Inaamulhaq began his acting career in 2009 with Firaaq, and five years later came Filmistaan. He followed it up with films like Airlift (above), Jolly LLB 2, Lucknow Central, Nakkash, Pagalpanti and the web show Maharani. Even after 12 years, he continues to surprise the audience with a wide range of characters. His recent release Mere Desh Ki Dharti, directed by Faraz Haider, is a comedy, a genre that is the actor’s forte.

Reflecting on his career choices, Inaamulhaq says, “There has always been a conscious effort to deliver something better and different every time. Though I have trained from the National School of Drama, I believe in unlearning and learning from scratch. Settling for something ordinary will be the end of me as an artiste. I don’t act, I create characters and live them on screen.”

Talking about why he is selective about the projects he chooses, he shares, “I want to do a lot more work and I won’t deny that a lot of work does come to me, but somehow, I have not been able to say yes to work that doesn’t really excite me. Also, I have to decline work that’s repetitive. I hope I never get typecast.”

Inaamulhaq adds, “Secondly, I feel that it’s the directors who choose me. As per my experience so far, it’s only the directors, and not the casting directors, who have the vision and generally think out of the box enough to cast me in unusual roles. So, I have to wait for that eureka moment when a visionary director thinks of me in some really unexpected role. And when it happens, it’s Eid and Diwali together. I celebrate it with pride because it is the result of my talent and not the result of pleasing someone. All I can say is that I am here to work and not to please anybody. I am very easy to approach, a little difficult to deal with, and finally, amazing to work with. When I say a little difficult to deal with, I mean I believe in working on a few of my conditions, which are surly not unreasonable to anybody I can guarantee!”