Actor Samar Jafri and Director Fajr Raza talked about the changes behind Raja London Ka. They went from bulking up and tanning for the camera to creating a gritty world that they knew would bring criticism.
Samar Jafri had played family-friendly roles for years. Raja was meant to be the opposite. “The character I played before was a family boy, gentle,” he said. “Raja has anger and a roughness that is very different from my roles.”
For Fajr Raza, making the change feel real meant keeping Jafri from slipping into old habits. “I told Samar I didn’t want a chocolate boy here,” he said. “Since Raja is from Landa Bazaar, the actor had to get bigger and get tan so it looked like he worked under the sun every day.”
The physical change was only the start. Jafri said he had to disconnect from the real Samar. “I had to shut off the person I’m,” he said. “Doing the action scenes meant I first had to believe in my heart that this violence was justified.”
Raza was equally particular about the world around Raza’s lead actor. “If we had shot on sets, the show would have lost its soul,” Raza added, and Raza said the set needed to look “crusty and grungy so the character actually felt part of that environment.”
That visual approach extended to the way the cast was placed within the setting. Raza said that if the lead actors looked too clean, they would appear out of place, so Raza made sure they blended into the tones and gritty textures of the background.
Raza also used blocking as a storytelling tool, positioning Raja physically lower than Rani, whether on stairs or relative to a car, so audiences would register the power dynamic between Raja and Rani without it being spelled out.
“Raja has to become worthy of Rani ” Raza said. “The story is not just a hero showing up and winning the heroine; Raja has to build himself up mentally and socially.”
The visual choices were part of a gamble with the serial. Express Entertainment had billed Raja London Ka as a departure from its slate, blending romance with action and thriller elements rather than relying on the family-drama template that commonly dominates Pakistani television.
Raza acknowledged the risk of that approach, especially when choosing an aesthetic that was intentionally rough around the edges. Raza said, “People might say it should have looked cleaner or more typical, but real life is not always polished.” Raza said, “We intentionally chose a tone because that is what the show demanded.”
That instinct also shaped the way Raza approached scripts. Raza said, “I do not select a script based on a risk assessment.” Raza said, “I look at whether the story excites me. If Raza is genuinely excited by it, the audience will feel that excitement too.”
