Maria Wasti has come a long way as an actress. Having played almost every kind of role, she has displayed histrionics in most of her work that has won her both critical and commercial acclaim. This week, she is on the Hot Seat and talks to us about her preference in movies, music and books.
The first thing that Maria says about her taste in movies is that she is not at all into action films, anything other than action like thriller, romance or comedy is fine with her as long as the movie is well made. “I just watched North Country, which is based on a true story. I think it’s an excellent feature film and very well directed. The drama unfolds in a very effective manner. So if I come across any such movie, it is instantly included in my favourite movies’ list.”
She says that she is not an avid watcher of Bollywood movies, but she has found two Indian movies, Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti, very engaging. “I liked Dil Chahta Hai because it has proved to be a milestone for Bollywood. It has literally changed the course of cinema in this region. I loved the knitting of the story and the characters in this movie. Rang De Basanti is also a new face of the fast evolving Indian cinema. It has proven that commercial success can be attained even if one defies the commercial norms.”
From Hollywood, Maria really liked The Pianist. “I like it because the background of war and the sensitivity of an artist are very well depicted in the movie. This combination is very carefully blended in the movie, making it a thorough experience.” Changing Lanes is another movie that she points as her all time favourite. She also watches many parallel films. “It can be a French film with subtitles, but as long as it is engaging, I enjoy watching such movies.”
Maria just can’t stop raving about Michelle Pfeifer. “She is my favourite actress. I really liked her work in I am Sam and What Lies Beneath.” Other than this she likes Edward Norton and Sean Penn a lot from Hollywood. She doesn’t really take notice of any actor from Bollywood, but mentions Naseeruddin Shah as a complete artist. She strongly feels that we, in Pakistan, might have some amazing actors but we don’t produce that kind of work that gives these actors ample footage to display their prowess and capacities as an actor. However, she thinks that Uzma Gilani is a very accomplished artist in Pakistan.
Except for hard metal rock and plain rock music, Maria likes to listen to every genre of music, from Shakira to Abida Parveen. “Abida Parveen’s Raqs-e-Bismal is my all time favourite.” Fuzon is the only name from the Pakistani pop music industry that she can think of when it comes to quality music. We ask her, why Fuzon?
“First of all, their classical training is clearly visible in their rendition, and secondly, the way they have blended the eastern and western flavour and doing justice to both is amazing. They have come up with only one album up till now but that album is great and definitely a collector’s item.”
Commenting on the Bollywood music she says, “I think they produce amazing music. But they churn out music too fast that it is impossible to keep track of all the latest albums and singles that are coming out. Old Indian music was better in this respect. At that time mostly quality music was produced. But still I feel that it is the biggest industry when it comes to music.”
As for the kind of books that she reads, Maria is really not into thrillers or fiction. “I don’t really read historical books either but I am reading one book currently on Mughal history which is very interesting. It’s called The Mughal Throne and is written by Abraham Earl. This book is slowly changing my concept of Mughal history because it contains some very critical facts that are in direct conflict with the facts that we have known up till now as students of history about the Mughal emperors, Anarkali and Mumtaz Mahal, etc. I think the facts that we have known up till now are all wrong and distorted.”
So what exactly does the book say? “It tells us facts like Anarkali being way older than Shahzada Saleem and there were so many other emperors between Aurnagzeb and Bahadur Shah Zafar that we don’t even know about. Other facts like Babar became an emperor at the age of 12 and he was just like Robin Hood who would roam in the forests. I mean our past has been projected to us in a very glorified manner, which is not true at all.”
She is reading another book by Paul Cohelo, The Zahir, at the moment. She says, “It gives us an insight into all the problems related to our day to day life. It doesn’t have a very rigid take on these problems, rather it discusses them in a very light yet philosophical way. It has a very smooth flow and the layers of life and relationships are very finely juxtaposed in this book. It’s something that I can easily relate to.”
She has also read Abdul Sattar Edhi’s autobiography written by Tehmina Durrani, which she thinks is a great way to get into the mind of the great humanitarian.
Maria is looking forward to a lot of projects that she had been shooting of late. She has just finished one mega serial by Faheem Burney called Dhadkan, which was shot entirely in Dubai and has many big names from the Indian TV industry.
Talking of co-productions, she says that it is a step in a right direction and it should definitely take place but the situation is a little imbalanced. “You see, we are casting Indian stars and they are not casting any of our actors, which is logical to an extent because we know Indian stars over here but they don’t know most of our actors because our channels are not allowed to be aired there.”
Favourite Movie: The Pianist and Dil Chahta Hai
Favourite Musician: Fuzon and Abida Parveen
Favourite Book: Paul Cohelo’s The Zahir and Abdul Sattar Edhi’s autobiography by Tehmina Durrani
Maria Wasti has come a long way as an actress. Having played almost every kind of role, she has displayed histrionics in most of her work that has won her both critical and commercial acclaim. This week, she is on the Hot Seat and talks to us about her preference in movies, music and books.
