C H I T C HAT
I was clueless when I started acting:
Soniya Hussain
S
oniya Hussain ventured into showbiz with no
plans of becoming an actor, but in just five years
she has done commercials, has a long list of TV
plays to her credit and has proved herself in Jami’s film
Moor with her short yet powerful role as the female lead.
Soniya spoke to Images on Sunday about where her career will be heading after this turning point. “I was still
at university studying physiology and wanted to be a
news anchor. I had rather idealistic views about media
bringing the truth to people, but when they auditioned
me, they told me that I did not look mature enough on
the screen and should come back after doing my Masters.” Sometime later at another audition, she was then
spotted by director Ali Saeed who offered her the lead
in drama serial Don’t Jealous. “At first, I refused but my
father encouraged me to accept the role. A few more
plays followed but I couldn’t do too much work, as my
classes at the university took a lot of my time. It has
only been since the last two years that I have started to
increase my workload on TV.” What were the initial days
of acting like? “I had no clue about acting and needed a
lot of guidance and training. I would watch classic films
to learn acting and the work of senior actors like Badar
Khalil, Faisal Quraishi and Qazi Wajid. I watched Khuda
ki Basti, Toba Tek Singh. Now I feel I could not have
been in any other field.” About her fellow stars, Soniya
says, “Since they belong to a different era, the seniors
are very well groomed and polished in their work. A lot of
educated, young people from good families are coming
into this field now, but compared to the seniors, we are
more into competition. All the new lot is amazingly talented and sometimes I feel that they are all coming out of
an academy or something, they are so good! Especially,
considering how clueless I was when I started acting,”
she smiled. She has worked with several well-reputed
directors and nearly always bagged the female lead —
Mere Humrahi, Mujhe Sandal Kardo, Mere Harjai, Shikwa, Shareek-i-Hayat, Mein Hari Piya, Marasim, the list
goes on, but Dareecha remains a personal favourite of
hers. “In Dareecha, I played the role of a girl who works
and brings money home yet her father has issues with
her in the role of a working woman. Even though I never
had those problems in my life, yet I could relate to the
issues of thousands of in our society girls who belong
14 | BOOM