Films and Television are supposed to be incredible mediums that bring our society together rather than just covering commercial stories. Despite the overwhelming acceptance of commercialism in the current era, we are blessed to have certain artists in our industry, who feel no shame in using their privilege of being heard widely, in a meaningful way. One of such exceptionally talented stars, Sonya Hussyn recently gave an interview in which she talked about her career graph, choices of work, and the tragedy of using women as item girls on the big screen content.
Women are Used as Props in Films
Talking to Independent Urdu the Daadal actress was asked about why she doesn’t opt for glamorous roles as per her age and appearance, to which she responsibly replied that she prefers her roles to have substance and meaning to it. Keeping her films in consideration, Sonya has ever done roles that were substantial and of some purpose. Be it ‘Azaadi’ opposite Moammar Rana or her recent Eid film ‘Daadal’ where she portrays a serial killer from Karachi’s much talked about Lyari.
“In my opinion, as an artist, when you don’t do roles or scripts that fulfil your soul, there’s no point in your work, profession or career. Glamorous roles can be on the side but when you essay a character like this, then I think an artist is owning up to their responsibility,” she exclaimed.
While Pakistani Film Industry is somewhat reviving and evolving, as we are creating more and more content of different sorts, it is however very important to see where things can be improved. Talking about the overall role of women in our films these days, it feels unpleasant to see lesser content being made on women, for women, and more importantly from women.
When asked why she doesn’t take up as much films as dramas, Sonya Hussyn responded; “Belonging to the industry, one of the main reasons for not doing enough films is because I want women to not just be used as a prop or an item girl. I want the heroine to have a well-sketched character. She should have a passion, a purpose, motivation and a goal in life like other characters. So as long as that’s not there, I don’t see a purpose. And besides, the drama industry is very big here so why not dramas?”
Sonya Hussyn’s Television Journey
The actress revealed that during the initial times of her career, she was warned for not doing difficult characters as they will destroy her graph as a celebrity, however she found it more important to convey what she had to through roles that were never taken seriously on Pakistani Television before.
It has always been exciting to know what Sonya’s upcoming show for TV is about. Provided that she has done dramas highlighting complex psychological and mental disorders like Nazo, Teesri Manzil, Ishq Zahe Naseeb, and Saraab. She also worked on several sensitive subjects including child abuse in Meri Guriya. Back in 2017, she played Pakeezah, a cybercrime victim and a sexual assault survivor in ARY Digital’s Aisi Hai Tanhai. Keeping up with the diversity, she has worked in ARY’s horror show Dareecha and played glamorous and gentle roles in Aangan and Mohabbat Tujhy Alvida.
Whether it’s films or dramas, an artist has the capability to create betterment, bring change, while providing entertainment, which we believe is the trickiest task yet the biggest strength that these mediums contain if used wisely.
How tragic is that we don’t have much female filmmakers, neither do we have films having women as central characters and not always a token of glamour or sensationalism. But artists like Sonya Hussyn can definitely bring a much-required change into the content being created for the big screens.
