love ur vioce.kuch log app sy jalty hain like deno.
i am majid from lahore .yar fasi teti to kia hi bat hain tu cheeta hain