Meet the ‘Mauka Mauka’ guy: Engineer, actor and definitely not a Pakistani!

You’ve seen him countless times on television since the start of the 2015 World Cup. You’ve laughed at his misery, mocked him and at times, even sympathised with him.

Until now, most people know him as the ‘Mauka Mauka’ guy, the man who features as the Pakistan fan in Star Sports’ World Cup ad campaign that went viral and inspired a series of sequels during the course of the tournament.

The actor who plays the lead, Vishal Malhotra, became an overnight sensation and came to be known as the face of a typical Pakistani fan in India. His recent interview with afaqs.com sheds light on the actor’s life before he became famous.

Here are a few interesting facts about the now-famous Indian actor revealed in the interview.

1. Vishal is actually an engineer and also worked with Accenture for a brief period.

2. After a year with Accenture, he quit his job and moved to Mumbai to pursue his passion.

3. He soon enrolled with Balaji’s Institute of Creative Excellence (ICE) to learn acting.

4. The creators of the ‘Mauka’ series used photos from his Facebook profile to experiment with his different-aged looks in the ad.

5. Since the first ad features only one dialogue at the end (Kab phodenge yaar?), Vishal had to work hard to convey his age and his growing disappointment through just his expressions.

6. He has featured in a Lux ad with none other than Shah Rukh Khan

7. He has also featured in several other ad campaigns with brands such as Sony, KFC and Priya Gold Biscuits.

8. He is set to make a cameo appearance in Ragini MMS 2 and 1920 London

9. Following the success of the ‘Mauka’ campaign and his newfound mini-celebrity status, Vishal became so popular that he had to pose for as many as 80 selfies in a day.

10. Finally, here’s Vishal with a message for his juniors at ICE

Check out the full Mauka series here