Self-assured and content, Ayesha Omar’s ascension to the rank of a formidable actor has been in the making for quite some time. Though she has tried her hand at music and hosting, it’s the field of acting that has boosted her profile significantly. For instance, her comic-timing on the hugely popular sitcom, Bulbulay is not only well-known but also points to her talent and potential.
The actress speaks to Instep about upcoming films, how roles impact her and what lies ahead.
Self-assured and content, Ayesha Omar’s ascension to the rank of a formidable actor has been in the making for quite some time. Though she has tried her hand at music and hosting, it’s the field of acting that has boosted her profile significantly. For instance, her comic-timing on the hugely popular sitcom, Bulbulay is not only well-known but also points to her talent and potential.
BTS image: Ayesha Omar with her Rehbraa co-star, Ahsan Khan.
In person Omar is punctual (unlike some of her contemporaries) and particular about how she carries herself and the work she takes up. Seated comfortably opposite me on the Bulbulay set, our conversation begins with the question of overexposure and Omar takes a pragmatic approach when answering. “With a sitcom like Bulbulay that is on-air four times a day, there is truly a lot of exposure and I can’t control that,” she observed. “I am always on people’s TV screens and they feel I’m a part of their lives, their households. With movie-stars, there is a little distance because there isn’t as much accessibility.”
2017 looks like a busy year for the actress; she has two films coming out and is gearing up to sign two more. In addition, she also has a surgery that is scheduled to take place later this summer.
One of the films that the actress is starring in, that is expected to hit cinema-screens this year, is Rehbraa. In this romantic feature film, Omar is playing the female lead and counts Ahsan Khan and (debutant) Sarish Khan as her co-stars.
Shooting for the film, noted Omar, has been grueling and rigorous. “Rehbraa is spread-out in different parts of the country. From interior Punjab and Sindh to Lahore and Karachi, we’re constantly travelling while shooting. This also happens to be our crew’s first experience on a film so naturally things weren’t always organized; there were delays and basically a lot of trial and error. But I don’t blame them. Since we’re a growing industry we don’t have infrastructure in place just yet, we don’t have trained teams.”
Discussing her experience on the film further, Omar noted how debutant director Amin Iqbal proved to be a competent and crafty director. “Our director is someone who knows his craft really well and is also able to tell his actors what he expects from them. In Pakistan, mostly directors let actors explore their characters but actors love being directed and that is something that I’ve experienced on Rehbraa’s set.”
In Rehbraa, Omar is essaying a middle-class girl named Bubbly who lives in Punjab. The actress maintained that she doesn’t have trouble in switching off from her characters once a project is over and usually takes something away from each role.
“If I have an emotional scene, if I am crying the entire day or I’m howling in a cave, I obviously can’t snap out of it the very next minute,” explained Omar. “Some characters I had also gotten very attached to because I had started seeing things through their perspective. Some I look up to, some I am very inspired by.”
On a personal note, Omar is scheduled to have a collarbone surgery this June in the aftermath of a traumatic car accident that occurred in 2015.
“I couldn’t do anything for an entire year,” she said recalling the accident. “I still have injuries, my ability to perform certain tasks is currently impaired and I can’t work on projects that involve a lot of physical exertion, dance or travelling since I am constantly in pain, and Rehbraa includes all of that, so it’s been extremely tough.”
Moving on to one of her most recent projects, the forgettable music video of Qurram Hussain’s tune, ‘Turn up the Music Mr. DJ’ that is a part of the second season of Cornetto Pop Rock, Omar is quick to defend it despite the fact that critics have panned it.
“The moves were adapted according to what was possible for me. The choreographer knew that I had a broken collarbone,” Omar stated. “Even my doctors had advised me to not put that kind of pressure since my body is still compensating for the injury. I had already committed and I am the kind of person who doesn’t back down at the eleventh hour. However, I do feel I could’ve done a lot better. I could’ve moved more freely and with abandon.”
Reiterating her point further, Omar noted, “People don’t realize it because they don’t see it. A lot of people around me still don’t know that I have a broken bone, because they think I’m completely healed. You can’t always complain and crib. This industry is so cut-throat and ruthless that nobody even cares about what you’re going through. They just believe in face-value.”
Coming back to films, Omar is also a part of the much-talked about upcoming war saga, Yalghaar. The film has an extensive cast that includes Shaan Shahid, Sana Bucha, Humayun Saeed, Bilal Ashraf and Armeena Khan among others. For Omar, screen time and space in an ensemble film is not a matter of concern.
“For some people it is but for me it’s not an issue because that is something secondary. With Yalghaar, it wasn’t a concern because I knew that the entire film revolves around my character. I am not bothered about the number of scenes I have because I know every scene I’ve done will leave an impact.”
In the age of social media, privacy is fast becoming an elusive thing and Omar is well-aware of the changing reality. “People get a sneak peek into our personal lives. It is quite an invasion of privacy.”
But Omar is not dismissive of social media in entirety either and admits that it does add to one’s popularity. “It has shortened the duration of time it took in becoming a star. Some people also start setting their value on the basis of the number of followers they have. We need to understand that our masses are not on Instagram or Snapchat. I’ve shot in villages and I go up-north and everyone recognizes me, not because I’m on social media, but because they watch Bulbulay.”
On a parting note, I asked Omar about what she makes of upcoming actors, their capabilities and the expectation of instant fame that they carry. “We’ve been working for so long and we’ve gotten used to shooting in all sorts of conditions. We put up a front and never let the off-camera drama show on the camera. Newcomers are not used to that but I don’t blame them because it takes time and patience to get to that stage. When one starts off, comfort is something that is taken into consideration, but that can’t be. The show simply must go on,” she concluded.
