In the age of ‘me’, only a few Pakistani celebrities have managed to unlock the secrets behind achieving not only A-list stardom but also social-media popularity that makes their star rise each passing minute. The biggest example is none other than one of Pakistan’s Hautest actresses, Mawra Hocane, whose popularity after Sammi has grown tenfold.
Speaking exclusively to Something Haute, the diva reveals how the show has not only gone beyond her expectations but also helped her to stop underestimating herself when people compared her work to other shows like Udaari.
“If you knew the people around me, you’d know that I always underestimate myself. It may not look like that from my social media but I do. Always with my projects, I am really scared. I always work hard, but you know, the fate of a project is something no one in the world has figured out yet. How can anyone calculate the fate of a project? I might have underestimated myself, but Sammi went far beyond my expectations,†the actress said.
Despite the show that stars Hocane amongst other top names such as Adnan Siddiqui and Sania Saeed, getting its fair share of critique for not making the eponymous Sammi one who speaks for herself, the diva feels that one needs to have a different outlook to understand the realities of those who live on the peripheries.
“One must realize that Sammi is not about people like you or I. We might find this regressive because we live in another world of ours, where we may not even come across such a problem but when we go and shoot in a village and see where such problems happen, or simply just search it online and see the number of wani cases that happen, we’ll realize that it’s not regressive but the truth that we close our eyes to intentionally or unintentionally,†Hocane asserted.
Creating a dichotomy between the problems faced in metropolitan cities like Karachi versus those in villages, the actress added,
“It’s not about a girl living in Karachi, who woke up to face an electricity outage or a water shortage; it’s about someone living in a village that isn’t allowed to take a single decision herself. She’s stuck with the fear that someone will make a decision for her and she has to abide by it because she has no other option.â€
While the show focuses on the harrowing topic of wani, its continuous comparison to sister Urwa Hocane’s Udaari has also turned into a topic of importance for Mawra. Although there is no surprise about the comparisons, the diva feels that it’s for all the right reasons, as Urwa has remained her innate inspiration.
“I may not have done a social issue project if it wasn’t for Urwa doing Udaari and it getting the success it received. Perhaps, I would have asked for a love-story coming from the influence I came from, doing all love stories,†the actress told Something Haute. “Picking up something like Sammi was because of Udaari, and Urwa has always set precedents for me since I was born. The only thing that I have done where I haven’t followed my sister’s footsteps is Sanam Teri Kasam. But, I do believe things would have been easier for me if I had followed her because I would have had her example to follow,†she added.
Managing to not only keep herself on the covers of almost every leading magazine but also turning into one of the most sought after names in Pakistan, Mawra is truly one Haute force to be reckoned with. However, will she be able to make Sammi her most famous role yet? Time shall tell!
