Sami Khan is certainly one of the most talented actors the TV industry has today and he has some diverse roles to his credit. Though he has numerous popular projects such as Rasm e Duniya, Toh Dil Ka Kia Hua and others to his credit, the actor has lately been a part of multiple socially relevant drama serials. Khudgarz, Aisi Hai Tanhai and the recently concluded Inkaar that revolved around significant social themes; the actor is currently playing one of the key characters in ongoing drama Ishq Zah e Naseeb.
The actor feels it’s important for stories told on television to have social relevance.
Inkaar, for example, generated rave reviews for its messaging. The play featured Sami Khan, Yumna Zaidi and Imran Ashraf in lead roles; Yumna played a middle class young woman Hajra, Imran essayed the role of Rehan Chaudhry, the only son of a feudal lord, while Sami as Shayan played the down-to-earth son of a Home Minister. Loosely based on the Khadija Siddiqui stabbing case, Inkaar highlighted the theme of consent, among other things, and how important it is to understand the phenomenon, particularly in our part of the world.
Speaking to Instep in an exclusive interview, Sami shared that the play reflected three different aspects of our society: bureaucracy, the feudal system and the middle class.
“All three groups (mentioned above) have their traumas; everyone has tough times in their lives,” he said, adding that what happened to Hajra could happen to anyone’s daughter.
“Through Inkaar, I wished to convey that God forbid if a similar tragedy occurs to anyone, they should stand by their women, defend them, and support them in seeking justice,” Sami stressed. “Unfortunately, in our part of the world, people brush such issues aside due to fear of people. Log kehte rahenge (people will keep on saying something or the other) whether you defend your women or not. Therefore, it is better to face it boldly.”
Sami played the role of Hajra’s fiancé Shayan, who stood by her side even when her reputation was at stake. Reflecting on his character, the actor added that a lot of men in our society do not accept women who have gone through similar circumstances but Shayan emerged as a true, supportive hero.
“A person has to sacrifice a lot to make a relationship work and Shayan sacrifices a lot for Hajra. It is an important message for today’s youth, which doesn’t take relationships very seriously,” Sami continued. “Similarly, Rehan Sheikh as Hajra’s supportive father delivered a very significant message for fathers. I am a father and I think the kind of relationship Hajra shared with her father is how we should be treating our daughters too.”
Sami added that Hajra’s mistake as well as Rehan Chaudhry’s conduct also hold a message while the play pinpointed issues in our system too.
“Every individual commits mistakes and it is important that they learn from them as they grow up. However, instead of criticising them or turning their backs to them, parents should stand by their children, making sure they teach them what is right,” the Ishq Zah e Naseeb actor furthered.
Towards the end, referring to recent incidents of child abuse, the actor pointed out, “Why can’t we have a proper legislation for that? I wish we had hung Zainab’s culprit; we might not have heard of more cases of child abuse. I believe we should take strong action for such causes because if you don’t punish abusers, it will give rise to more of them. We have seen so many cases in our society where people with power get away with anything. This needs to end.”