I want to be an IAS officer who acts: Azim

It was only after giving 43 auditions for many different projects, that Azim managed to bag a role in his debut movie “Qasam Se Qasam Se”.
“Giving 43 auditions was an eye-opener. Naseeb se pehle kuch nahi milta. I went to some auditions just for experience. Kuch jagah maze lene ke liye jaata tha,” he recalled.
However, Azim is not an outsider to the industry.He is the son of producer Nazim Rizvi, who was arrested in 2000 before the release of his production venture “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” for his alleged links with the underworld don Chhota Shakeel. Nazim spent three years in custody before getting bail. But Azim doesn’t remember much of it. “I was probably in seventh or eighth standard at that time. So, everything is blurred. That phase wasn’t traumatic because we knew the truth. We fought our battle and emerged victorious. Somewhere, that incident instilled in me a desire to get into Bollywood,” he said, adding that the matter is buried now and no one discusses it.
“My dad didn’t lend me any support. While I was in college, he’d give me only `20 as pocket money for one day. That is why aisi feeling kabhi nahi aayi ki chalo mere father ki wajah se break mil jayega.” But isn’t his father the producer of the movie? “He is only the co-producer. Even when he was on the sets, he wouldn’t say anything about my performance,” Azim said.
Like many other newcomers who have debuted in the industry in the recent past, Azim also has Salman Khan as a mentor. “It was during the shoot of “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” that I met him. When I was 16, he did my photo session. He has helped me work on my diction, fitness and body language. For me, he is the king of Bollywood right now and inshallah, he will always remain that,” he said.
Apart from acting, Azim also wants to become an IAS officer. “I took my IAS coaching in Delhi. I had already cleared my IAS-prelims when I was selected for “Qasam Se…”. I want to become an IAS officer and plan to avail the two-three year leave periods which are available to them to act in movies,” he said.
But these days, Azim is on a high because of his next project. “I have been offered two films where I will share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar. I have grown up seeing them on screen and I am really excited,” he told us.