What was the toughest thing you ever did to prove your worth within your profession to your peers and superiors? Whether it was pulling late hours, taking on dangerous projects, or compromising some other part of ourselves and our lives; we all have that one hoop we have definitely jumped for work.

You’d think, being young and pretty, privileged and educated should help you, and to some extent it probably does.

Journalist/Filmmaker/Presenter/Actor Hani Taha is learning the hard way that you could have every single resource at your disposal to help you succeed, and still be missing the glue that brings and holds it all together: luck.

“There was an open call to audition for a role in a Turkish production, and we were all made to wait for hours from midday onwards,” Hani shares. “And at some point, after melting and starving and being thirsty all day, I did get upset with the organizers.”

She wades through the memory of rest of the audition. The person shortlisting actors grinned and threw a thumbs-up her way.

“I was thinking, mujhe meri luck pata hai, nahi milna yeh role bhi,” Hani finishes her story with unexpected cheer.

With her undergrad from LUMS, and postgrad in Journalism from Syracuse University in New York, she went on to work for Al Jazeera. And while Hani Taha may be privileged enough, and experienced in other branches of the field enough to understand where systems aren’t organized, and where she might be getting shortchanged, there are still variables she has no control over.

“There are actors, and there are stars,” she says, “there is that differentiation that has already been made in the industry.”

Consequently, you could be the brightest actor in a group of stars, and be relegated to a minor role.

Star quality is something that has been spoken of and written about at length and it just boils down to this: some people have it, and some don’t. So when Hani Taha wonders why producers will choose to give work to people they like, dismissing lack of experience, over NAPA (National Academy Of Performing Arts) students and graduates, perhaps the answer is, ‘they don’t have it’.

Which is why several brilliant NAPA alumni over the years have been sidelined in favour of their counterparts who possess the kind of charm and looks, if not the skills, that these trained actors don’t.

One may argue that actors such as Nazarul Hasan have been recognized for their work in the indie circuit, but really, stardom is stardom, and when you achieve that is when other doors open too. Brand endorsements, paid appearances, higher salaries and better choices will come once an actor establishes themselves as a star, or at least as on their way to becoming one.

Akbar Islam too has made his way onto television, and found supporting roles. But then there are the gems you could spot in NAPA’s productions years ago - Ishtiaq Rasul, who was so good at playing the most tormented characters (Equus, Mantorama, Marat/Sade), the comedic team of Hammad Sartaj and Farhan Alam - who have simply seemed to go out of focus over the years. The ideal conclusion for trained actors who are also talented would be for them to have their pick of projects, but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.

Hani has encountered the favour towards her skills, has been admired for her presence, and is someone who will get up and focus attention on herself if she has to, but even she admits that a lot of other factors come into play when directors pick their casts.

“I recently had minor roles in (Filmwala Pictures’) new releases, Khel Khel Mein and Quaid e Azam Zindabad. Nabeel (Qureshi) directed me in an ad earlier, and I caught his eye. I know he finds something interesting about my skills, but it is also about casting stars in leads, and yes, I get that – I don’t resent it.”

Hani – who appears to be somewhat of a question mark for the people she has come across in the industry – still has been part of the entertainment business for a while. As a journalist, she observed, as a documentary producer/presenter she picked up a lot about storytelling and the technical aspect. She might not be deterred by a few rejections, missed opportunities, or blatant criticism, but maybe not every aspiring actor will withstand the questions or doubts thrown their way.

For Hani, the spark that illuminated a whole new direction for her was the simple thought: why not?

“One I started though, I had to keep pushing and see how far I could go.” This is how she landed her associate producer gig on Chalay Thay Saath and another part in The Motorcycle Girl which she assistant-directed.

“I just asked for a role, when I was approached to assist,” she shrugs. “But while I might think my experience can just inform my work as an actor and vice versa, there are still people who don’t take me seriously.”

Questioned by actors because she was a ‘producer’, she decided to study acting formally at NAPA, and took a Method Acting course at the Lee Strasberg Academy, while working on a documentary every year as well.

If you’ve caught the latest foodpanda commercial, with aliens enjoying the PSL, you might notice Hani Taha, coloured both in blue and her commitment to acting, rather enjoying the avatar she is in. As she puts it, she didn’t care whether she was recognizable or not, she just wanted the experience.

From her very first theatre role in NAPA’s Yahudi Ki Ladki, to the ads and dramas and shorts she has appeared in the last few years, Hani the actor has come a long way. Everything from her delivery and diction to her expression and presence has become better. But still she finds herself in the unique position of being in no-man’s land, where seasoned directors will ask her how she can be a producer and actor, and her current and former peers will question what Hani would pick as her expertise.

But Hani, who is loaded with the kind of grit we all wish we had, is optimistic. “Things are changing in the industry,” she says, “and they will keep changing. If I do nothing but disturb the status quo towards a more progressive future, I will consider my work done.”

Star quality is something that has been spoken of and written about at length and it just boils down to this: some people have it, and some don’t. Which is why when Hani Taha wonders why producers will choose to give work to people they like, dismissing lack of experience, over NAPA (National Academy Of Performing Arts) students and graduates, perhaps the answer is, ‘they don’t have it’.