'Bold' Uzair Baloch interview goes viral. ‘Reporter deserves role in Dhurandhar 2,’ say netizens

In 2012, Pakistani journalist Noor-ul-Arifeen had interviewed gangster Uzair Baloch. (Image credit: @knowledgegarage/Instagram)

Amid the ongoing frenzy surrounding Ranveer Singh and Akshay Khanna-starrer Dhurandhar, an old interview of Pakistani gangster Uzair Baloch has gone viral not only for featuring the "don," but also for the kind of bold questions the reporter asked him, prompting many social media users to marvel at the journalist's bravery and a few to ask jokingly if he lived long after the interview concluded.

The interview was conducted by journalist Noor-ul-Arifeen in 2012. In it, he asked Baloch plainly what his source of income is and how much he earns. Baloch replied calmly that he runs businesses, including one in Dubai, owns land, and has generational wealth.

The reporter then gestured to the fountain behind him, presumably at one of Baloch's properties in Lyari, Karachi, and said that there are people in the locality who do not have access to water while Baloch has opened a "paani ki dukaan" at his home.

"There is a different world outside your doors where people are hungry, thirty, and in want of the basic needs, how can you live so lavishly here like a Mughal badshah? Don't you find it strange?" Arifeen asked. "My prosperity is a gift from Allah and I am sharing it with my people," Baloch said, adding that the people of Lyari love him for his generosity.

"Come along with me. Let me show you how much love they have for me and how much I have given them. I am with them through every pain and suffering - whether it is hunger, water issues, progress, unemployment or any other problem. Today you called me a don. Others used to call me a don earlier, and today you also called me a don. This is the result of serving the public," he told Arifeen.

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When the reporter pushed further and questioned the gangster about the alleged murders linked to him, Baloch denied killing even an ant.

"I haven't even killed an ant. I have killed for public unemployment - I raised my voice, that was my 'murder'. I stood up for the people whenever needed. I fixed hospitals for Lyari. If being a killer means raising my voice for the poor, helping them makes me a killer, then so be it," he said.

Meanwhile, the video left several social media users in awe of the reporter.

"This journalist was really brave. I hope he is still alive," said one Instagram user, while another commented, "The reporter deserves a role in Dhurandhar 2."

A third user wrote, "This journalist is a true warrior." "The reporter is so courageous. My Goddess!! Hope he stays alive," noted another Instagram user.

The sequel to Dhurandhar is scheduled to be released next year. In the movie, the role of Uzair Baloch was played by actor Danish Pandor.