I was clueless when I started acting: Soniya Hussain
Soniya 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 to a conservative set up and confront the chauvinistic attitudes in a male-dominated society.”
Talking about the roles that she is now beginning to turn down, she said, “Nowadays, there is a trend of rehashing one successful story into as many serials as possible. When I’m offered a play, there are two things that I want to know straight away before making a commitment — the storyline and the director."
"I’m not in the favour of showing that women in our society are weak and that they should be locked up in the house. We need to educate society to improve it, not take it back to the Stone Age."
"In the beginning I would just look for an interesting character to play," Sonia continues. "But I have learnt that however good a story line may be, a bad director can ruin it. But now I can tell a director’s calibre through his vision and approach in just working with him for a couple of days. Senior directors know their work well; they know what shot to take, which angle to use, and how they are going to use the shot. Their work is streamlined. Others can just tire you with extra shots and also waste everyone’s time.”
What kind of storyline does she like? “I’m not in the favour of showing that women in our society are weak and that they should be locked up in the house due to society constraints and dogma. We need to educate society to improve it, not take it back to the Stone Age. It is our job to cleanse the society of various practices that are evil. If we keep showing them, they will never cease to exist.”
She is already experimenting with her roles and presently has two serials on air with what she feels are meaningful roles. “I am being a bit choosy. I don’t want to play the same kind of rehashed character of a victimised pretty girl, caught in a bad relationship or marriage. I am looking for slightly different roles from the usual. In Nazo, which is on air these days, I play a very challenging role of a special girl. My hair is a mess; there is hardly any make up and no glamourous outfits to wear. I have to express myself by expressions and sounds. I had to spend time with special children to learn their gestures and behaviour. I’m also enjoying Farwa ki ABC, which is a light play focusing on the importance of education.”