Is this the Pakistani reporter who inspired Chand Nawab from ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’?

Art can be funny, but life can be funnier. In one of the best sequences from Kabir Khan’sBajrangi Bhaijaan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s small-time Pakistani journalist Chand Nawab tries to record a piece-to-camera at a bustling railway station. Here is a video from 2009 that suggests where Khan and Siddiqui got their cues.

A piece-to-camera, the term for the portion of the television journalist’s report that directly addresses viewers, is one of the most difficult aspects of broadcast journalism. This is especially true in the overpopulated and chaotic cities of the subcontinent, where the art of swatting away curious and publicity-hungry onlookers needs to be listed as a Key Result Area in a journalist’s job profile. Here is another brave soul going to great lengths to do his job.

Flubbing your PTC is hardly a Pakistani specialty. This BBC News reporter didn’t need any gawkers to ruin his moment.

Take heart, Indians: as far as topping the PTC charts go, this remains an unmatched moment.