Hajra Yamin is one of Pakistan’s finest up and coming actors, who has managed to make her mark in a short span of time. Debuting on the silver screen earlier this year with the colorful romantic-comedy “Maan Jao Na” she is ready to impress us yet again with the upcoming social drama “Pinky Memsaab”. With Hajra playing the central character of the film, we approached her to get know more about “Pinky Memsaab” and here is all she had to say about the film and her character in it, in this exclusive interview of her for Pakistanicinema.net
Pinky, the character you are playing, has a rural background. How hard was it for you to step into the shoes of Pinky?
“It was manageable to have that body language and to carry that personality but the real challenge for me was the dialect. Although I basically am Punjabi myself but honestly it took me a long time to catch that dialect as I wanted it to be spot-on.
I traveled to the village where the film is shot and from where Pinky belongs. I stayed there for days and talked to the people and observed their body language and their daily routine and practices which actually helped me a lot.
And then we finalized the things for film in the beginning of June and started shooting in October so there was enough time for us to get ourselves ready and this time was very well utilized as there was an acting coach hired to help us get into the character and also my director Shazia, who is also the writer of this film, helped me alot in getting into the shoes of this character as we used to do skype sessions and she paid frequent visits to Karachi to rehearse with me and make me understand the character. It was actually the support and motivation by my team which made it less difficult for me..”
How has been your experience of doing “Pinky Memsaab” and how much different it was from doing “Maan Jao Na”?
“Maan Jao Na” is very close to my heart as it was my first film but it was a complete Pakistani commercial film and it can’t be compared with Pinky Memsaab as it’s a very unique film. Not just the film’s content is entirely different but also the people involved in this film belong to different nationalities. (In Pinky Memsaab) the actors, makeup artists, stylists and rest of the crew members are from all over like India, Pakistan and Dubai and I got to learn so much specially from Sunny as he is such a well trained and fine actor. So, yes in a nutshell my experience of Pinky Memsaab was very different but a good one.”
What you liked the most about “Pinky”? Is there anything that u found common in you and her?
“Pinky comes from a very small village but what’s so special about her is that she dreams big, especially for her family. Her moves to achieve those dreams are very drastic and the way she gets more strong yet flexible in this entire journey is something relatable. But if you ask me about something which is common to me and her then its “struggle”.
“I had to move from Islamabad to Karachi because I wanted to become an actor. That drastic move and everything that came with it and that struggle to become an actor, is what I find common between me and Pinky. The quest for our dreams”
What should people expect from “Pinky Memsaab” when they go to watch it?
“Originality, a good story, beautiful dialogues and powerful performances by actors like Shamim Hilaali, Khalid saab, Kiran Malik, and Sunny. But above all:
“it’s a film of a bunch of people with human traits, there are characters picked up from everyday life, characters who are fighting with their insecurities, who are ambitious and how they achieve their dreams and the whole process of struggle with it. Its all about some people who are just being human I can say.”
“Pinky Memsaab” is all set to release in cinemas across UAE on 6th of December and in Pakistan on 7th of December. Stay tuned to this space for more exclusive interviews and all latest updates on Pakistani cinema industry.
