Dawn Images

A story about learning, love and loss, Mawra Hocane's Sabaat was a refreshing take on strong-willed ambitious female characters, amongst the usual morbid scenarios and damsels in distress featured in mainstream media across Pakistan.

Speaking about her experience, the Sanam Teri Kasam actor revealed what it was like to work on a script different from the usual ones.

"It was definitely very, very liberating to play Anaya because it was a very progressive script and a very progressive character," Hocane revealed in an interview with BBC Asian Network, as she spoke about the rarity of such an occurrence.

"I know the amount of girls that look up to all of us, all the actresses, so to perform something like this you also feel like you're giving back to the society. You're kind of in a way, with your performance, empowering a lot of young girls."

Exploring the relationship her character had with her parents in the serial, Hocane added how the concept was nothing out of the ordinary for her.

"I have lived a life like Anaya's. I have parents who are very, very supportive of career choices; whether it's my career or my decision to study in the middle of having a good career and to keep going back to education or leave it in the middle when I got a very good project. So I think it's very important to have that communication with your parents."

She added that her character's equation with her parents, played by Mohammad Ahmed and Simmi Raheal, was very progressive and would have a good impact on parents as well as children who would feel encouraged to share every detail of their life with each other.

"I think nobody loves us more than our parents do, so they can take the best decisions for us only if we can share everything with them."

Mawra also revealed how she was raised in a household where her mother always encouraged them to be financially independent.

"And I do know I am in minority," she went on to acknowledge. "So I have not felt any oppression or any suffocation of that kind. What Sabaat meant to do was show how Anaya and Hassan (her male lead) can make things work together and I'm all for that!"

Concluding that she realises the kind of impact television serials have on audiences and their minds, she hoped that more progressive scripts can be created in the future.