Mansha Pasha takes on a villainous role for drama Surkh Chandni

Mansha Pasha is gearing up to play a baddie for the first time in upcoming drama Surkh Chandni.

Directed by Shahid Shafaat and written by Asma Nabeel, Surkh Chandni will address the sensitive social issue of acid attacks in the country.

Pasha revealed that her character "is somebody who causes an acid attack."

Said Pasha, "The reason I took up this particular project was because I haven’t done anything negative as such in my entire career and this wasn’t just a typical negative character. It has a lot of layers because initially she doesn’t actually intend for the incident to happen and she doesn’t foresee the snowball effect that takes place following her actions. Come to think of it the path to wrong doings is never really straight. It’s not as simple as someone is born bad. On the contrary it’s very complicated. I believe it’s an endless series of choices of whether to safeguard yourself or to keep going on the right path. All these dimensions and the backstory is why I thought it would be a very interesting project to take up."

Mansha will be acting alongside - or rather, against - Sohai Ali Abro and Osman Khalid Butt. The cast also includes Asad Siddiqui, Lubna Aslam and Gul-e-Rana among others.

About bringing out the best of her very evil character, Mansha said, "I think the overall drama has been so violent both emotionally and physically. The character has been challenging for me because getting into the mindset of such a person and understanding the motivation behind their action is tough. The biggest challenge perhaps is to be able to relate to and justify the character without condoning her because it takes an emotional toll on you."

So far, Surkh Chandni has been rather demanding of its cast members and Pasha revealed, "This drama has been very violent too so we’ve also gotten hurt physically at times because that’s the nature of the project."

Surkh Chandni revolves around an acid attack victim who speaks up against the injustices faced by her. The drama aims to acknowledge and put an emphasis on the legislation of the acid and burns crime bill.

Mansha Pasha wants to make sure that her character is portrayed as the evil she is and not be show in any grey area. According to the actor, "When picking up subjects that deal with social issues it is every important to ensure that the message does not get muddled. A lot of times directors are confused about how to portray certain characters. In the past we have seen stories where the rapist has been highlighted and where the murderer is somebody you’re feeling really bad for or he’s coming across as the hero. Anti-hero and hero are two completely different things and this is where I think a lot of writers and directors get confused and negative roles end up being celebrated. That cannot happen. Negative is negative. You can share or reveal parts of the backstory of the character while shedding light to why they might have done what they did but at the end of the day a negative action shouldn’t be condoned."

Along with Surkh Chandni that will air this year, Mansha Pasha will also be seen in upcoming film Laal Kabootar.