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BA: Not at all. I’m actually frustrated by how people are writing scripts without thinking. Some of the serials I’ve done in recent past have been great, like Udaari or Bilqees Kaur, or the character of Saima Chaudhry (from the Aayegi Baraat-series), and I realized such roles don’t come to you very often. I think you can decorate your characters when you get some margin. I’m sorry to say this, but now, most of the trash is mostly written by household women who have a limited vision. Today, we don’t value quality, with some of the recent work I’ve done, I’ve truly felt like I’m committing some crime.
#gravitas #Bushra #Ansari #Film
Almost fifty years later, Bushra Ansari is as high-voltage as Bijli in Shoaib Mansoor and Anwar Maqsood’s sketch comedy Fifty Fifty. Although Ansari, dressed in a ridiculous outfit with light bulbs on his head, tickled the funny bone of every Pakistani during the 80s and continues to do so even today, the character is actually a load shedding and power shortage in the country. was about to dig. How Ansari and his contemporaries combined substance with hysterical presentations remained classics for time to come.
Today, the veteran artiste, who has sung, acted, written and hosted in his illustrious career, is in his words “uncertain” about where the fraternity and the country itself is heading. “It’s disappointing, but I can’t predict anything. As they say, you only come back when you’ve reached a certain limit and I hope that’s true,” she said of Pakistan. Compared to the rest of the world, she says.
From Toronto, Canada, where she is visiting her elder daughter, she has a wide-ranging telephonic conversation with Instep and analyzes the current state of local television, announcing the return of the comedy-drama Aayigi Baaraat series. In an in-depth talk about the practical, yet highly passionate, craft of acting and writing, Bushra Ansari tells it all.
Instep: In the age of social media, how connected are you to Metamorphosis content?
Bushra Ansari (BA): I don’t know anything, I hear someone saying something about me, someone photoshops my pictures, but I don’t know. People like my kids can understand what Photoshop is, but the majority can’t. And this is a picture (with the nice line) that scared me to death. What would a person walking out of the seminary think of me after seeing the picture? He didn’t know it wasn’t me, but people have so much disease in their minds.
The kind of language we use to people, the way we react, it’s all very hurtful. I have these applications on my phone, but I rarely scroll through my feed. I’m glad I have better things to do. After returning to Pakistan, I have to complete the script and shoot, so why should I bother? I don’t want to know who is traveling first class or not, I know I don’t post how I travel. doing or what I am eating. I want to interact with people, my friends, my children, my sisters.
Instep: You’ve also faced ageism when some of your wardrobe decisions haven’t gone down well with online trolls. How have you responded to stereotypes?
BA: We live in a world where you can’t wear a pair of trousers after you cross forty (laughs). I worked for PTV, so sleeveless tops weren’t allowed then, but all my life – I was 22 when I got married and even after that – I wore skirts, I wore sleeveless. She used to wear tops. There was a group of people like Badr Khalil, Javed Sheikh, Behruz (Sabzwari), Saba (Hamid), and we used to dance in discos too, we were very modern people. Now, when I wear something I want – on private channels – people don’t digest it.
I have stopped (wearing certain clothes) because the kind of things you hear make you nervous. We’re so used to approving, applauding and cheering people on that you can’t wrap your head around it when someone criticizes you. And it’s not just one or two people, for example a hijabi girl very politely told me that I shouldn’t wear a sleeveless top in America, but I didn’t mind because she respected me and she The way he said it was correct. Overall though, it’s a tainted breed given the internet.
Instep: You’ve been vocal about your mixed views on the evolution of television. What is your opinion about social dramas?
BA: Unfortunately, we are not able to reach our goals as we think we are. Udaari is a small example of something that has come after a long time, but has said something that should have been said a long time ago. Among many things, if we’ve started plotting based on the issue, I’ve seen some very relevant subjects being tackled. Of course, there’s also the fact that if a particular issue gets a lot of attention, people jump on the bandwagon, and lose any leverage one might have gained.
But I saw a drama swamp on human trafficking. What I also appreciated the other day was the isolation that came with talking about cameras on mobile and social media and how being more connected to the world has now begun to affect us negatively. It creates a very complex society. I also liked Khani a lot. What really appealed to me was how the statement was made. However, out of a thousand serials that demean women, three or four are not enough. We need to do more along these lines.
Instep: As a writer, what do you think is most important when dealing with a socially taboo subject?
BA: I think the way a problem is handled is what matters. From my own writing experience, although I cannot compete with writers who write normally, I remember writing a telefilm a long time ago, but it could not be shot. I wrote about a gay child. He is a good boy, loving and caring, and I named the play Normal. I tried to talk about how parents react to their son being trapped in a body to which his soul does not belong. If you wouldn’t spare a child with a broken leg or only one eye, why waste such a child?
I did it about fifteen years ago in a very subtle, civilized way, but it’s still with me, I talked to some channels and it’s still something I hope to do someday. By and large though, I think some sane people are now in the minority. We are being run by people we fear. Of course it’s completely different, but for now, we need to say, in small doses, what we have to do, talk to society and think before we close the pen.
Instep: Small screen system and popularity depends on rating. Does quality get affected when TRP is prioritized by production houses?
BA: There is no honesty anymore, it’s a rat race and I think there are two things apart from politics that have completely destroyed us, the negative use of social media where your lives can be destroyed and Ratings on TV. The shows I’ve seen make me want to throw up and everyone is so happy because they’re getting paid big bucks. I did the same but I couldn’t continue it. Recently I’ve done some roles where I play a very cruel mother-in-law or an overbearing mother and we’re forced to believe that if she’s a big woman, she must be flawed.
If she’s young, she’s a damsel in distress, and it makes me wonder if there are only two roles left for women.
Instep: These are also important times for actresses across the world. Is the local television scene fed up with global trends and demands?
BA: Not at all. I am actually frustrated with how people are writing scripts without thinking. Some of the serials I’ve done in the past have been great, like Vaaraaz or Bilqis Kaur, or Saima Chaudhary’s character (from the Ayegi Baaraat series), and I realized that you don’t get such roles very often. I think you can decorate your characters when you get some margin. I’m sorry to say it, but now, most of the trash is written mostly by housewives with limited vision. Today, we don’t value quality, some of the recent work I’ve done, I really feel like I’m committing a crime.
But you see, we also have to play it safe on many occasions, we are afraid of religious displeasure and there are many factors that influence what we offer. For example, you can’t make a play on Mishal Khan (killed for blasphemy). You can’t make a serial about burned Christians. So it has become limited and the easiest is to throw the woman out of her house because she has not given birth to a male child. Channels don’t want to take the risk, even though the audience responds, they liked Vloor, and they liked Dar Si Jai Hai Seela.
Instep: Now what do you want to write yourself?
BA: I know this industry cannot be run by people like me, but every time I write, I must say something. I have a serious and humorous line, whatever Allah wants me to do, I will do. For now, I am thinking of doing a serial from the point of view of an expatriate Pakistani woman, who is a famous artist in her country, but is completely absent in Toronto, and that would also be attractive to our audience. . I see it as a problem and it’s up to me how I want to make it interesting. It’s my duty to make it fun and that’s the way forward for me.
Also, what I am very excited about is that I have been asked to write the next installment of the Aayegi Baaraat series. I haven’t started it yet, but since many people asked for it and I initially wanted Ahmed and Wasee (Chaudhry) to do it. Write, but they were both already busy, finally I picked it up. So I started thinking whose procession will come now (smiles). Instead of doing something around the same old mother-in-law, I want to write down my qualifications.
Instep: Speaking of comedy, what do you think of the current content in the genre?
BA: Well I never acted in all those sitcoms, actually I just like Bubbles. It’s not comedy if you add the laughs after every scene yourself. We didn’t do that with the Aangan Tera or Aaye Gi Baaraat series, and I think it’s different, it’s a black comedy, but your work treats you what you treat it. Honestly, I think everything has its time, after much thought I decided to do it (Agli Aaye Gi Barat), but I know after a few years it will be time for Dolly’s Aaye Gi Barat. will also end. We will keep it because the current generation is associated with it, but in another decade, people will move on.
Thankfully, everyone is here with us: Saba (Hamid), Javed (Sheikh), Samina (Ahmed), Shehryar (Zaidi) and all the kids, so they are available too. But beyond that, you see that Moeen (Akhtar) has left us, yes Anwar (Maqsood) Sahib’s comedy is there, but he has also become very selective. I don’t say you get nostalgic, but it’s also true that comedies are not given the same importance or ratings as serious serials. It is not nominated in awards and maybe, the money it has is less, which is why many channels are not interested in it at all. And most importantly, not everyone can write comedy.
Instep: In such a tough time for the industry, what keeps you going?
BA: I can’t stop working because it’s become a way of life now, not that I need the money, thankfully. I am very relaxed and my work is done, so I work because it is my habit (I am used to it). I write, travel, act. I am constantly doing something. My grandson asks me why I can’t retire like Baba, (Iqbal) Ansari, my husband spends most of his time in Toronto and he says he is resting now, but I can’t stop. , I may take a break in between, but I love what I do. I can wait for characters like Sita Bagri or Bilquis Kaur, but I can’t quit, which means I have to compromise sometimes.
