Baseer Ali has opened up about his views on relationships, love and the challenges that can arise when two people from different religious backgrounds come together. In an exclusive conversation with Film Window, the actor reflected on a personal experience from his past and revealed that his former girlfriend was even willing to ‘revert’ to Islam for their relationship.
Speaking about whether religion becomes an important consideration when choosing a life partner, Baseer explained that people need to be mindful of the future before getting deeply involved in a relationship. He stressed that neither person should waste the other’s time if they already know that the relationship does not have a future.
“And to answer your question, I feel like not just me, everybody should be thoughtful about this, that if you don’t have a future with somebody, you shouldn’t be wasting your time. Neither the girl nor the boy. And if it is about religion, then please be sure, be thoughtful,” he said.
Baseer then recalled a phase in his own life when he had fallen for a woman who was not a Muslim. While he liked her deeply, he began questioning what their future would look like together. He admitted that discussions around conversion or, as Muslims refer to it, ‘revert’ naturally came up in such a situation.
“Because aise ek do jagah main bhi life mein tha kahin, that I like somebody. I ended up liking them a lot. She was not a Muslim. I was like, there’s no future, what am I gonna do? And woh sawaal aate hi hai, of course, jab aap aisi situation mein, pyaar hai, relationship hai, toh phir conversion, reversion, yeh woh,” Baseer shared.
The actor revealed that his former partner was ready to take that step for him. However, rather than accepting her decision, Baseer chose to think about the larger responsibility that would come with it. He pointed out that she had been raised by her own family with their beliefs and did not want to be the reason behind such a major change in her life.
“Maine kaha, yaar, tumhari bhi family hai. Tumhare maa baap ne toh tumko ek tareeke se bada kiya hai. And I was the one who said it, believe it or not. That person genuinely said to me, ‘I am ready to do that. I am ready to take the step of, you know, skipping this…’”
Baseer also explained why he prefers the term ‘revert’ instead of ‘convert’ when referring to someone accepting Islam, elaborating on the belief behind the terminology.
“Conversion ya, humare paas revert hi bolte hain, because we believe we were born as Muslims. Okay, but, but, but, sorry, kya term bolte hain aap? Revert hona. Revert. Revert is going back, right?”
He went on to explain that, according to the Islamic perspective he was referring to, everyone is believed to have been born Muslim before following different religions. “Because in the eyes of us Muslims, humare mein sab Musalman paida hue the, but apni apni jagah sabne apne apne religion follow karne shuru kiye. Toh normal people, they say convert. They don’t see it from the same perspective, right?”
Baseer then revealed the thought that ultimately made him step away from the relationship. He said that he did not want to take responsibility for someone embracing Islam solely because of him, especially when he himself did not consider himself perfect in following the religion.
“Toh in that way maine bola ki, maine kaha, ‘Tum kar logi?’ Ab hamari taraf se ek nazariya batata hoon. Aapne kisi se pyaar kiya, woh nahi the Muslim. Unhone Islam accept kiya. Theek hai. Ab agar us insaan ne woh zindagi, wahan se, us moment se, agar Islam ko embrace nahi kiya, apni namaazein nahi padhi, apne Islam ko accept karke uske rules and regulations ko follow nahi kiya, toh uske jitne gunaah hain na, woh aapke khaate mein likhe jaayenge.”
He further questioned whether he was in a position to take such responsibility for another person’s religious journey.
“Main kaunsa sant aadmi hoon jo main apni book mein doosron ke likha baithun? Mere hi kitne gunaah honge, aap sochiye.”
Recalling his decision, Baseer said that he ultimately told his former partner that he could not take that responsibility and chose to walk away from the relationship.
“Toh yahi example maine deke kaha, ‘Nahi nahi, madam, main nahi le raha yeh responsibility. Toh rehne dete hain.’ Toh walked away from it. Happily.”
Interestingly, Baseer revealed that the two have maintained a cordial equation despite choosing separate paths. He said that they are now able to meet, party and greet each other without any bitterness.
“Now we, whenever we see each other, [we] parties and say, ‘Hey, you, good to see you.’ It’s a good thing.”
For Baseer, the experience became an example of choosing responsibility over simply holding on to a relationship. He believes that not every connection necessarily has to culminate in marriage or a lifelong partnership, and that people can still take something meaningful away from the relationships they experience.
“At least we are not destroying each other’s lives. Just being responsible. Karo aap dostiyaan banao, socialize karo, network karo, logon se milo. Thoda exchange some love, exchange some care, exchange some goodness, kindness. Zaroori nahi hai ki woh har jagah ek manzil tak pahunche.”
He concluded by stressing that some relationships can simply be a part of one’s journey and need not necessarily have a destination.
“Hum… kuch cheezein bas seekhne ke liye bhi hoti hain. Hum aur itna bhi damage kisi ko nahi karna chahiye ki aapne apna sab kuch le liya aur woh insaan end mein road pe baitha hai ki, matlab, ‘Maine sab kuch jo tha, woh tumko de diya aur tum saala nikal liya apni journey mein.’ Bahut log aise hote hain.”
