With a number of hackneyed TV plays on air currently, a few are trying to shift from typical topics and have now taken up the responsibility to highlight social issues and break taboos. The latest to join this trend is Umm-e-Haniya starring Neelam Muneer which talks about abandoned infants.
“Poverty and injustice is the root cause of social evil and we cannot deny that,” Neelam told Something Haute. “Sometimes people take desperate measures not realizing the consequences. Otherwise, I do not think any parent can have the heart to give up their own child.”
In the play, we will see the Chupan Chupai actress essaying a role of a woman fighting between living her dreams or adopting an abandoned child.
“I’m playing the lead in Umm-e-Haniya which means Haniya’s mother,” she said. “The story revolves around her character, Romi, a cricket fanatic fighting her family to pursue her dreams. But when life dares her with a choice to either continue living her dream or adopt an abandoned child, she decides to save an innocent life.”
Also read: “Neelam Muneer is more beautiful than Mahira and more talented than Saba†– Ahsan Khan
Adoption remains a topic that has hardly been talked about in Pakistani plays, and we hope, this provides some clarity on the issue. Regarding this, we also asked Neelam about her equation with kids and how she feels about the concept of adoption in Pakistan and the idea of being married to adopt.
“I love kids and I love spending time with them! They make me very happy and if life offers me an opportunity to adopt a child and make his/her life better, I’d gladly take it,” Neelam said. “Marriage has nothing to do with adoption. If you have a soft heart and you’re good with kids, why wait for marriage to be a mother to an otherwise abandoned or orphaned child?”
Although the story sounds promising, we hope Umm-e-Haniya provides Neelam with a clean slate of strong television roles such as this.
Watch the teaser of Umm-e-Haniya below:
