SANIA Saeed has different shades to her personality, which is evident from the fact that she has done almost every kind of role with perfection on the small screen and theatre. Her taste in movies, music and books is as diverse as different facets of her life.
She used to watch almost every other movie that came out until a few years ago, but now she has to be selective, as she doesn’t get enough time for it. Her taste varies from comedy to art cinema. As a young girl, she watched My fair Lady about 10 to 20 times, and says that it is one of those movies that she has grown up with and have strong memories attached to it.
“This is basically a play very finely converted into a movie and that’s where it works. The music is splendid, giving it an overall ecstatic appeal,” she explains.
She remembers watching many Bollywood movies, but one recent production that she has thoroughly enjoyed is Munna Bhai MBBS. She is all charged up to narrate this unusual Bollywood fare. “You don’t come across such movies in Bollywood. It has such a powerful script with loads of witty dialogues that one can’t help but instantly fall in love with the script.
“Moreover, the execution also deserves full marks, not to mention the catchy performances by every member of the cast. Sanjay Dutt plays the funny badmaash with such ilan and authority that it is impossible for someone else to play it. The bad guy is presented in a very likable way,” she takes a long breath after a non-stop explanation.
One other Bollywood movie of recent times that she appreciates is Pran Jaye Par Shan Na Jaye. Although being a low-budget, box-office failure, the movie has an interesting plot and some notable performances by the cast, among which Raveena Tandon stands out. This movie brings out that breed of actors who are not necessarily known entities or goodlooking, but their performances are really worth watching. “It could easily have been a fantastic theatre play and that’s why I enjoyed this it.”
Other than this, she mentions some art movies as well as her all-time favourites. Earth, Masoom, Subah, Bheegi Palkain and Chupkay Chupkay are according to her some of the brilliant gems of Indian art cinema.
Coming to music, she listens to almost every genre of music and says that different people specialize in different kinds of music.
“I like to listen to the best of what everyone has to offer. To say that I am a fan of Madam Noorjehan would be an understatement. She is, in a word, the goddess of subcontinental music.”
From India, she mentions Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Kishore Kumar as singers with unmatched talent. “Artists such as Mehdi Hassan, Amanat Ali, Iqbal Bano and Mehnaz have not been used to their full potential,” she says in a tone of disappointment. Of the new breed of pop musicians, she thinks only Fuzon is the best.
Others such as Ali Zafar and the rest are okay, but when it comes to quality, there is no matching Fuzon. “They offer a unique blend of original eastern tunes and some fast-paced modern beats. Commenting on the commercial Bollywood music, she says that it has a genre of its own and within the last few years, it has created a niche for itself in the global market.
According to Sania, “Since childhood, books have carved my thoughts.” It comes as no surprise that she still takes great pleasure in the company of books. She remembers having a huge collection of books when she was about seven years old and at the time of shifting her house there were books everywhere. “My mother had no other choice but to discard two piles of books that were way taller than me,” she laughs.
Her all-time favourite books are those to which her childhood memories are attached. Insaan Kaisay Bada Hua is a book for children full of facts that she has read in her childhood. One interesting book that she mentions is Abba Bataiye. This book is the compilation of some of the questions that children ask frequently for which adults sometimes have no answer.
The logically written book is also pictorially rich, giving the child an enthralling reading experience.
From some serious reading stuff she remembers Veronica Decides To Die by Paulo Cohelo. It’s about a young girl who lives a very stagnant and monotonous life. Each day is very predictable and her routine is hackneyed.
She thinks that the rest of her life will also be the same, so she consumes two bottles of sleeping pills. After being meticulously treated, her life is saved and the story progresses.
Favourite Movie: My Fair Lady and Munna Bhai MBBS
Favourite Singer/Musician: Madam Noorjehan and Fuzon
Favourite Book: Abba Bataiye and Veronica Decides To Die by Paulo Cohelo
SANIA Saeed has different shades to her personality, which is evident from the fact that she has done almost every kind of role with perfection on the small screen and theatre. Her taste in movies, music and books is as diverse as different facets of her life.
