High-octane exposé: It’s not all as it seems

The reason Karachi is Karachi is that it’s a town where someone can go from just behind the scenes spectator to seeing his or her face on a billboard. This is pretty much what happened to Sanam Baloch. Being casted opoosite to Humayun Saeed is a sort of timeless dream that lifts every showbiz striver in Pakistan entertainment industry and serves as the engine for an intense journey. So it happened with Sanam; starring in drama serial Doraha (2018) on entertainment channel Geo, directed by Mehreen Jabbar. Having made her debut as a talk show host on KTN, a Sindhi channel, followed by a shot in Doraha (2008) and later, spectacular work in Daastan (2010), Durr-e-Shehwar (2012), Kankar (2013), all on premier entertainment channel HUM TV, and telefilm Ek Thi Marium (2016), one can clearly see how she has evolved. Sanam was last seen in entertainment channel ARY Digital’s Teri Raza (2017), which was swamped with gallimaufry of positive and negative reviews. From the outside, Sanam can be seen to have the perfect life; A-list career woman at the top of her game with morning show and acting prowess, an enviable vacation diary, and relationship with her siblings. The actress recently revealed in an online interview Speak your Heart with Samina Pirzada, however, that when it comes to how she is portrayed in the media, not all is as it seems.Sanam was rumoured to play Husn-e-Jahan in upcoming drama serial Alif alongside Sajal Aly, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Ahsan Khan, but it seems the schedule didn’t work out between the makers and the actor due to Sanam’s strenuous morning show routine. As fans worldwide awaits Sanam to make a come back on screen after Teri Raza, Sanam feels a certain break is always important in one’s career, to keep the charm alive. “Isn’t it good if people are waiting eagerly to see you? They get bored sometimes seeing the same faces, on every channel — in every drama serial,” she revealed. “I think break is pretty important. I always used to take a three-month break after every serial even back then. I am reading scripts these days again but I’m still looking for something just right. Let’s see how things work out.”On talking about how different it is being live on television every day with a morning show, schlepping hoopla of energy, and juggling on sets as a demurred actor, Sanam says, “In acting I’m somebody else. Either I’m Bano from Daastan, Shahla from Doraha or Suhana from Teri Raza. On sets, I’m playing a character and I’m trying to understand their emotions for how those characters would respond in a particular situation. However, in the morning show, I’m me! For morning show, I don’t need to make any effort, that’s why I like it.”Sanam also discussed how she only has hazy childhood memories due to her parent’s separation when she was very young, writhing between her paternal and maternal family. “I don’t have many childhood memories,” she adds, “I consider myself lucky that when the whole episode was going on, I was very young to remember any of it. My mother took a stand against the so-called feudal system of our country. She is a very strong woman and continues to inspire us.”The actress also cleared the air about her sister Sabreen Hesbani, who sometimes is mistakenly regarded as her step sister because of their different surnames, which in fact is just a fortuitous. “Our names were registered officially in this way since childhood. Sabreen had Hesbani as her surname and she carried that and I had Baloch in official documentation so I went ahead with that. Actually we are Hesbani Baloch by cast,” Sanam explained.On talking about her marriage, Sanam said, “Me and Abdullah never planned our marriage but it just happened. We became really good friends and we thought that that’s how we would spend our life forever,” she said adding, “He is a very nice guy and we share good intentions and will always be there for each other. However, we are not friends anymore.”