Her performances have undertones of Khalida Riyasat. The same defiant eyes, slender frame, the oomph, the spunk, energy and vigour emanating out of her petite person; whether she plays a rescued Bengali woman living with two mobile phone snatchers in Pachees Qadam Pe Maut or drives a rickshaw all over Karachi as the determined young woman in Aasman Chu Lay. Twirling her shiny tresses in a shampoo commercial, she exudes sex appeal that matches that of Zeenat Aman. In a short span of her modelling and acting career, this twenty-something has carved out a niche for herself as a glamorous model and a versatile actor. So who does she want to be known as, a model or an actor? “A performer, or a hybrid of some sort?” she laughed in response.
Dressed in a casual tee and black harem pants, the doe-eyed Aamina Sheikh looked like Pocahontas, with her cappuccino skin, smile out of a Cosmopolitan cover and a smart head that carries no attitude but loads of long, straight hair. Sitting across from me, she enthusiastically spoke about her adventures as a rickshaw driver for a telefilm Aasman Chu Lay, a special Women's Day initiative.
“It was a rocking project directed by Syed Ali Reza. Usman Mustafa wrote the script. I played a girl who is determined to become the breadwinner after her father's death and saves her family from the ensuing hardships,” she related. Since the girl's father was a rickshaw driver, Aamina had to drive a rickshaw with a huge camera attached to it on busy roads such as the M.A. Jinnah Road and Garden area and attract real passengers. “Before the final shoot I wanted to drive a couple rounds in the rickshaw but it was not at all possible. So Mohib came to my rescue and drew the controls and everything for me, where the gears and brakes were and told me that it is very similar to a Vespa.”
Just before the shoot, she grabbed the opportunity to take a couple of rounds with a real ricksha wallah in a narrow lane or two. But the road experience was for real. “My hair was tied up, I wore a uniform and threw a scarf over it and so it was not very obvious that a woman was driving a rickshaw, but once someone noticed, that was it. At one point, I had some people running after me with a broken tube light! It was a revolutionary play, a wonderful and alternate experience which made me feel totally empowered. Jaise waqai kuch seekha hai. Afterwards we were joking that it would contribute towards my retirement plan!”
In another telefilm, Pachees Qadam Pe Maut directed by Shahid Jawaad, Aamina played a Bengali woman at par with veteran Sheema Kirmani's performance in Chand Girhan. “I was so keen to get the right accent. Unfortunately, that kind of time was not available, so I told the director that any minute you think that the accent is not good enough, just stop. But he asked me not to be so overwhelmed with the dialogue delivery and that I would be able to do it. A couple of hiccups here and there would not matter.”
Demonstrating versatility, Aamina played the role of a mathematics genius, isolated from society in teleplay called Wapsi. “It was an inspiration from A Beautiful Mind, written by Ali Moeen and directed by Naeem Khan. I loved that role. Ali Moeen is fantastic, he doesn't do much work but is among the people that I love to work with.”
An election telefilm Baarish Mein Deewar that she did with Mohib was a hit. “It was very youth-oriented, politically-charged and a very different play about concepts of Pakistani politics and how the youth is affected.” After doing some memorable telefilms where she got challenging, character roles, producers start taking notice of Aamina and serials followed. “I am doing more serials now than teleplays. I started with difficult roles. Now slowly I seem to be getting those female lead roles where you are mostly a decoration piece with little potential to act.”
Maryam was a serial where Aamina played a bratty, young vamp. “I played a vamp even though I don't want to be stereotyped into that role. There is such a dearth of talent, and if you want to keep working, you end up accepting roles that you may not choose otherwise. It was an impactful role and although I did it a long time back, it was aired much later.”
One of her major serials where she was present from the beginning to the end was Aane Wala Pal. “It was a compact play, shot in Bahawalpur and I was very much involved in it. When you take out a couple of weeks and go on location, you literally become a part of the story.” Then came mega serial Dil-e-Nadaan, directed by Anjum Shahzad and Mustafa Afridi. “Character wise, I loved it.”
Aamina's commitment to her dramatic endeavours leaves one a little surprised that she detoured the fashion industry and advertising before she made it to acting. “One day I ran into Tanya Shafi and she suggested that I give her my headshots which she would pass around to agencies for modeling. I took that extremely seriously and began searching for references, commercials and what is out there and what is the mould that I have to set for an appealing portfolio. I hired a photographer, made a storyboard, executed a photo shoot and handed to Tanya and a couple of other people I knew.”
After two or three commercials, she landed a telefilm with Khalid Ahmed about Partition but continued to model. “I started learning the body language. Things that I would normally look at from a cinematic or film point of view, I started applying to modeling and fashion because the lingo is very much the same in terms of lights on negatives and positives. I started work with some photographers in Lahore and constantly made the effort of being proactive. In Karachi, I started working with Amean J. I did the ARY Fashion TV calendar which led to more fashion shoots. I also worked with Rizwan-ul-Haq who is the king of black and white and very high-fashion oriented. He demands a lot from you as a model when it comes to postures, body language and attitude. He really makes you work which I really like about him. Amean J and Shamyl Khuro do very little fashion work but when they do, it is very artistically inclined. In Lahore I have enjoyed working with Maram Abroo, Guddo Shani, there is Deevees/Jimmy. I haven't worked with Ather Shahzad and I look forward to that. I worked with Khawar some time back.”
Fashion work started rolling because a new face had not appeared for ages. “I consciously tried my best to work both in Karachi and Lahore by making myself available. I was trying to get hold of some serials because telefilms do have impact but serials get noticed more.”
In the fashion industry, it can be difficult to get across all the 'camps', meet the right people and get good work. “The way to get through all that is to show your potential and once you have talent, doors open themselves for you. It would be wrong to say that the cliques are so strong that it is impossible for a newcomer to make a mark. Fashion in Pakistan has really done well and I received a lot of encouragement and support from senior models. I also feel that some of our commercial directors should take up films. There are so much talk going on but someone should step forward. I recently worked with Asif Reza for a commercial and I admire the professionalism of people in advertising. If people of Saqib Malik's caliber take up films, it would make a difference. We have to get started at some point and right now is a good time.”
TV plays, commercials, fashion shoots... has overexposure crossed her mind? “Work that we do never comes out in chronological order. We could have done it months ago but it might show much later with something else that you did recently, so it may seem that suddenly you are everywhere and that may create a feeling of being over exposed.”
Aamina majored in film video production in Boston and after graduation; she worked as an assistant for a production company in Manhattan called Curious Pictures. “I used to intern there every summer and production wise it was good exposure but it did not click with me.” It was when she met some family friends that she found out about the media boom in Pakistan. “I was thinking in terms of a media career but had not figured out exactly what it was going to be. I realised that I would probably be taken more seriously in Pakistan than the States and as my parents were already here, I decided to come back.”
Since Aamina had already made up her mind to work, she soon landed a job at a private channel along with some volunteering at the Karafilm Festival. “Channel mein to ragra laga kaafi! I was handling a couple of shows and assisting a director; one of those odd jobs where they hire you and make you do everything. Nevertheless it was an important time in my life because I learnt so much about how things are done in Pakistan. In addition, I was also doing short films and documentaries and was part of a theatre group. My contract finished and I started doing odd freelance jobs. In my mind somewhere was the thought acting is an option for me and if I take it seriously there is a chance for me to do well but I need to explore it.” With time, Aamina has become selective about her work and image. “I want to reflect a progressive, modern woman who speaks her mind and is not stuck in victimization or suppression, nor is a feminist. You can definitely control how you want to project yourself. In drama, I want to portray extremes so I can explore my potential and versatility as a performer.”
Somewhere in her mind is this dream role. “A role that crosses boundaries, has international appeal, is progressive. I want to play a South Asian representative living somewhere else, not a hijabi or an extremist of any kind. It should not be the usual 'desi girl meets white boy, and wants to marry amidst religious and cultural issues theme.' A genuine story must come out of it.”
Talking about PTV plays of the golden era, Aamina says “Today we are dealing with a different ball game altogether. Our biggest drawback is that there is so much going on now that a lot of good work is lost in all the stuff that is going on air. Earlier, even if a person came in the scene to dust the table, he got noticed. Now people have a remote control! Agreed that they had better scripts and spent more time on everything but there was no other option. If the same people were working now, would they be able to establish themselves in the same way now as they did in those years?”
