She has diversified her portfolio to include actress and TV show host to her credentials. Nadya Hussain is breaking out of the type-cast glam doll image and venturing into characters that are more challenging.
Even while dressed in a comfortable-looking green t-shirt and jeans with just a hint of blush adorning her cheeks, her sculpted face makes it impossible to ignore the fashion model in Nadya Hussain.
As we meet for a chat on a sunny Karachi afternoon, Nadya is flanked on either side by her children — four-year-old Shadal and two-year-old Shanzay — as she reminisces and reflects over her near-decade in the industry.
Throughout, even amidst tears over Barbie shoes and feeding lunch to her children, she manages to retain her quiet grace and looks as glamorous as she does on the ramp, or at events around town where she can be spotted with her husband.
Looking back, she says she can't believe it's been 10 years since she's been involved with the fashion industry. As a youngling she had the chance to dabble with videos and shoots because of an aunt who was involved with the entertainment industry, although she claims she wasn't very camera-friendly at the time and was prone to backing out of assignments due to sheer bashfulness.
However, it wasn't long before she got noticed. Then fresh out of school she was signed on for a Lakhani Silk Mills' shoot. Soon after, she walked the ramp in a show with the likes of Iraj, Vinnie, Zoella, Bibi, Tanya Shafi and ZQ. “I didn't own a single pair of heels,” she recalls, and before the show she had to rush to shop for some. “I was very uncomfortable and one of my aunts who came to watch the show told me I looked so, and that my smile had been very unnatural. For a while I wondered if this was what I really wanted to do, you know.”
But others such as stylist Mubashir Khan didn't share her doubt and encouraged her to pursue modelling seriously, and it wasn't long before she was working with people like Imran Kureishi, Frieha Altaf and Deepak Perwani among others.
By now a dentistry student in her final year, Nadya was also set to leave for further studies in Australia when love struck and she soon tied the knot. Any plans of becoming a dentist were duly abandoned and Nadya became firmly entrenched in the fashion industry. As clichéd as it may sound, there was no looking back for her.
This year has been a particularly good for Nadya Hussain. According to one fashion journalist, she appears to be every fashion designer's favourite model. Yet she chose not to participate in the upcoming Lux Style Awards. Briskly she explains why, “I was too busy to submit my portfolio, and quite honestly I didn't believe I needed to send it. Besides, it's just too much of a hassle calling every photographer I've worked with and putting everything together. This year I'm told I'm the only confirmed nominee, so I don't know what happened....
“I don't take the LSAs as the gold standard; they would not be the epitome of my career,” she adds, noting that the awards have done nothing for the careers of their recipients. “Tooba has won, Neha has won twice — how did it boost their careers? Or for that matter, Iman Ali has never won but she is by far amongst the most popular fashion models. At the end of the day popularity ratings are what counts.” Nadya is proud of the fact that she has won the Benazir Excellence Award and even the Dalda Expert Mom Award this year.
As we drift on to the subject of competition and the extreme steps some fashion models take to remain in shape, Nadya reveals that the pressure is such that most girls end up resorting to such harsh methods. “In our country the concept of size zero is still in place. I've seen girls forced to lose weight. They're told nobody will work with them for the next six months till they shed weight. They end up living pretty much on only cigarettes, caffeine and energy drinks. They'll try to fool you by saying they only eat home-cooked food, but the question is when are they ever home?”
Recounting an incident that occurred soon after the birth of one of her children, when she was told she was being cut out of Sana Safinaz's and Rizwan Beyg's segment in a show because of her weight, she says, “I condone this unhealthy standard and we have to make a joint effort as an industry to bring about a positive change in this regard.”
On the subject of the camps that plague the fashion industry, effectively limiting models to certain photographers and designers, Nadya says, “In Karachi everyone is pretty much freelance. This trend is prevalent in Lahore and frankly I don't see what's wrong with such an arrangement. If models are guaranteed work and recognition, then it's fine.
Why should I have to run after work? This is a more convenient arrangement. Take Iman, for example. Ather Shahzad make sure their models are presented in their best light, given great exposure — they end up on the covers of the best magazines regularly.”
Asked whether she thinks a model should stop working after a certain age, Nadya points to Vaneeza Ahmed as an example. “It's all about diversifying,” she says. “She's not just a model, she's an icon. She adds celebrity value to any show, and as long as people demand that, why not? Similarly ZQ's become a star after Maachis. The only criterion is that you should look as good as any other, if not better.”
Nadya herself has diversified her portfolio from fashion model to include actress and TV show host to her credentials. She hosts a music-related show on Hum TV, and has completed a season of a style-based show for Style360. Talks are now in progress for a morning show, which she says she is looking forward to because of the access to people such shows provide. She has also been cast in small roles in TV serials and gradually she is breaking out of the type-cast glam doll image and venturing into characters that are more challenging.
Nadya seems to be thriving on the exploration of uncharted territory these days. “Hosting requires a certain knack, the art of holding intelligent lively conversation, to keep the other party engaged. Acting, however, is the most exciting.” She flirts with the idea of designing, but feels she is not ready for it yet.
Nadya, on the threshold of another phase in her career, one that seems will further tap her creativity and expand the limits of her potential, is radiating a strange glow these days. I do believe we may be witnessing her rebirth.
