If you have seen the sun set on the Hum TV serial Sanjha, it’s time to meet its sunrise, Suhaee Abro, the teenager who played the title character of the innocent young girl.

Suhaee literally means ‘dawn’ or ‘sunrise’ in her native language, Sindhi. When I recently met her, she was quick to point out, “I’m a classical dancer and have been learning it since the age of seven from Sheema Kermani. Dancing comes first to me while acting is something that is a part of all forms of art, especially dance.”

Sanjha is Suhaee’s first serial, while previously she has been featured in documentaries, tele films and theatre plays. To my query if she has acting experience, she says, “My first encounter with acting was when I was chosen to play a role in Sheema Kermani’s music video, Aseer Shahzadi, and then for a tele film called Guddi on the subject of child rape. It was followed by a supporting role in a tele film in which I played Maria Wasti’s daughter. However, one of the most important projects of my acting career besides Sanjha was a main role in a tele film, Shali, based on child marriage which was directed by Danish Nawaz and written by my mother, Attiya Dawood. In yet another tele film, Bhopal ki Bilquis, I played the main role again and worked alongside veterans such as Badar Khalil, Rubina Ashraf and Aaminah Sheikh.” Suhaee says she has been to India thrice with Tehrik-i-Niswan for its theatre plays Jinney Lahore Naee Vaikhya and Ab Jung Nahin Hogi.

Sanjha happened quite unexpectedly for her. She had worked for Momina Duraid Productions before and was offered the role of Sanjha. “Momina said she especially had the character written for me by Sameera Fazal after being inspired by some of my photographs in a Thar costume. Being a classically-trained dancer was also one of the reasons because my character has a great passion for dance and her extraordinary moves add beauty to her overall character,” she says.

Attiya Dawood being a women’s rights activist, Suhaee would be close by, watching, while she researched stories and wrote about women. In this way, Sanjha’s story was one she was very well aware of as many girls are fooled and forced into prostitution. “I felt very close to the character. My mother would tell me and my sister stories about women with horrifying lives, about their emotions and personalities. My mother would spend so much time with these women that they would almost become a part of our lives. I would imagine each and everything about their situation: how they feel and how they express their emotions. Hence, I felt that I knew Sanjha very well. All I had to do was invite her into me while letting go of myself completely,” she says.

The serial took its time to grab the viewers’ interest and Suhaee feels it was because our society is not open to such topics, “Eventually the dark comedy, locations and colours are why it gained recognition for which the director Farooq Rind deserves credit. The story was penned dramatically as well.”

Sanjha had a huge star cast. When Suhaee got to know that Resham would be a part of the serial, she got a bit scared. “When I met Resham for the first time and as my work with her began, I realised that I had never met such a sweet woman so dedicated to her work. The same goes for Nauman Ijaz, I’ve been seeing him on television since childhood and I’m a great fan of his work. None of them underestimated me, in fact they would motivate and support me.”

Being Attiya Dawood’s daughter, Suhaee still hasn’t worked in any of her serials, “I have only worked in her tele films. I believe in what my mother writes because our views are similar and I find her writings very powerful. My mother thoroughly enjoyed Sanjha and my title character for its realistic portrayal of life, situations and emotions. However, being a feminist as well as a writer she felt that its ending was not up to the mark. And though Sanjha’s character was beautiful and strong, she was disappointed about the fact that after going through so much and dealing with everything so strongly, Sanjha doesn’t even try to become independent. Instead, she ends up going to the man she loves, saying ‘I have no one else in my life now and I need you because I love you’. In this way my mom says it was the typical ending that almost all Pakistani dramas have and I agree with her.”

After having just finished her A levels, Suhaee has her heart set on getting a Bachelor’s degree in classical dance from the Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai, India and then study modern dance in either the London School of Contemporary Dance or Columbia College in Chicago. “I’m taking a year off so I will apply to colleges next year. This year, I plan to work on my dance personally and on the live dance and music group called Nritaal Group where I work as the dance director. Other than that, if any good roles or interesting projects come my way then I would love to be a part of them,” says Suhaee.