How does a normal kid become a movie star? Here is the story of Pakistani-Hongkonger Sahal Zaman

Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)

It all started three years ago at a community centre in Kwai Chung where Sahal Zaman often spent his after-school hours playing and doing homework.

One day, the primary school student was told by a worker at the centre that someone would be observing him and 20 other kids during a few play sessions.

“I went because I thought, well, it is just playing,” recalled the 12-year-old, who was born in Pakistan and moved to Hong Kong with his family at the age of four.

He continued going once or twice a week to play reaction games or read some lines. A month later, he learned that he was auditioning for a film – the casting crew had come to this centre looking for young Pakistani actors.

“It was a bit confusing and surprising,” Sahal said.

Soon, he got even bigger news: he had been chosen to be a lead character for The Sunny Side of the Street. The film, starring veteran actor Anthony Wong, came out in 2022.

It shows how fate brings together two generations of immigrants in Hong Kong. Sahal plays a refugee kid who falls on the wrong side of the law after losing his father.

Anthony Wong (left) and Sahal Zaman in a still from The Sunny Side of the Street. Photo: Petra Films

Learning the ropes

Sahal remembered arriving at the set with no clue what was going on. He recalled seeing people walking around: “I thought they were just passers-by.”

But after the assistant director explained that these people were part of the crew working on the film, the youngster got a bit nervous. At the time, he had only just seen his first movie, Marvel’s Spider-Man.

“[Being an actor] is difficult because once you roll, you need to churn out a lot of lines and actions all together. Sometimes, you forget either one,” he said.

But eventually, he found his way with some help from an experienced mentor, Wong.

“He taught me a lot. Sometimes, he’d give me pointers when I did things wrong or when he thinks I can do even better,” Sahal said gratefully.

Although most of the shooting times fell during the hours after school or on weekends, the pupil still needed to juggle his academics with acting in the film.

“The longest day I’ve had on set ran from one in the afternoon to around six the next morning. I slept for half an hour in the middle, so it was OK,” he said, adding that he found the experience of acting fun.

Though it was his first time acting, the Pakistani-Hongkonger became the first South Asian actor to win the best new performer category at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards. In his acceptance speech, Sahal thanked all the people who made this achievement possible.

He added: “I love acting very much.”

Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

Suggested answers

• Before you read: Child actors have to balance school with acting / Child actors cannot work for as many hours as adults do (answers may vary)

• Stop and think: A casting crew had a group of children, including Sahal, to play together, participate in reaction games and read lines.

• Consider: Wong mentored Sahal and taught him how to improve his acting.