Maya Ali has been winning at self-isolation with a hoard of activities posted all over her social media. She is not only keeping herself occupied with interesting activities but has also taken up a social campaign as an upstanding citizen of her country. Being one of the first few celebrities who are extremely vocal about this entire ordeal, Maya is proving to be extremely mature in such a dark time. Keeping social distancing in mind, the star sat down for an online interview with the Something Haute to talk about the entire lockdown situation.
Here are a few interesting things discussed during the interview:
What have you realized about yourself in this time of isolation?
“I’m getting the time after a long time to sit down and think about my life. We had so much planned for ourselves and nothing is going according to that. I thought maybe the world is being reset by God and maybe after that everything will go back to its place. People are being cut out of my life and many are being added. So I feel after this, I’ll come out as a much better person than I was before,” she said.
When you returned from New York, you had your own coronavirus scare. What happened?Â
“Well, I was in the US, to attend a few charity events for Shaukat Khanum Hospital. While I was there, due to back-to-back events I had barely gotten any sleep as well. So when I rushed back to Pakistan, I suddenly started getting sick. Immediately my first instinct was that it was corona. I got my test done as soon as possible and it came out negative. One of the biggest reasons for my concern was my mother, who’s in her late 60s. But thankfully, I’m well and now I know how to deal with small sneezes here and there,” the actress explained.
How did you come up with the idea of a campaign to distribute ration bags during a lockdown?
“So when I came back, my house help informed me about other people who had been laid off by their employers and were now in dire need of help. So I was deeply saddened by the thought of people struggling like that. I, along with my friend Faiza Saqlain and her husband, used our own money to just gather around 40-50 bags initially. After that, I reached out to my celebrity friends as well who donated quite a lot. Then as the situation in the country got worse, I went live on Instagram to encourage people to donate,” she replied.
Pakistanis don’t seem to be taking social distancing seriously even in such a dire situation. What do you think about that?Â
“I believe what people need to realize is that it’s not just about you, it’s about your family and the entire country. Even then people aren’t taking this seriously. When I go for groceries, it literally doesn’t even look like a lockdown. And talking about social distancing, I don’t understand because buying groceries is a necessity but I’d request people to please only go out if it’s important.”
We see that you’ve taken up a fun hobby like baking. We’re seeing this side of you for the first time. So have you always done that or is this new?
“I’m seeing this side of myself for the first time as well! Honestly, it’s quite easy though. I thought even if I don’t have a sweet tooth, I can just bake for my family members. I think it’s a good past-time and it keeps my spirits up. Although, now, my family members are kind of tired of me making sweet things all the time,” she said.
It’s been quite some time to Parey Hut Love as well. We’re dying to see you back on the big screen. What’s next for Maya Ali?
“If this Corona situation hadn’t happened, it would’ve been done by now but whatever I’m working on is 95% finalized and you guys will be the first to hear about any development!” she announced.
Watch the entire interview here and find out what new projects Maya is working on:
