Saheefa Jabbar is playing an older woman in her next TV serial Daag

After her hit serial Beti, Saheefa Jabbar Khattak is taking on the role of a mother again and this time we'll see her go through the struggles of raising a child as she grows old.

The drama titled Daag opens with her character eloping with her boyfriend on the eve of her wedding to someone else. Her marriage lasts only about 15 days (his mother forces him to divorce her, surprise surprise) but she becomes pregnant. The remainder of the story follows her as she fights for her daughter's rights (played by Saboor Aly) and protects her from suffering the same fate she did.

The entertainment industry is notoriously ageist and it's rare for young actors to willingly play older women due to a perception that moving away from a glamourous image may hurt their future work prospects. However, Saheefa says Daag's message is well worth it. "I'm [playing an older woman] in the start of my career but I really wanted to do this. I don't want to play nice, pretty-pretty girls."

The difficulty for her, though, was in getting all the nuances of her character right. "I don't have a lot of acting experience and I'm working with a big star cast. Saboor herself is a very fine actor. Moulding myself to both young and old sides of the character has been challenging."

The drama stars Kashif Mehmood, Nadia Afgan, Saboor Aly, Affan Waheed and Saba Hamid. It's been directed by Mohsin Mirza, produced by Abdullah Seja and written by Ali Moin. The filming for Daag is currently ongoing.