America
There's a preconceived notion about Pakistanis: Actress Hina Khwaja Bayat
Lahore, April 25
Hina Khwaja Bayat, considered
one of the pillars of the Pakistani entertainment industry, feels there
is a preconceived notion about her country worldwide, and hopes that
India and Pakistan soon learn to live like "good neighbours".
During
her 20 years in the media industry, she pioneered ground-breaking shows
like "Baatain Mulaqaatain", "Uljhan Suljhan" and "Geo Hina kay Saath".
Her versatility as an actor was evident in a wide range of dramas like
"Humsafar", "Talkhiyan", "Aunn Zara" and "Zindagi Gulzar Hai" where she
has surprised the viewers in both Pakistan and India.
In an
interview with this visiting Indian journalist, the actress who is
ethnically from Kashmir but originally from Karachi, talks about the
reason behind the popularity of Pakistani dramas in India, the notions
about her country and about what it takes to be an actress in Pakistan.
Excerpts:
Q. What's it about Pakistani dramas that you think has clicked with the Indian audience?
A.
The first is reliability. Pakistani dramas have characters which are
very real. Yes, they are dramatic, have twists and turns, but by and
large , people like you and me just think, feel and behave in the same
way. So, I think this clicked with the audience, because human emotions
are the same everywhere.
Secondly, I think the duration. The story is wrapped up in a maximum 26 episodes and that’s a lot.
Q. Were you always sure that Pakistani TV dramas would have a huge audience in India?
A.
Even in the 1980s, Pakistani dramas had been very popular in India. I
know that on the satellite and on DVDs, Pakistani dramas had already
made a mark before Zindagi channel was launched, so we knew it will
work. The kind of feedback that we get, it has definitely created waves.
I know even from the industry itself, people like Amitabh Bachchan have
been very vocal about appreciating our work, and it has created an
impact. There is a market for our dramas in India just like there is a
market for Indian films in Pakistan.
Q. Do you feel this exchange of entertainment can ease the situation between India and Pakistan?
A.
I think that on the political front, we have to be realistic. Pakistan
is an entity that is here to stay. India is an entity that has been
there. We really and truly need to understand that fighting off or
negating each other is not going to help either of us. I think it’s high
time that we learn to live as good neighbours...Pakistan and India need
to grow up. They need to understand that we can be a really powerful
region in the world in terms of trade and activity...We need to put our
energies and resources together. I think that on a one-on-one level,
people want that. They are tired of fighting, they are tired of watching
their resources being depleted or wasted in a non-productive or
destructive way.
Q. Do you feel there is a pre-conceived notion about Pakistan's entertainment industry worldwide?
A.
There is a pre-conceived notion about Pakistanis in general. I have
been a journalist and anchor in my own show. I used to go to a lot of
conferences and everywhere I went, they looked at me and said, ‘Are all
Pakistani women like you?’ They somehow confuse us with the Arabs. We
are primarily Muslims, but we have huge communities of Hindus, Sikhs,
Parsis, even Buddhists and Christians. We also have a Jewish community.
I
believe that you are recognised by your nationality, not by your faith.
I could be anyone sitting here and I don’t have any sign telling you
what is my faith.
Q. And how does it feel to be an actress in Pakistan?
A.
For me, TV itself was a big step because I come from a family which is
'liberally conservative'...who are quite liberal in thoughts and
behaviour in the sense that we believe in good education and having a
career, but showbiz was not something that they wanted me to step into.
People from certain backgrounds don’t want to be in these fields because
they carried an image and reputation with them.
I
promised my father when he said ‘Mujhe accha nahi lagta ki meri beti ki
tasveer lagi hai aur log buri nazar dale’ (I don’t like when people
stare at your photograph). So, I told him that would never happen. My
husband has been my biggest strength.
Q. What kind of support does the Pakistani TV industry get from the government?
A.
None really. We unfortunately are not really recognised as an Industry.
The moment I go for my national identity card for any official
government related document, there is no category for acting profession.
An actor or a media person is not really considered a profession. I
have people in the government asking ‘Acting ke alawa aap kya karti
hai?’ (What do you do apart from acting?), and I say that we don’t get
time after that as we work for insane hours. The understanding is
missing.
Q. Do you follow Indian television?
A.
Not really. I just don’t have the mindset for it and time for it. I
know people following Indian soaps for years and they live with those
characters.
Q. But do Indian soap operas have market and viewership in Pakistan in general?
A.
It has now lessened and I am saying so from the industry point of view
because I get the feedback. Indian soap operas came at a time when
Pakistani drama was on its last legs. We did have a whole wave of fake
concept of Islamisation. I would say Wahhabi pushed the way of
Islamising the country, and that killed our film industry, and was
destroying our TV dramas...For those few years in between, people got
hooked to Indian soaps, but when the whole wave of Pakistani dramas came
in, people went back.
(The writer's trip is at the
invitation of the Pakistan Fashion Design Council. Nivedita can be
contacted at [email protected].)