In the heartbreakingly romantic Pyaray Afzal — ARY Digital’s hit drama from 2014 — the main leads struggled with a never-ending deluge of tragedy. Offering some respite was the heroine Ayeza Khan’s sister.

A young Sana Javed smiled disbelievingly, challenged her sister to accept that she had fallen in love with the titular Afzal (Hamza Abbasi), indulged in a bit of teasing and dictated dil torrnay ke aadab [the etiquette of breaking hearts].

The drama’s director Nadeem Baig recalls bumping into Mahira Khan around the time that Pyaray Afzal was airing. “She had told me that the little sister had a lot of potential,” says Nadeem.

Lo and behold, today, that little sister from some years ago has made her way to become one of Pakistani drama’s most popular leading actresses. From a rape victim fighting for justice to a sister avenging her brother’s murder to, most recently, a Machiavellian villain puppeteering an entire household, Sana Javed has a stellar line-up of performances to her credit.

For most actresses, sisterhood is the best way to get a foot in the doorways of the TV drama industry. There’s a long line of TV’s little sisters who have now grown up to become big names

It just goes to show that in Pakistan’s entertainment industry, you simply can’t belittle the little sister.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that little sisterhood — and even brotherhood — is often the watering hole on the road to gaining stellar lead roles in the future. New artists tend to take a dip in an effort to gain greater visibility and experience. An unlucky contingent may end up wading in the same placid waters for a long, long time. But many others stride on ahead to better roles, better dramas, and superstardom.

An extensive number of TV’s little sisters have now grown up to become big names — among them Mansha Pasha, Neelam Muneer, Sanam Chaudhry, Aiman Khan, Minal Khan, Hania Aamir, Alizeh Shah, Anoushey Abbasi, Sohai Ali Abro and Maya Ali. What does it take, though, to be a good little sister?

As the heroine’s best friend, confidante and all-round sidekick, a good wardrobe tends to be a requirement, spruced up usually by a great blow-dry. Perhaps it’s better not to look quite as good as the main lead, who is going to be the one falling in love, crying and possibly getting tortured by her in-laws over the course of the 30-or-so episodes.

The pretty — but not too pretty — little sister has to be around to offer advice and a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes, in a well-conceived drama, the little sister may also end up having a happily-ever-after of her own, in a sub-plot running parallel to the main story. Her path to true love, however, is unlikely to be quite as rocky as that of her unfortunate sibling.

As is the case with every character in a desi drama, the little sister needs to know how to bring on the waterworks. Life can be tough, particularly life in Pakistani dramas. She needs to be ready to cry convincingly several times, maybe even drag it out with a bit of bawling, should the producers suddenly decide to cash in on a 20-episode drama by extending it to a whopping 35 episodes!

It’s always a plus if the little sister has a well-developed character, preferably a witty one. While the heroine tries to figure out matters of the heart, our girl can simply sweep in, deliver one-liners, offer advice and be a break from the emotional stress plaguing the storyline.

One memorable little sister who comes to mind is Mansha Pasha’s Sidra in the hit Zindagi Gulzar Hai, sister to the principled Kashaf played by Sanam Saeed. Intelligent, supportive and armed with a dry wit, Mansha’s role was one of the drama’s highlights.

Maya Ali, once little sister to Sanam Baloch in Durr-e-Shahwar, says that she was offered her first project as a lead on the very last day of the drama’s shoot. “Producers don’t want to take a risk by taking on a new actor in a leading role.”

“There was a time when I signed on to a bunch of supporting roles. I was at the beginning of my career and beggars can’t be choosers,” says Mansha. “I did love playing Sidra and it was great how the audience connected with her so easily. At the same time, once you get registered in a certain kind of role, you run the risk of being typecast into it.

The drama was such a huge hit that I worried that people would always end up associating me with Sidra. I got offers for many sister roles following Zindagi Gulzar Hai, and I had to take a stand and refuse them.”

Actresses and sisters Aiman Khan and Minal Khan also built their repertoires with a slew of sister roles in the early years of their careers. Minal’s very first role, for instance, was of a sister in 2012’s Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti and her first stint as a lead came in 2017 with Parchhayee. Several years at the grind ensured that she would ultimately have the spotlight solely upon her.

This goes to show that talent, consistent work — and luck, of course — can help an actress break away from the mould of the supportive, not-usually-interesting little sister and take on the mantle of a lead heroine.

Director and producer Yasir Nawaz observes, “Anyone who has talent will end up shining. A lot of girls start off their careers when they are in their teens and they look so young that they end up getting cast as younger sisters. Later, they gain confidence and become better groomed, and get cast in more substantial roles.”

Actor and producer Humayun Saeed adds, “A little sister’s character is not necessarily a little role. Often, new actresses are cast in these roles so that drama-makers can see their potential. If they do well, they immediately get noticed and start getting bigger roles. I remember people started asking about Sana Javed while Pyaray Afzal was still on air.”

Fledgling actress Dur-e-Fishan Saleem similarly started getting acting offers within the airing of the first two episodes of Dil Ruba, in which she played Hania Aamir’s older — not younger — sister.

“People often asked me why I opted to work in Dil Ruba where my character didn’t have a story of her own,” she says. “To be honest, when I had read the script I thought that there would be more to my story. Also, at the time, I just wanted to work. It was a great opportunity because it got me noticed and gave me an almost instantaneous career boost.”

Maya Ali, once little sister to Sanam Baloch in Durr-e-Shahwar, says that she was offered her first project as a lead on the very last day of the drama’s shoot. “Producers don’t want to take a risk by taking on a new actor in a leading role, which is why they usually try to test our talent by casting us in supporting roles. If you’re good, you’ll make your own space,” she says.

It is important, however, than an actor refrains from becoming ubiquitous while working in a major project. The main leads, and even the supporting cast, resonate better with audiences when they are seen in a single impactful storyline rather than in several, across different channels.

7th Sky Entertainment’s Asad Qureshi observes: “I think that a supporting role in a drama by an experienced team can be much more noticeable than lead roles in mediocre projects. Actors can learn from the experience of the veterans around them and, as viewership builds up, they sometimes begin to get recognised by their on-screen names rather than their actual ones. That is one of the true marks of a successful, popular drama and can lead on to supporting actors getting bigger roles in the future.”

It all boils down to choosing the right project with the right team, so that an actress plays sister to the right lead characters. Coming full circle to the example of Sana Javed, the actress’ real-life little sister, Hina Javed, also took on a sister role in one of last year’s biggest TV dramas, Mere Paas Tum Ho.

It’s pretty clear that for most actresses, sisterhood is the best way to get a foot in the doors of the TV drama industry. Nothing beats family, truly — even on TV.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 23rd, 2021