From Hollywood and Bollywood to Pakistani television and film, Alyy Khan on changing tropes, choosing challenging roles and stepping behind the camera.
Alyy Khan has spent decades moving between worlds. His career has taken him from British television and Hollywood to Bollywood and Pakistani film and television, giving him a perspective few actors of his generation can claim. Along the way, he has watched the way South Asian characters are written change, navigated the demands of working across very different industries and found himself increasingly drawn to stories that feel more authentic to who we are. It is a career built less on convention than adaptability. Khan has played everything from imposing men of authority to complex, morally ambiguous characters, but he is still waiting for the role that takes him somewhere unexpected.
More recently, he has begun creating those opportunities himself, stepping into production with Screen Locked (2025) and looking towards a future behind the camera. To understand where he is now, it helps to go back to 2007, when Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie, marked a significant point in his international career.
Despite the anticipation surrounding the film, Khan remembers the experience as surprisingly calm. “Being cast in that project was pressure enough for a young actor, especially given the names attached,” Khan remembers. “But once on set, the atmosphere was pretty chilled. Michael knew exactly what he wanted, so with the least amount of fuss, he executed it with his regular team and technicians at a very rapid pace.” Looking back, he adds that “the filming process seemed almost anticlimactic after all the hype one created in one’s own mindset.”
That same composure followed him into Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s Traitor (2008), where he appeared alongside Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. At a time when South Asian characters in Hollywood were still too often reduced to familiar stereotypes, Khan found something refreshing in the film’s writing. He had initially auditioned for the role of Omar, but when the character’s ethnicity changed, he was offered another role. “The underlying narrative of the film was pro-Islamic, so I found the writing organic and balanced enough to trust the written word, which thankfully wasn’t caricaturist.”
Since then, the landscape has shifted. From early British staples like The Bill and Strike Back to global hits like The Serpent (2021) and Shantaram (2022), Khan has watched Western productions become more open to casting actors on merit rather than simply according to ethnicity. “The concept of inclusivity and colour-blind casting has certainly gained momentum,” he explains. “Casting directors now prioritise meritocracy to find the best actor for the job.”
“I’m always looking to play the common man with his trials and tribulations, a sentiment I’m highly in touch with. I’m simply waiting for the right role or a writer brave enough to craft it for me. I want to move beyond the familiar mould and explore characters that feel closer to real life.”
– Alyy Khan
But representation is only part of the equation. For Khan, the more interesting question is what happens once an actor gets through the door. His work in South Asian cinema has included Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2 (2011), Zoya Akhtar’s Luck by Chance (2009) and The Archies (2023), where he played Hiram Lodge. His experience with Zoya, in particular, stands out for the balance between creative freedom and discipline. “Zoya writes most of her stuff, so she visualises the setting and characters directly on the page. The vibe on her set is fun and outgoing, just like her, but combined with discipline and respect for the craft,” he says. As for Hiram Lodge, Khan says the challenge was to remain faithful to what was written while finding the humanity within the character. “In preparation for Hiram Lodge, I tried to stay true to the written word, while ensuring the humaneness of the character within a wholesome narrative.”
His relationship with OTT has opened up another avenue. In 2025, he appeared as the Nawab of Dhondi in Netflix’s The Royals, playing a pivotal antagonist within its modern royal world. With the show renewed for a second season, he expects to explore the character further as the story develops.
In The Trial (2023), where he co-starred with Kajol, Khan found a different kind of challenge. His character, Vishal, reintroduces Kajol’s Noyonika to the legal fold in Season 1, requiring a careful balance between professional friction and understated personal tension. Khan points to Kajol’s disciplined approach on set as an important part of keeping those interactions grounded. By the second season, the dynamic between Vishal and Noyonika becomes more complex, with their professional relationship increasingly complicated by personal tensions. For Khan, the shift called for a more nuanced performance, particularly when working opposite a co-star as experienced as Kajol. The evolving dynamic became one of the more interesting chapters in his recent body of work.
Beyond the screen, his distinct voice remains a key part of his work, whether hosting, narrating or voicing Mangu in the landmark 3 Bahadur trilogy. That precision was forged early through classical training. “I started my acting career in Bombay at a very young age under the expert tutelage of my Guruji Hima Devi. We studied the craft and did correspondence exams with tutors who would come once a year from Trinity College, Cambridge, so along with other skills, voice modulation and diction were very important, hence good, clear enunciation has always been a priority.” Yet for all the range in his CV, there is one role Khan still wants to play: the ordinary man.
On Pakistani television, he has often been cast as the imposing, affluent figure with authority, from Nafees Ahmed in Mere Humsafar (2021) to other men who operate from positions of power. He is ready to step outside that mould. “I’m always looking to play the common man with his trials and tribulations, a sentiment I’m highly in touch with,” he emphasises. “I’m simply waiting for the right role or a writer brave enough to craft it for me.”
That desire to move beyond familiar archetypes also informs how he approaches characters who could easily become clichés. His answer is simple, “Play outside the box and try to humanise the cliché.” That range holds even in the dark, psychologically intense worlds of Pakeezah (2016) and Hadsa (2023). Balancing a slate that includes Sirf Shabana (2026) and Laaj (2026), Khan approaches script selection with practical clarity. “Sirf Shabana dealt with a relationship with a discontent, older son, while Laaj was the typical provider/protector as a worldly-wise DCP Raees Ali.”
It is a philosophy that extends to the stories he wants to see coming out of Pakistan. Having starred in films including Actor in Law (2016) and Taxali Gate (2024), Khan is frank about what he believes is holding the local industry back. For him, the problem is not a shortage of talent, but a lack of fresh thinking. “It is more a case of the powers that be promoting themselves or their personal agenda, plus a serious lack of fresh vision and an identity crisis,” he says. “It’s a rating game and no one wants to reinvent the wheel, so why try and fix something that isn’t broken?”
He has little interest in playing that game himself. Despite having directed acclaimed theatre at NAPA, Khan has consciously avoided directing mainstream television dramas or films. “My temperament doesn’t allow me to pander to unprofessional behaviour, so I find it easier to create content non-commercially,” he says.
What he does want is greater ownership over the stories being told. “To start telling stories that don’t short-sell our culture and tradition. Brown people too have relevant stories that defy the Western lens.”
That tension between what audiences want and what stories are allowed to become is particularly evident in television. Discussing Meri Zindagi Hai Tu (2025), whose central romance between Ayra and Kamyar, played by Hania Amir and Bilal Abbas, has generated plenty of conversation, Khan takes a pragmatic view of the formula behind popular television. “Good television is not always successful television, but then again, nothing succeeds like success, so why question the formula? Weirdly, the craze for Bilal’s obsession is what a lot of women crave in their personal relationships.”
As Dr. Irfan Ahmed, Ayra’s supportive father figure, Khan drew on his own experience, “Having a daughter about to go off to university makes me want to stay informed about any issues they may be facing and the best way to do that is to be good friends and respect their opinions.”
From Karachi and England to Mumbai and international sets, Khan credits his long career to remaining adaptable without losing sight of the craft. “Staying true to my craft and following my motto ‘kaam ke saath baimaani nahi’,” he says. “The work and the people are always constant; it’s adjusting to the execution of the work that needs patience. But you know what they say, when in Rome.”
Away from the camera, Khan remains fiercely protective of his private life. He describes himself as a homebody, happiest “hanging with my kids, playing with the dogs, cooking, gardening, singing and praying.” That same sense of priorities informs how he approaches fatherhood. His children, Rayan and Anaya, have been brought up with one non-negotiable: education. “I impressed upon them the non-negotiability of a degree, even if they wished to attend drama school. My son very early on decided that his stage would be the court of law and my daughter is passionate about history.”
Now, however, Khan is beginning to step into a different role. Screen Locked (2025), his first venture into film production, sees him working as co-producer and lead alongside director Khalid Hasan Khan. The 30-minute film explores the psychological weight of digital dependency and screen addiction, subjects that Khan found increasingly relevant.
“I was thoroughly impressed not only by the calibre of his writing, which feels completely organic and grounded, but also by his structural vision. In an era dominated by vertical videos and short-form content, holding an audience’s attention for a 30-minute narrative is a distinct challenge, yet the script handled it effortlessly.”
Playing a psychiatrist confronting the realities of digital reliance also hit close to home. “Screen addiction is the modern-day scourge and it desperately needed to be addressed,” Khan emphasises. “Our collaboration was built on years of mutual respect,” Khan explains. “As co-producers, we were completely aligned from day one. Due to my tight schedule, he took on much of the heavy lifting during post-production, delivering a refined final edit that I am immensely proud of.”
“Screen addiction is the modern-day scourge and it desperately needed to be addressed. The film breaks away from typical Western perspectives, offering a distinct visual and narrative lens. More importantly, it strikes a chord with universal modern struggles. It acts as a mirror, prompting viewers to reflect on their screen time, personal mental health and digital habits.” – Alyy Khan
Screen Locked has already received international recognition, winning an Award of Merit at the prestigious Best Shorts Competition in La Jolla. For Khan, the film represents something bigger than an accolade. It is an example of how a distinctly regional story can still speak to a global audience. “The film breaks away from typical Western perspectives, offering a distinct visual and narrative lens. More importantly, it strikes a chord with universal modern struggles. It acts as a mirror, prompting viewers to reflect on their screen time, personal mental health and digital habits.”
For someone who has spent much of his career interpreting other people’s stories, the next step is increasingly about telling his own. Khan is already developing several projects and now has his sights firmly set on the director’s chair.
“As a trained filmmaker, my ambition extends far beyond co-producing. I am actively developing several new projects and look forward to stepping into the director’s chair soon, InshaAllah.”
