June 22, 2003

For some artists, acting is an outlet. Admittedly, this talent is inborn and hard to come by these days, but it can also be looked upon as a catharsis. Therefore, most brilliant actors are the antithesis of the characters they portray on screen. While they entertain audiences, their own lives are in turmoil.

From her very first appearance on television, Zeba Shahnaz left an indelible mark on the masses. When this scribe mentioned Bandish, a play written by Haseena Moin where Zeba played a goofy nurse, her expressive but cynical eyes exuded sadness. Wasn’t that her first play?

“I left Bandish after the first two or three episodes. It’s only because the promo was played over and over again that people still remember me in it.”

Zeba’s talent was apparent all through her school and college days. She was eager to participate not only on stage but was also a star debater of Karachi College.

“Radio was where I got my start and all my training. All the veterans today are basically from Radio Pakistan.” Getting back to the unfinished business of Bandish, she says “My father was very ill at the time it went on air. I was playing the character of a girl who has to pretend to be a nurse and hence I was to make some really pathetic medical goof ups. It so happened that my father had to be taken to hospital in an emergency, and as soon as the nurses recognized me from Bandish, they refused to give my ailing father the medical attention he needed. They pounced on me saying that I was representing them in the most heinous fashion. Then and there I decided not to be part of the play and frankly wanted to bid adieu to show business altogether.”

The naughty, rip-roaringly hilarious lady of Fifty Fifty would not have entered our living rooms via the idiot box had Shoaib Mansoor and Ismail Tara not pushed Zeba to accept the part of a child in this classic potpourri of humour.

“We belong to a qabaili Pathan family where just educating a girl is considered an act of rebellion, let alone letting her choose a career such as mine. I was my baba’s favourite child. We shared an ideal relationship and he trusted me completely.” Zeba’s is a heart-breaking tale of riches to rags. While her father lay in hospital, his business partner took off with all the money and even got thumb impressions on paper saying that he owned the entire venture. She worked as a secretary for some time to make ends meet but decided it was a job that would not earn her any respect. As Fifty Fifty gained popularity, Zeba Shahnaz became a household name. She is one lady who can be termed an all-rounder in terms of the performing arts. From radio to television and theatre, which according to her she did as a hobby at first, it eventually became a necessity. She was offered her first film in 1993, Haathi mera saathi.

“When Baji (Shamim Ara) called me with this offer, she was very persuasive. The funny thing was that I did not tell my family, who are settled in London, that I was entering the film world. I thought that since they were so far away, I would do just this one film and no one would find out.” Haathi mera saathi was such a success that Zeba was offered other films. “I have just done nine or ten movies, but since all of them have been super hits, people think I have done a number of them.” Beta and Munda bigra jaey are films Zeba has done with Ismail Tara.

“Our on-screen chemistry as a pair is the prime reason Madame Shamim Ara offered me a role in her film. Ismail Bhai is my senior and I know and love his entire family including his wife and children.”

Recently, Zeba was seen in the sitcom Aik bahu ka sawal and the inevitable question was whether she felt there had been any progress as far as quality entertainment was concerned.

“Yes, there has been tremendous progress, but in our times the producers and directors were trained. We all owe a lot to PTV since it was the training we received from that corporation that has made us what we are today. In my time the director would give us instructions and we knew that he was well versed in his art to be commanding such authority. These days, a 20-year old boy says ‘you don’t know this or that’ and one feels like laughing.”

Zeba feels that since her star is Cancer, she is stubborn and refuses to give in, which is also the reason that has kept her going for so long. Female actors are a dying species, and even fewer are the ones that have made a name by making people laugh. She has had to suffer long years of personal problems and frustration, even as we laughed at her onscreen quips. Perhaps this irony is what makes the funniest people in the world a success.

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