British Pakistani shows life of the Asian diaspora

In Dishonoured, Sofia Hayat will show her struggle to pursue her passion for art.

MUMBAI: Sofia Hayat, a Britain-based actor of Pakistani origin, who was kidnapped by her parents at knife point while at university, has scripted a film called Dishonoured. The film is about the trials and tribulations of Asians in Britain and Hayat says the film is inspired by her own life.

“I have written a film script and intend to film half of it in India. The film will go on the floors by the end of this year. A production company in the UK took it at $2 million. I am very excited about the project. The film’s cast will have actors from both the UK and India,” said Hayat.

A singer and model, Hayat is currently in India shooting for director Vinod Mukhia’s women-oriented drama Diary of a Butterfly.

The film Dishonoured is an in-depth look at the life of British Indians (mostly girls) who went through parental pressure to pursue their own career paths.

“It’s based on my life and based on the life of many Asians who have grown up in India and England. My story starts with how a girl wants to be a performer and how she has to handle parental objection,” she said.

“My parents kidnapped me from university at knife point because I changed my degree course from the sciences to the arts against their will. I could have escaped and the police too could have gotten involved but then the incident made me write the book called Dishonoured. Even my music album is named Dishonoured,” she said.

When asked if she would be directing the film as well as writing the script, the model added, “I think I have to let it go. If you get a good director on board, he can do a better job than I can. I can be a good director because I am a creative person. I have the images of scenes to be shot. So I would be working closely in the project to make it as realistic as it can be.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2011.