- How did you enter the world of modelling?
I had just finished my A levels and after that I had a bit of time on my hands and at that point I was approached by a friend who was working and interning in an advertising agency. And they needed a model for a campaign. And so I did that campaign. It was a winter campaign for Lakhany silk mills, and during that time Shamaeel who was a family friend was doing a fashion show. So I did that fashion show as well. Then I went for a haircut to Tariq Amin and over there Mubashir Khan who used to work there, he really kind of got after me and he said that you have to meet all these people Imran Qureshi and Frieha Altaf and Deepak Perwani and all these people and he was quite insistent and because of that reason I actually end up meeting all the people who I started working with and that is how I got pushed into the modeling industry.
- Did your family support you in your decision of joining this field?
Well realistically speaking, my father was actually quite supportive because he was of the opinion that I actually needed to earn some money on my own. My mother was not very supportive in the beginning, but after she met all the people who I was working with, She became a whole lot more open to the idea of me being in this field. Initially she used to go with me for all my shows for all my shoots and after a couple of months she actually stopped going because she realized that I can actually take care of myself and Also that the people around me were pretty OK, so she then kind of calmed down.
- That one moment (good or bad) that you will never forget in your life while in this field of work?
Honestly speaking there have been many, many moments, specially when we have traveled abroad. We have bonded as friends with all the models with the designers. I think that’s been an absolutely wonderful experience for me and there have been so many moments shared amongst the models shared amongst people who have been in this field and so many people have actually come and gone. I mean, those people are nowhere right now and you know, it’s so amazing when I look back and I remember all those people. And I used to share so much with them. So I can’t really pinpoint one thing. There have been many, many moments that have been absolutely wonderful.
- How’s life been during the Covid lockdown and how do you see life today?
Life has been hell during COVID lockdown. Honestly, everything has been so difficult. Business has been terrible, which is a real stress factor in my life. The kids have been home away from their friends, away from their regular routine. Away from any kind of activity that they used to be doing, they used to be going for tennis and they used to be going to the club for swimming and their friends. And you know, just normal activity and the kids have been just homebound and they are doing online schooling which is awful I mean I myself hate online school. It’s been extremely, extremely difficult and I truly pray that we will be able to get back to a normal life really soon and I think that more than a year has really in fact taken a huge toll on people’s mental health, so I think we really need to get back to normal life.
- Film, Drama or Modeling – Which one would you prefer and why?
So I’ve never done a film, so yes, I can say that I would want to do a film. Modeling has always been something that I have enjoyed, but drama is something that I have enjoyed even more because during drama, Doing the kinds of roles the different kinds of roles that you have to do, I think emoting someone else who you are not, is so challenging, being another person and being able to portray the feelings and emotions of another person. I think that’s just so wonderful. So yes, of course a film would be amazing, even though I haven’t yet Gotten like a really good script for a film or even a really good offer for a film. Modeling I’ve stopped doing unless if there’s really, really, really somebody who wants to do it with me, then only I’ll do a shoot now. But as of now I’m focusing more on my salon, which is my business and I’m focusing on acting.
- What’s your stance at Women empowerment and the need of Aurat March in its regard?
I think women empowerment is extremely important because specially in our industry, in our field, in our society women have not gotten the kind of Position that they actually deserve, so women have had to fight a lot for their equality and for a lot of things that they actually deserve. As far as aurat March is concerned, I feel that It kind of raises a lot of Important issues. Some issues can definitely be ignored, but some very important issues are raised which raises a question in women’s minds and they actually think about that. So like I think it’s just about raising awareness. Of course there are good and bad sides to it, but I would I definitely feel that there is more good than bad in raising issues when you are actually marching together.
– What’s that one goal in your life that you want to achieve and have not yet?
The one goal in my life is now to actually expand my salon. To expand my business to expand my product line to do all of that. That is definitely something that I’m working towards and that is definitely, I guess, a dream that I still need to achieve.
