Introducing Hajra Yamin

There is a rare breed of actors, particularly in present times, who realize what ‘acting’ is really about and make a deliberate effort to be an actor first and a star later. They don’t fall prey to any superficial standards, such as looking a certain way. Or, having a huge number of followers on social media - a growing industry standard - to get work. Some would rather wait for the right role and the right time to showcase their talent. Amidst those few names is actress Hajra Yamin, who is passionate about acting; it comes from her experience with theatre.

Beginning with theatre in 2011, followed by her TV debut in 2016 and film debut in 2018, she is gearing up for her second feature film, Pinky Memsaab that is written and directed by Shazia Ali Khan.

It is scheduled to release across Pakistan and in Dubai (since most of it has been shot in the latter city) on December 7, this year. The teasers and trailer of Pinky Memsaab released earlier this year and have managed to generate great response from viewers including industry insiders who have praised the effort. The film explores life on various levels in today’s fast-paced world.

Hajra essays the role of a naïve, young woman, Pinky, who comes from non-privileged background but has bigger dreams that she longs to fulfill. The film follows her journey aside from multiple other characters and tracks that it explores in an attempt to highlight that the world is not as it seems.

“Pinky is 60 per cent what I used to be like before I came to Karachi, before the whole struggle started,” Hajra, who moved from Islamabad to Karachi sometime back, shares about her character in Pinky Memsaab with Instep. “It is everything that I was. Struggling as a person in Karachi and in this industry, I could relate to the character that way. She is a normal girl who represents all those girls who come from a humble background. However, she is extraordinary in the sense that she has dreams, aspirations and some goals in life. She is broad-minded despite not being highly educated and well-exposed to the world.”

Prior to this, Hajra, who has a degree in Communication and Media Studies, made her big screen debut with a prominent role in Aabis Raza’s Maan Jao Naa that didn’t work well at the box office. Admitting that the film wasn’t a box office success, Hajra notes that as a film industry, we still have a lot to learn.

“I studied film making myself and I know preproduction is very important in filmmaking,” she says. “People spend years in preproduction because it is the most important phase while the execution phase is just 40 per cent of the entire process. Rehearsals are very important which nobody does here.”

She reveals that in the case of Pinky Memsaab, which she was offered after auditioning for it, they started preparing for their roles five months before they went on set. They had, notes Hajra, a separate acting coach just for her.

With credible theatre productions such as Anwar Maqsood’s Siachen to her name, Hajra is a versatile actress who doesn’t run after lead roles but takes up roles that are diverse and offer more margin to perform. She chooses one project at a time and believes in giving her 100 per cent to it. In between acting assignments, Hajra prefers self-learning so that she emerges better than before.

Currently appearing in socially-relevant drama serial Baandi, Hajra has essayed some layered, unconventional, characters on the small screen in projects like Tau Dil Ka Kiya Hua and the recently concluded Tabeer in which she played the role of a disturbed, psychotic young woman.

Reflecting on her experience in television, the actress confesses that while others find TV easy, she found it more difficult because it was a different medium for her. “In theatre, an actor has such a big space to perform and it’s not as exaggerated as it is told because theatre can be very subtle as well,” she explains, adding “at present, TV focuses more on looks and less on acting. I had difficulty in toning things down initially but I have been very lucky with some directors such as Shahid Shafaat and Ahson Talish. They gave me a lot of hope as an actor working in television and made me realize that looking pretty isn’t my job.”

“I feel there are some weird pre-requisites for actors lately,” she continues. “You have to be a good ‘face’ first, then a good ‘actor’ in TV. They want a picture-perfect look. Because I have got long, curly hair, people even had issues with that. They would tell me my hair are too modern for the industry and I won’t be able to survive as I look Arabic and not Pakistani. Also, there are so many good actors out there but we have gotten stuck in ‘leads’. A lot of times, people ask me why I mostly play supporting roles but what do we do when supporting roles are stronger than the leading ones?”

However, Hajra does realize how great a medium TV is and can be. And she doesn’t wish to stereotype it because of how misled it is right now. “I grew up watching Marina Khan, Sania Saeed, Samiya Mumtaz, Nadia Hussain and Saba Qamar on TV and these women are amazing actresses,” she elaborates. “I watched TV in those years.”

Alongside TV and film projects, the actress continues to perform in theatre plays once or twice a year. She feels it is important for her to refresh her skills and get more guidance on her work. Hajra will be seen in Zain Ahmed’s Ikhtiyar, which will be staged on November 4 at the Karachi Arts Council as a part of Sindh Theatre Festival that commences tomorrow.

For now, we are eager to watch Pinky Memsaab that looks very promising and relatable. As Hajra claims, “The film has something for everyone and people will be able to relate to it.”