Talking to Nasir Khanjan was an eye-opener, for us and for all those who think all these social media celebrities don’t hold any substance. To those we’d like to say: Nasir Khanjan is a graduate in IR (International Relations).
In an exclusive interview with Daily Pakistan Global, Nasir Khanjan stated that he is ‘100% male, would want to get married to a nice woman of his choice & have lots of kids.’
A man who has been stamped in the eyes of people as a transgender, as gay, says that he is anything BUT.
Speaking on the topic of WHY he chose to make silly videos of himself to entertain people (pointing out to the carrots and tomatoes), Khanjan replied, “because I have applied to different fields and different places for jobs, and I am unable to get a job. If I had a job, I wouldn’t be making a ‘tamasha’ of myself on social media just to earn money. Now, it is the only means to my livelihood. Why should I feel sorry for it?”
Khanjan was then asked if he had faced any issues since he went viral on social media, following the case of Qandeel Baloch & honour killings, he stated, “media portrays a negative image of a person just to get ratings. A couple of reporters came to interview me, and they published completely DIFFERENT things about me, as opposed to what I said. Now I am facing harassment in my own locality, I cannot even step out of the house because I fear for my life. I went to the market place a couple of days back and a man randomly attacked my head with a stone. He hit it and it started to bleed, and I don’t know why he would do that. How have I harmed him, or his loved ones? How have I upset him? I don’t know why people don’t let others live in peace.”
Nasir KhanJan says it’s difficult for him to step out of the house now, due to these threats. He faces threats out walking on the street, and he faces hate speech. But he continues to be strong, and face the world.
“I make money from these videos, I sell them to different people and pages, who then make them available on the internet with their watermark. People enjoy them, tag their friends, people are entertained. I’m not doing anything vulgar, why should I be ashamed of myself? I am giving them health tips with my carrot and tomato videos.”
Nasir Khanjan is a resident of Mardan. His family consists of 8 sisters and 4 brothers. Speaking on the topic of his father, he stated that his dad used to be a popular doctor of this area. Later, after he passed away, his mother was the sole provider for the household, and he thought of supporting her in earning money. Being unable to land a decent job, social media was his last resort, as he always had a flar for acting and entertaining people, even during his childhood.
“My father used to be a famous doctor in the area, but he passed away a while ago. Now it’s just my mother and us siblings. I’m the youngest in my brothers, 2 brothers live separate and 1 lives with us.”
Nasir KhanJan further revealed that he wanted to host morning shows.
“It keeps your routine in check and I could be more popular that way, I believe. Although I would want to land a show from Mardan, if I find the opportunity, I wouldn’t mind going to Islamabad for work too. I want to represent my area and my community, and make them proud of me.”
He further stated that he wanted to take interviews of celebrities, and gain knowledge from their experiences. Nasir found all of that to be pretty exciting, being a graduate of International Relations.
A very frustrated Nasir took to social media to make money, after being rejected at various jobs even being a Masters graduate. “Mardan is a very conservative society, if they find anyone even the slightest different they don’t accept him/her. Over here, there’s not alot of awareness of social media also, so the few who know are ridiculed and mocked, because I have awareness and I’m making money out of it.”
On the kind of girl he wants:
Khanjan was unhesitant in telling us about the kind of girl he wants, wanting to make sure we get his message through so that the girl of his dreams can know he is looking for her. “The girl of my dreams should belong to media. She should have a fairly modern mindset, and shouldn’t be conservative at all. Even an actress would do,” he stated, saying it is better if she’s an actress.
On his message to his fans and followers:
“My message to people is: if you have talent, and a passion to keep going, then just be consistent and work hard. Dil se mehnat karain, apko raasta zaroor milega (work hard straight from the heart, and you will definitely find your way).”
The question that lies before us:
How many of us Pakistanis are unemployed, looking for jobs, and fairly frustrated of our condition? How many of us are going to resort to literally anything to make money? Khanjan believes if he isn’t hurting anyone’s sentiments, entertaining people and putting a smile on their faces, walking out with money is not a crime at the end of the day. Ofcourse, social media is still better than resorting to crime, robbery and killing people. How many of us would beg to differ? Find our unempolyed youth a job and then we’ll talk.
