The leading lady of the recently finished Ishq Zahe Naseeb, Sonya Hussyn made news when she talked about how she had refused the lead role in the blockbuster drama Mere Paas Tum Ho in an interview. Citing the reason that she did not want to contribute to a drama that degraded women, especially in a society which is already so hard on the gender, Sonya’s comments received much applause on social media. A well-reputed actress being aware of the impact her chosen roles can have on the society’s mindset is something that is rare in the industry. It reflects the mindset of a self-aware person who realizes the importance of women standing up for women.
‘Who is Faryal?’
Then, a couple of days ago in another interview with a news channel, Sonya was placed in the spot and pointedly asked about fellow co-actor Faryal Mehmood. Sonya narrowed her eyes and with a pensive expression she replied that she did not know of any such actor.
Well, it’s not a big deal. Actors don’t have to know everyone in their fraternity. But it is definitely fishy that Sonya refused to acknowledge an actress with whom not only has she worked before but also shares a somewhat tumultuous backstory with.
Friction on first project together
Let’s rewind back all the way to 2015. Sonya and Faryal worked together in a drama Farwa Ki ABC, which was directed by Sohail Javed. Sonya played the titular character of Farwa in the show. Faryal, on the other hand, had just started her acting career and played a supporting role in it.
Co-stars not sharing a friendly equation is not unheard of in the industry but it is definitely uncommon for an actor and director to openly diss another actor’s work on social media.
‘Take a rickshaw to where you came from’
In a Facebook status made by Sonya Hussyn, the actress made fun of Faryal’s new project. Joining in the mockery was Sohail Javed. In the comments exchanged between them, Sonya and Sohail not only made fun of Faryal’s upcoming drama but also body-shamed her.
Not to sit silently, Faryal shared the screenshots of the comments made by the actor-director and made a Facebook status of her own where she called out Sohail Javed for allegedly wanting the attention of women half his age and attributing the failure of the drama Farwa Ki ABC on his failure as a director. She even called Sonya a “sad version of Micheal Jackson” because of her supposedly using make-up foundation a shade lighter than her skin tone.
Not stopping here, Faryal also called out Sohail on his crassness because of the abuse he hurled at her and suggested Sonya to “take a rickshaw exactly back where she came from” to get a reality check, in what was a not-so-subtle slight at Sonya’s social background.
Sohail’s Sorry
Sonya and Sohail did not respond to this post and all seemed forgotten. Then Sohail Javed announced his feature film Sorry and among the cast, Sonya Hussyn was included as one of the main leads. However, Sonya ended up walking out of the movie and she was replaced by none other than Faryal Mehmood.
With such old and not-so-old history between the two actresses, it is rather strange that Sonya could not recognize who Faryal Mehmood was when asked about her on national television. What is similarly weird is how Faryal is going to be an integral part of Sohail Javed’s film when a few years back he was a director who “sucked.”
Final word
Is the industry really such a fickle place that an actress who was verbally abused and body-shamed by a director a few years ago, that too publicly, so easily agreed to work with him again? Granted the fate of Sorry looks sorry but it definitely is a point worth pondering on.
Maybe Sonya being unable to remember who Faryal is her way of forgetting this ugly past or maybe the selective amnesia really did happen. Either way, this was not a very tasteful of tackling this issue. Oh well, maybe Sonya will soon learn to actually support women in real life and not just with her choices of roles on screen.
