Actress Saba Qamar best known for her work in the film 'Hindi Medium' and series such as 'Thakan' and 'Baaghi' in her own country, considers herself fortunate to have made her Bollywood debut alongside the late Irrfan Khan.
The actor said she received a lot of love and recognition for 'Hindi Medium' and hopefully, she will work again in the Hindi film industry.
She revealed that she felt over the moon after Bollywood star Vidya Balan hailed her performance in the 2017 comedy-drama feature.
“I didn’t get the chance to thank all of them. I am touched, overwhelmed. I am glad I was nominated for Filmfare best actress category alongside Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranaut, Sridevi and Alia Bhatt. I feel lucky to have got the opportunity to work with Mr Irrfan Khan,” said Qamar.
“I am hoping for the best, I am a positive person and god willing I will work in Bollywood,” she added.
She may not be acting in Hindi films due to the strained relations between India and Pakistan that had led to a ban on Pakistani actors working in Indian cinema, but Qamar has been catching up on Bollywood social dramas like 'Padman', 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui' and 'Badhaai Do'.
The actor, who will next be seen in Zindagi's show 'Mrs & Mr Shameem', is happy that popular entertainment in both India and Pakistan is finally moving away from simplistic kitchen-sink dramas to focus on real issues.
“Like (in India), you are giving life to these characters, you are showing people, educating them. And it is important to do so. We have played enough hero-heroine characters, there is a lot more than just being a good daughter, good couple in real-life, there are challenges that we face and we need to talk about it, discuss it,” she added.
In Pakistan, Qamar said, the makers have been making attempts at issue-based TV dramas and movies for a while now. Most recent example is the 2020 superhit show 'Churails', the first Pakistani original series from Zindagi which was praised for its progressive storytelling.
“We have also come beyond good stuff and daughter-in-law stories, like you all (in Bollywood). For instance on TV, we have some restrictions. We don't show bold scenes, we do not cross the line but yet talk about issues. We are talking about issues and people are learning about it.”
Citing the example of her upcoming show 'Mr & Mrs Shameem', Qamar said the show highlights society's notions towards masculinity.
The Zindagi original series is billed as an unconventional love story of an outspoken Umaina (Qamar) and Shameem, played by Nauman Ijaz, who is of gentle nature.
'Mrs & Mr Shameem' is directed by Kashif Nisar, known for Pakistani dramas like 'Dumpukht – Aatish E Ishq' and 'O Rangreza', from a script by noted writer Sajjad Gul.
Qamar said she instantly fell in love with the topic the show deals with as it inspires people to be humane towards every individual.
“I really wanted to do something where we give love, respect and humanise the character, like (that of) a transgender or gay. However, the character of Shameem is not gay or transgender, he is of soft nature.
"He is a man full of love, and we do have a lot of people like him in our society, sadly we don’t give them that attention and respect. Society disrespects and humiliates someone like Shameem. That was the main attraction for me, besides there are other issues we are talking about. We are trying to create awareness,” the 37-year-old actor said.
Qamar described 'Mrs & Mr Shameem' as a 'sensitive' show that explores the theme of identity.
"It is not a bold but sensitive show. There is nothing bad in it. They are human beings and they deserve their identity equally like a normal person, like what is his fault if he has little 'nazaakat', we should just be nice, give love and spread love.”
Qamar said while she and Umaina share some personality traits such as being gutsy and opinionated, it was tough for her to emotionally be in sync with her on-screen character.
“There are so many layers in this character where I couldn’t connect. It was difficult to get into this world. I could feel the humiliation, disrespectful behaviour and the anger equally that my character's partner was getting. I have lived this character and felt her pain,” she said.
'Mrs & Mr Shameem' is set to premiere globally on ZEE5 on March 11.
[With Inputs From PTI]
