Playing Aaliya has made me a stronger woman: Mawra Hocane on her Aangan character
The long-awaited period play Aangan begins airing today and lead star Mawra Hocane is nervous — but in a good way.
In a chat with Images, Mawra talks about her character Aaliya, why she is the first of her characters that she actually admires and why she might tune in to watch the drama with the rest of us (she usually doesn't). Read on:
Images: You're said to be the narrator of Aangan but of course, you're more than just a voice in the background. You're also a character in the flesh. It's almost like you're doing double duty in this drama. Is that what it's been like for you?
Mawra: Not exactly... when we were shooting on sets, I didn't do the the narration then and we're doing those recordings now. Besides, Aaliya becomes the narrator later in the story when she grows up and develops an understanding about her family and the political situation around them. So I don't think it's so much of a double duty, it's just the way the character is. She has a lot of insight to offer about what happens [in Aangan]. I don't think the audience will [be able to distinguish between me as Aaliya and me as the narrator]. Both roles go hand in hand.
Images: Aangan is set in pre-Partition times... how did you ensure that your portrayal is authentic? Especially considering that there may be people who have actually lived through that era and are watching Aangan?
Mawra: I have an excellent team to make sure of that. There's a set team, a costume team to make sure everything looks like the 1940s and the 1920s. So you start to feel it too. But it has been surreal because for example, in an emergency situation, Aaliya is writing letters to her father, not reaching for her phone and that's not my first instinct. Being an actor, I'm very lucky to experience this old-school era. But ensuring authenticity was my team's efforts and I can't take credit for that.
Images: But even the language, the mannerisms were all so different... what was it like for you to enter that era?
Mawra: It was my director's priority for my character to behave like someone from that era and to bring that tehrao in my personality, that was the subject of our first meetings.
Perhaps, in that time, people wouldn't immediately react to situations [like we do today]. They would really think about the consequences of a situation and then react and that is Aaliya's nature too. She can actually look at the big picture all the time. She knows what chaos is occurring outside the house, so she finds a lot of solace and peace in the house...