KARACHI: Popular Pakistani actress Kubra Khan has said her latest flick, “Abhi,” which premiered this week on Eid Al-Adha, will focus on highlighting the issues of minorities and has a strong “Kashmir connection.”
Khan’s acting career spans over a decade with many prominent and unconventional television and film roles to her credit, including in “Sang-e-Mar Mar,” “Alif,” “Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay,” “Sang-e-Mah,” and most recently, “Jannat Se Aagay.”
Khan is currently starring in the TV drama “Noor Jahan,” in which she plays the titular role alongside veteran actress Saba Hamid. She made her debut in 2014 with the film Na Maloom Afraad and is often described among the nation’s highest-paid actresses.
Speaking to Arab News in an exclusive interview, Khan said the character in Abhi was a “flagbearer” for the Kashmir cause.
“We speak about certain things [in the movie] that haven’t been talked about before,” Khan told Arab News, without divulging specific details about the plot of the film. “We speak about minorities. It has predominantly a connection with Kashmir.
“We have spoken about how the people who are powerful get away with everything and anybody who does not have that power in their hand might just be forgotten. I hope people recognize the fact that every life matters at the end of the day.”
The film, which hit cinemas across Pakistan on June 17, has been directed by Asad Mumtaz. Starring alongside Khan in the film is Goher Mumtaz, a Pakistani musician, music composer, guitarist and actor who is famous for being the founding member of the rock band, Jal. The movie has been co-produced by Ali Chaudry and Goher Mumtaz while Khalid Iqbal is the executive producer. The screenplay and dialogues are written by Shoaib Rabbani.
Khan said the movie’s soundtrack was “gorgeous” and her co-star Mumtaz had done a “fantastic job” with the songs.
She described her character, Zara, as someone similar to her real self.
“My character is very similar to who I am and that’s probably because that’s how I made it,” Khan said. “I am a little sarcastic, a little funny and I am like ‘Let’s do this’, adventure, and just kind of get on with it and push through everything that I want to do in life. The way she speaks [is similar to me] as well.”
Speaking about her choice of characters, Khan said she preferred to take on the role of strong women.
“I feel like strength can be in silence as well as loudness,” she said. “You can have a fight within yourself. I have done so many characters who aren’t fighting with the world but fighting with themselves. I think the battle with oneself is something that empowers women to stand up for themselves in whatever capacity.”
“KEEP TALKING ABOUT GAZA”
Khan, who grew up in the UK, has often addressed criticism of her accent when she entered the Pakistani entertainment industry, insisting that “art comes in all languages.”
“Having said that, in order to connect with the audience, I worked really, really, really hard to actually be able to fix my pronunciation [and] my accent,” she said about her work in Abhi.
“It was difficult, but it was something I knew I needed to do. Because the last thing I wanted was that if I am performing well but pronouncing a word wrong, people forget the performance.”
She acknowledged that social media trolls used to pull her down, but she no longer read comments about herself.
“I realized you can’t make everybody happy,” she added. “If you wear shalwar kameez, they will call you behenji [sister]. If you wear trousers, they will call you vulgar. If you wear a hijab, they will call you fake. So, nobody is going to be happy ever.”
Khan also spoke about her vocal stance on the ongoing war with Gaza.
“It’s a topic that needs to be spoken about,” she said, pointing to a Palestine badge pinned on her dress.
“An entire nation is being wiped out and there is nobody who has enough power to actually go ahead and make a difference. There is a country [Israel] that has decided to wipe [Palestine] away ... They have broken every law that has existed for human kind … We need to keep talking about it as much as we can.”
