Samiya Mumtaz, a veritable actor, whose recent performance in the drama serial Udaari as Sajjo as well as in films like Moor and Dukhtar have made one and all take note of her incredible range, is back in the spotlight. Mumtaz is all set to essay a comedic role in the upcoming film, Jeewan Hathi.
Actor Samiya Mumtaz talks to BBC Urdu about the portrayal of women onscreen and her role in upcoming black comedy, Jeewan Hathi.
Samiya Mumtaz, a veritable actor, whose recent performance in the drama serial Udaari as Sajjo as well as in films like Moor and Dukhtar have made one and all take note of her incredible range, is back in the spotlight. Mumtaz is all set to essay a comedic role in the upcoming film, Jeewan Hathi.
Directed by Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur of Zinda Bhaag fame, the film is a black comedy and serves as a commentary on media’s obsession with ratings above everything else.
In the film, Mumtaz is essaying the role of a glamourous woman and hopes to offer her many fans a chance to see her in a comic role.
“I have mostly done very serious roles so far,” Mumtaz told BBC Urdu in a recent interview. “People think that if a TV play or film carries a strong message, there is no room for laughter in it, which isn’t true. I am often typecast as a weeping woman onscreen as makers think that people cry with me.”
Mumtaz explained how she felt honoured that the team of Jeewan Hathi showed their confidence in her abilities by casting her for a different role in the film. She also noted that its no easy feat.
“It is not easy to pull off roles that you are not comfortable doing; it requires one to explore themselves and see if they’re capable of doing it or not,” said Mumtaz.
Supporting the view that women are either shown as weak, dependent beings or as ‘bad women’ on the small screen, Mumtaz noted that there is a “mythologized image” of women shown on television.
“She can either be a victim or a vamp but not a happy and confident woman in a positive role,” she said. “We feel threatened when we see women in such roles and fear that women in our households will become like them. After all, our society is full of male chauvinism.”
Mumtaz’s character in Jeewan Hathi is of a real woman whose personality has several shades.
Explaining how diverse a woman’s character can be, Mumtaz observed, “Usually strong and confident women are portrayed in a negative light on television; they are self obsessed, spend a lot of money on their grooming and are not interested in their children. I don’t know who these women are; they are only found in our scripts. But doing such a role in Jeewan Hathi made me feel that it is about a real woman who has a lot of facets to her personality and is not just a one-dimensional evil.”
Aside from Mumtaz, Jeewan Hathi also features actors Naseeruddin Shah, Hina Dilpazeer and Adnan Jaffer in pivotal roles and is slated to release nationwide on November 4, 2016.
—With information from BBC Urdu.
