Model turned actor Zara Abid lost her life in the recent, tragic plane crash while travelling from Lahore to Karachi. Known for her professionalism and style, she broke stereotypes being one of the top Pakistani models who made it big in an industry obsessed with fair skin. She picked up the Best Model trophy at the Hum Style Awards earlier this year; she was expected to make her acting debut on the big screen in the coming months.

In the wake of her death, a short film – titled Sikka and featuring Zara Abid – was released to pay tribute to her. The short sees her essaying two completely different characters with lives that are poles apart. However, it boils down to the same harsh realities that life confronts us with, irrespective of our social backgrounds. Narrated beautifully by Saba Qamar, the short film is written and directed by Ahmed Sarym. It was shot by a group of young creatives across interior Rawalpindi and Islamabad last summer. It is now available on Qissa Nagri YouTube channel.

“Writing has always been a form of expression for me; initially it was in the form of journalism but filmmaking always fascinated me and was something I did eventually want to get into. Sikka became the first project I worked on. From the day I wrote it to the day it came out, it’s just been very personal to say the least,” Sarym shared with Instep.

Reminiscing his experience of working with Zara, Sarym shared that she was somebody extremely hard-working and dedicated. They would spend hours working on both her characters, randomly creating backstories to bring more raw and real emotion. “We spoke of personal struggles in our lives to inculcate that in our art. It was an entire process, a first for me and a first for her, and we were equally invested into making it something worthwhile.”

“Zara was a beautiful woman, unbelievably giving and funny, and gifted in every sense of the way. So, sharing Sikka now seems like the right thing to do, but it’s also heartbreaking to not have her see the adulation she’s receiving,” he reminisced. “When she watched the first cut, she told me she now believed she could act; I can still hear her say that. Sikka and its release to me, more than anything, is perhaps bidding farewell to her, which I couldn’t otherwise do.”

Initially, the writer-director aimed to take the film to festivals, as well as other platforms, but that didn’t materialize due to the sudden lockdown. “When we had to further delay the film’s distribution/release, I remember Zara and I being upset over how it’s taking longer than we’d expected for it to come out. When I heard about her very unfortunate demise, I realised it was time for me to let it out, to not wait any longer, but show the world what Zara was capable of, and showcase her insane talent.”