Catching up with Sana Javed

It’s interesting to speak to new generation actors to see how they’re navigating the continually evolving entertainment industry. Do they keep doing TV serials or do they try their hand at film? Do they wait for that groundbreaking role or do they work with the scripts coming their way? Do they continue acting, dabble in modelling or head towards direction and production? These are all choices that define their career trajectory but since the revival of Pakistani cinema began, a lot of artists have made their big screen debut but haven’t stopped working in TV plays.

Sana Javed is one such new actor whose serials Pyare Afzal and Khaani did really well and now she’s enjoying the praise that Romeo Weds Heer is getting - the second episode alone has had the highest rating of 2018. With Feroze Khan opposite her in the latter two, the duo has established that they have chemistry whether it’s in a tragic love story or a light hearted drama like Romeo Weds Heer.

Instep caught up with the actress from the set of her new serial, which has an equally promising role. She shared, “I only pick characters of strong women but the kind of roles women need are not really being made. As a media personality, I feel it is my responsibility to take those roles because so many people are watching us. Women follow and want to become like the characters they see on their screens every day. When Khaani came out so many women told me over social media that the character was inspirational and set an example for how strong a woman can be and I truly felt like I had achieved something.”

She shared that after Zara Yaad Kar’s character where she played a strong female, who made a mistake but got reprimanded for it, she decided that she would only do such roles.

Television needs to represent real life. “If you keep yourself suppressed and stay scared, people will not enable you to be empowered. Even in the marketplace, if men act inappropriately and women call them out they stop dead in their tracks and the men around them support the women. Why isn’t this shown on TV?”

Javed is currently shooting a serial on work place harassment that is also being directed by Anjum Shehzad. She shares that it’s the story of a girl called Afreen and Imran Abbas is playing the negative male lead opposite her. “Afreen is the breadwinner of the family, but she’s very soft spoken, educated and loves her family and does everything possible for them. She goes to work every day because she has to earn for her family but she’s harassed there. “It was hurtful shooting for this because I would keep thinking about girls in similar positions. Women can’t talk about it so the message I want to give with this serial is to speak up. It takes so much courage to speak about these issues.”

She lets on that she’s reading different scripts, one of which really appeals to her because of the role of the male lead. “The girl’s brother is a feminist”, quickly clarifying that she means he supports women and takes a stand for their rights. “He’s not the type to just think about society and it’s important to give men role models where they are shown how to be supportive instead of just watching women fight alone,” she says.

Sana is also considering doing her second film after Mehrunisa V Lub U but has her eyes set on production as the end goal. “I’ve been thinking about what I would want to see as a viewer and I don’t see much of it today which is why I think I’m going to eventually start producing. Television is the right platform to give a message out, so I want to do something for television,” she shares.