Oct 12
Resham
HUM TV dramas have a very strong storyline because a lot of them are adaptations from best-selling novels, says Resham to Afia Mansoor.
Getting hold of Resham for an interview proves to be quite an uphill task. The sultry celebrity is busy looking after her ailing niece, and the frequent trips to the hospital has stressed her out.
She meets me at her home, nesting comfortably in her bed and confesses that she is trying to deal with sleep deprivation. As she answers the phone, I look around and notice that Resham’s room reveals little about her. It is done up nicely, is comfortable too, but pretty much like the celebrity herself – its guarded veneer hides vast depths of the unknown.
Here is as much as the versatile artiste reveals of herself:
HUMSAY: How did you venture into the performing arts?
Resham: I was the youngest in the family and was always into unconventional stuff like dance and acting, at school. For one of the stage performances in school some people had come down from PTV, and I managed to get hold of their contacts. Later, I went to the PTV centre with my brother and without telling anyone else at home, gave an audition. I managed to get a role as an extra. That was 1994. I remember the first cheque I got was something like 300 – 400 rupees. And I had been so proud of it. A few plays later, I was lucky enough to get a leading role in the serial ‘Din’, followed by ‘Dukh Sukh’ which Syed Noor saw, leading to my being offered a role in his film ‘Sangam’. However, ‘Jeeva’, also by Syed Noor made it to the screen before ‘Sangam’, and the rest, as they say, is history.
HUMSAY: You have worked in films and television, and modelled too. Which genre do you find more challenging?
Resham: Television has been the most challenging medium for me. In a film, you can cover up flaws, like, let’s say, your voice, at a later stage, when you’re dubbing. But in a TV production, you have to be able to balance your voice and expression right then and there. I must say I have learned a lot from our TV artistes like Nauman Ejaz and Faisal Qureshi. Faisal, in fact, is one of the most versatile actors I have ever seen. You portray him as anything from a village lad of Punjab to a Bengali man or even a pimp and he’ll amaze you with his transformation each time. He is truly gifted. It is always a pleasure working with him and I learn a lot just by watching him. I have recently done the serial ‘Aashti’ with him and it was great to see him perform.
HUMSAY: What do you think is the future of Pakistani films, TV and fashion?
Resham: Films…we are nowhere; fashion, we have really improved. You don’t need to go abroad to get trendy stuff, any more. Our designers are making brilliant clothes. My personal favourite is Umar Sayeed. I think his eastern designs are breathtaking and his western designs beat even Versace and Channel! As for TV, by and large, we have unfortunately lost the edge we had in drama by losing touch with reality. Our plays were popular around the world, but now we have taken up the Star Plus soaps full of visual gimmickry. I think HUM TV deserves a great tribute for bringing back the Pakistani drama to a large extent, to its original glory. HUM TV dramas have a very strong storyline
