Dawn Images

Frieha Altaf has stepped into the world of web-series with Dai on UrduFlix and she couldn't be happier.

This isn't the first time the former model and current event management guru has acted but this time, there's a challenge. This is Altaf's first lead role and she's playing a self-described evil character.

"It's a dark character," she told Images, "but there are many sides to her." Her softer side comes out during her involvement with an SHO, who is a younger man, said Altaf and the bad side comes out when she performs illegal abortions and enjoys it. "She's almost a serial killer," she said.

The third side of her, the cursing and violent one, is shown to her employees. Altaf believes Dai, the titular character she's playing, is almost an actor in a role.

So far, she's having fun on set. "Everything was a surprise. I don't know anyone else here," she said.

What then made her say yes to the project? "I've played a mother in two films and played myself in two others," she said, referring to her cameos. "I've said I won’t do that again. I don’t mind doing a cameo but if I get a role I wanted to do a jhalli [crazy woman] or I’m very good at comedy, so that," she said.

"I’ve been doing my business for so long [that] it’s boring, it’s nice to have a change."

Altaf wanted someone to ask her to play a village woman. "There's the challenge," she said. "There’s no challenge in playing a fashion diva, which is me."

And Dai is quite far from the Frieha Altaf we all know. She wears gold bangles, something Altaf doesn't, and very different clothes. "I don’t wear these kind of clothes and had them made from Zainab Chotani," she explained.

For Altaf, one of the most interesting things about the character of Dai is how evil she is. "She wears red lipstick when she’s getting ready to perform an abortion," she explained, adding that she's an evil character.

She believed being in a web-series is a much better experience than a TV series or a movie. "I wanted to do this [because] a web-series is reality and you can work freely. You can show the truth and I believe in the truth," she said.

"I'm not saying films don’t show the truth but films that do are often banned, as you know, so what’s the point? So if we now have this medium, I'm telling everyone that since the pandemic has started I’ve been married to Netflix, literally married, because I spend five hours a day watching everything," she said.

"So I find that very refreshing. I don't watch shows just in English but in Spanish and Turkish and different languages," she said. "I want to see what the world is doing, this is a global game now and being on an OTT channel is global. You're not limited to just the audience in Pakistan."

So it's much more refreshing, much more free and I want to do something as well, she said. "I'm learning, everyday."

The series is expected to be released in July, according to Altaf, and if UrduFlix asks her to, she'll do something to launch the project.