Kashmiri terrorist shot in encounter did a cameo in film 'Haider'

One of the two teenage terrorists shot by the security forces in an encounter in Mujgund area on the outskirts of Srinagar had done a short role in Bollywood thriller Haider. Saqib Bilal was a theatre artist and had even done a brief role in a Bollywood movie, Hindustan Times reported. Saqib and Mudasir (14) from Hajin in north Kashmir's Bandipora district were killed along with a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in an 18-hour gun fight on December 9.

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Bilal’s family said he had an interest in acting and had done a small role in Vishal Bhardwaj’s movie Haider. “He was in his sixth class when he appeared for two brief shots in Haider which have appeared in the film. In one of the shots he appeared as a ‘chocolate boy’ and in another, he acted of surviving a violent incident in a bus,” Aijaz told HT quoted Saqib’s uncle as saying.

"He was a theatre artiste as well. Before his Haider stint, he appeared in a stage show ‘Weath chi Yeahi (This is the river)’ at Tagore Hall in which he was the protagonist. He managed to get an award and even went to Odisha to repeat the performance,” he added.

Recalling him as a bright student who had a passion for football and acting, he said, “He wanted to be an engineer.”

According to the News 18 report, both Saqib and Mudasir used to play football at Hajin’s Eidgah and on August 31 they disappeared together.