The Unusual, Shining Star

Bin Roye and Bollywood. Marriage and the men in her life. Sex appeal and Sadqay Tumhare. Is there anything else you need to know about Mahira Khan? She talks about it all in her first interview in years. 

Mahira is always in a hurry. And she’s in a characteristic state of rush as she walks in for this interview, radiant in a white cotton kurta, gorgeous in an unaware state of unkempt attraction. It’s the look of a woman who has too much to do, with little time to do anything more than pull back her hair and leave the house with nothing fancier than a washed face. But what a face it is! Mahira is a head-turner, evoking both envy and desire of women and men who either want to be like her. Or simply want to be with her. And she’s blissfully unaffected by both.

A million dollar smile warms up her hazel eyes as she sees me. And she holds up her hands to show ten fingernails that are painted red and blue. Spiderman. It’s her son’s birthday and she spent the morning entertaining his friends in a superhero themed party. That, she quickly explains, is the reason for being fifteen minutes late. I can imagine anyone would happily wait a lot longer for this one.

Bollywood, I get straight to the point. Is there a fire where this smoke’s coming from?

“It’s not true at all,” she replies, settling down with a cup of coffee and bringing on that slow, reinforcing tone that would make it impossible to misunderstand what she’s saying. “I am not doing a film with Ranveer Singh. This smoke has no fire at all. I’m not even in talks with Bollywood, not really. I mean I’ve gotten calls, some from very reputed directors, but I’m in talks with no body for a film.”

It’s been two years since Humsafar catapulted her to the pinnacle of popularity. But while her co-star Fawad Khan has made a lot of hay under the proverbial shining sun, she’s barely cashed in on that wave of hysteria. One television play (Shehr-e-Zaat) and one talk show (The Lighter Side of Life) is what she has to show in her post Humsafar trajectory. If there were offers from Bollywood then what has stopped her from taking the next step forward?

“I think that they (Indian filmmakers) have only seen Humsafar in fact even Humsafar hasn’t played in India yet,” she offers an explanation. “They haven’t seen enough of my work to present something solid to me. If I work in India I want it to be for the same caliber of work that I get in Pakistan. I don’t want to change my standards.”

Are you afraid of stardom, I ask her a question that frequently crosses the mind of anyone who knows her?

“Maybe,” she agrees with a sheepish laugh. “The thing is that right now this is it. They say these are the stars of Pakistan and if this is it then I feel that isn’t so bad. I’ve managed to guard myself and give as much as I want to and hold back as much as I want to. But yes, Bollywood is scary. It is unchartered territory. You don’t know what you are getting into. That said, Bollywood is scary but not so scary that I wouldn’t try.

“The way I see it,” she continues, “is if I’m choosy in my own country and if I’m picky then I’m going to be as picky in Bollywood. I’m going to look at a script as minutely as I do in Pakistan. Why should Bollywood or Hollywood or Turkey be any different? I don’t understand that. I don’t work like that. People tell me that it’s career suicide. They say, which actress gets fame and then decides to do one project a year. Who does this? I do it. The way I see it, if I can ask a close friend in Pakistan to read his script (referring to Asim Raza’s film) then I would also ask the same of a big director in India. ”

Whether in India or Pakistan, the only path Mahira wanted to follow was the one that lead her to the silver screen, which is why she signed up for Bin Roye immediately after Humsafar and Shehr-e-Zaat. Bin Roye, Hum TV’s first feature film in the making, was supposed to cast Mahira opposite Fawad Khan but unfortunate delays in filming lost Fawad to Bollywood. Humayun Saeed stepped in as her hero.

“Humayun Saeed is possibly one of the best co-stars to have in the industry,” Mahira quickly clarifies when I ask her why she ranked him as the last person she’d choose as co-star (on the Tonite with HSY show). He has one of the biggest hearts in the industry. He’s nice to everyone, from spot boy to co-actor. He’s the only guy who has genuine friends in the industry. He’s selfless.”

There are rumours of Humayun Saeed’s wife being the scariest part of working opposite him. Was Mahira intimidated, I ask her cautiously?

“Not one bit,” Mahira replies with a smile. “I understand that this is a tricky place to be in, whether it’s my significant other or someone else’s; they will feel insecure. I get that. But there are levels of insecurity. And this is my job. I can’t be worried about what someone’s wife thinks. I have to work and I will make sure that I don’t do anything that makes her or anyone feel insecure.”

You’ve said no to so many films, why did you agree to Bin Roye?

“Bin Roye was offered to me right after Humsafar and Fawad was meant to do it. But he went on to do Khoobsurat. I had a choice and I decided that right now this is the best thing I could do. I liked the story. It had this one scene that kept me awake at night and drove me insane and I couldn’t not say yes.”

Slated for a January 9 release, there’s very little information about the Hum TV film except for the fact that it features Humayun Saeed, Armeena Rana Khan, Zeba Bakhtiar and Javed Sheikh alongside Mahira on the cast. Also that it’s been filiming for two years now and has even seen a change of guard in the director’s seat.

Does Bin Roye run the risk of looking more like a tele-drama than a feature film?

“It’s a full blown feature film,” Mahira replies, without revealing any details. “I love commercial cinema. I like watching a Ram Leela. I like my dance and song. And I have danced in Bin Roye,” she gives her fans something to watch out for.  “I’ve given Bin Roye everything and I’m hoping that people enjoy something different coming from Pakistani cinema.”

But the film is also being turned into a drama serial?

“Yes,” Mahira sighs. “Drama makes channels more money. Every channel wants to sign a deal for two dramas and a film. Bin Roye was supposed to be a drama and then was turned into a film. First the film will release and then consequently the drama will release. It’s a business idea that they want to try out, though personally as an actor it’s not something I enjoy. I’ve given this film my blood, sweat and tears. We often joke that this film is a Titanic, a Mughal e Azam; we’ve been making it forever.” And let’s hope it’s just as successful.

Speaking of films in her kitty, Mahira talks about her next project: Asim Raza’s film, which she has also signed on. Starring Sheheryar Munnawar and Adeel Hussain, it’s a contemporary, coming of age story of two friends. Currently untitled, they’ve only just started readings and rehearsals but it is for this film that Mahira had to refuse the movie Shaan is writing and producing in collaboration with Shiny Toy Guns.

“I could have done both but I wasn’t comfortable with that,” she explains the reason for her choice. “There are certain things that I will not compromise upon. If it’s my friend’s shaadi then my dates are gone to my friend’s shaadi. If I’ve committed to one project, that too of a friend’s, then I won’t pull out of it, no matter what comes along. It’s just who I am. It’s about my priorities.”

Female actors have made very little impact in Pakistani cinema. Do you think you’ll make a difference?

“That’s the idea,” Mahira says. “I’m very aware of the choices I make. I think about my roles and how I perform them.”