'68 Whiskey' star Artur praises show for portraying his Afghan character like a 'real person' and not a victim
'68 Whiskey' is a show that revolves around army medics that have been deployed to a base named 'The Orphanage' in Afghanistan and how they experience grave dangers around them. It is also an adaptation of Israeli TV series 'Charlie Golf One, 68 Whisky'.
Afghan actor Artur who plays the role of Khalil talked to MEAWW (MEA Worldwide) on the red carpet of the dark comedy "68 Whiskey." He shares his views on how the show portrays Afghani characters as more of a 'real person ' than a stereotype of a terrorist or victim.
Explaining his role on the show, Artur said, "I show the perspective of the local population on the show. I've been through the war for as long as it's been going on for over 20 years, and I have a dismissive attitude about the Americans and what they're doing over there. So my perspective is more of a local population, but what's interesting about the character is that he sees them in a completely different way because of all the experiences that he's had. So all the things that they do, all the trouble that they get into, he kind of sees it from a completely different perspective of sort of like, well, I saw it coming kind of way."
"He provides a kind of comic relief in the intense situations and it's been quite a ride for about almost nine episodes like we've gone to different places, and we've explored different parts of Afghanistan and it was amazing," he continued.
Artur, who was born in Afghanistan, doesn't have a last name because his father did not have one during the time of his birth - he keeps it that way to honor his father and where he came from. Being Afghani himself, he expressed how grateful he was to how the show portrays his people's culture in a different, much more, positive light than other shows would have.
"The most interesting part about this show is that there are many shows that were based in Afghanistan. There's 'Homeland' and everything, but oftentimes those characters are sort of instruments that don't really have a personality" said Artur.
"This is the first time I've read for something or been a part of something where actually my people have a personality and have an opinion. I have an opinion of what they're saying. my job is not just to get them from one place to another. That's how it's been different. I'm really grateful that they portrayed it in such a way where they kind of didn't just reduce it to just like a terrorist role or victim role, but actually this person is the real person."