Mawra Hocane is the second TV actress from this side of the Wagah border in over two decades (after Zeba Bakhtiar in Henna) to make her film debut in India rather than Pakistan, and while many might not approve, she says she feels blessed. “I’m extremely lucky to have the best of both worlds — in Pakistan, the best on TV taught me the basics and in India, I got to learn from the best in the film fraternity. It’s not that I didn’t have offers in Pakistan; the scripts I got were either male-dominated or the roles didn’t allow me to explore my talent fully. In Sanam Teri Kasam (STK), I found the perfect role for myself and it gives me the opportunity to show what I can really do.”

In hindsight, not many Pakistani actors have enjoyed playing the main lead in Bollywood; even stalwarts like Mohammad Ali, Nadeem, Zeba and Talat Hussain were restricted to supporting roles before the taboo was finally broken by Ali Zafar and Fawad Khan. Mawra believes that she will follow in the footsteps of her contemporaries and not her predecessors, despite the fact that her male lead is virtually unknown in Bollywood. “Things like starring opposite newcomers or working with lesser known directors don’t bother me as long as I get to perform on the big screen. STK offered me that chance and I grabbed it despite being a newcomer who has been around for a couple of years. Had I waited for a role opposite a major star, I might have had to wait for a long time.”

She also says that she is confident of her film’s success and isn’t worried about Fitoor — the Katrina Kaif starrer scheduled for release just a week after STK. “You can’t stop working in films just because of this,” Mawra answers without a moment’s delay. “Sunny Deol’s Ghayal Returns released on the same day as STK; I can’t just sit at home wondering how my film will fare and what sort of business it will generate. I’m just glad to be part of a wonderful industry where people have given me love from the moment I stepped onboard and that’s why I was able to give it my 100 per cent.”

She’s young, enthusiastic and on the release of her debut Bollywood film, Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane says she is supremely confident of Sanam Teri Kasam

For TV actresses from Pakistan, dancing on screen is a difficult proposition; Mawra believes that stepping out of her comfort zone has helped her the most. “I never felt comfortable dancing either off or on screen because I thought I wasn’t good at it. On the first day of shooting, I met the choreographers Pappu Malu and Feroze Khan who made me feel at ease and I got to learn a lot from them. What was even better was the feedback I was getting from Pakistan while working in India, something I didn’t really expect. I will not disappoint my fellow Pakistanis with STK and believe me, it will do better business that Fawad Khan’s Khoobsurat which remains the most successful Indian film in Pakistan featuring a Pakistani in the lead.”

Mawra was last seen on television in Maryam where she starred opposite Faysal Qureshi and Alyy Khan. It has been two months and being off-screen is the one thing that bothers her.

“The first thing on my list of to-do things is to work in a Pakistani serial because I don’t want my fans to think that I left TV for films; working for television educates me and I get to learn a lot from it. Even during the time I was studying for LLB, I managed to remain onscreen. Now is a different scenario; I want to prove to the world that even though I have a Bollywood film to my credit, I will not say no to TV projects because that’s what we do in Pakistan — never forget our roots and always stay in the game.”

The actress also believes that her Indian stint has made her more responsible. “When I started out, I once commented about having a crush (on Ranbir Kapoor) which made headlines only after I was selected to play the main lead in STK. I don’t want to achieve fame this way and that’s why I have kept my private affairs away from the glare of the media. Acting for me is top priority and that’s how I want to stay in the news.”

Interestingly, Mawra’s own success story isn’t much different from the plot of Sanam Teri Kasam, where a girl dreams big and achieves her goals. When asked what message she has for those who blast fellow actors for going to India, Mawra replies with a smile, “I don’t worry about such people. Since the release of the film’s first song (Khench Meri Photo) and later on the trailer, all I have received is praise. If someone passes a negative comment or two about my performance, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is the love of people from both sides of the border, and that includes those who initially didn’t approve of my decision but they do now.”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 7th, 2016