Saba Qamar digs deeper into Qandeel and reveals every detail you've been waiting to hear

'Lahore Se Aagay' star reveals how Qandeel Baloch inspired her to launch her own production house

Saba Qamar is still riding high on the success of her overwhelming Bollywood debut, Hindi Medium. In terms of box office figures, the film has unexpectedly crossed the 100-crore mark worldwide and Qamar’s received widespread acclaim for her portrayal of a dominant wife aspiring to enroll her daughter in an English-medium school.



Being a compulsive workaholic, Qamar was quick to turn back to the small screen with the controversial play Baaghi. Based on the life and death of the late social media sensation Qandeel Baloch, the forthcoming play has garnered mixed reviews thus far.

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Just before Saba Qamar flies back to Karachi from her hometown, Lahore to shoot for the last leg of Baaghi’s shoot and as the first teasers of the serial are now playing on television, The Express Tribune caught a hold of the raging starlet on what all she has in store next. After a brief breather over Eid, post an extensive and spread-out shoot for her serial in interior Punjab and Karachi; the actor, over a conversation with us revealed the importance of social commentary through performing arts.

“Shooting Baaghi for the past two months non-stop has been a tough journey – emotionally and physically,” she began as one questioned her about her journey with the serial so far. “Baaghi is no random play or something that I’ve done before, I feel it was a huge learning curve for me and I’ve put my heart and soul into the project. I’ve been able to live as Qandeel and closely understand her and I don’t think I can put that into words.”

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She continued, saying that what she initially took as casual staging, ended up becoming a spectacle that managed to transport her to the (not-so) glamorous world that Qandeel resided in.

“I took it as entertainment when I began shooting, but a few weeks down, it all started questioning me. Why Qandeel was like the way she was and the answer to that is pretty simple; she didn’t have enough opportunities in life,” Saba added on what the serial tackles with. “I feel it’s the lack of education, awareness and knowledge that only has adverse effects. There were no other options for her.”

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The serial, apart from featuring Saba as its unparalleled protagonist, comprises an ensemble star cast which includes Sarmad Khoosat, Nadia Jameel, Ali Kazmi, Osman Khalid Butt, Khalid Malik, Hareem Farooq and Goher Mumtaz amongst others.



Speaking of her experience collaborating with most of them for the very first time, Qamar observed, “I think not only Qandeel, but people come and go and one has different equations with all sorts of people at different stages of your lives. I had so much fun working with all of them. After we completed every spell – the one with her family, the one with her in-laws and when she moves to the city – every time we got done with a spell, I felt great vibes because of how involved and passionate everybody  was on set.”

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While we surely can’t question Saba’s impeccable acting prowess and versatility, essaying Qandeel Baloch can truly take a toll on one’s own self. Opening up about how she managed to get into the skin of the scandalous late model, Saba shared, “It was a demanding character, with its own set of shades. It’s something very new for me as well, Qandeel was not just one personality; she was multifaceted. The serial narrates from where she began, how she was with her own people in her village, how she moves to the city, grooms her own self and starts posting videos on Facebook. So there’s constant evolution throughout and I myself am excited to see the final product onscreen.”



Saba also confessed that she’s been doing a lot of research herself, meeting up with people who’ve visited Qandeel’s village and had encounters with her family. The person whom Saba turned to for information chose to remain anonymous, but observes that she’s contributed to the screenplay herself. “When I met the makers initially, there was so much about her life that we mutually added. I didn’t want to rely on the script only and hence, I did thorough investigation myself,” she disclosed.

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Before beginning her next, which happens to mark her return to the local celluloid after Lahore Se Aagey, Saba announces a brief, well-deserved hiatus after her grueling shooting schedule for Baaghi. While Saba has always remained socially relevant with the drama serials that she’s done, addressing social taboos, Baaghi takes it up a notch even further, and that’s what’s inspired her to set up her very own production house.



“Be it television or film, I’ve just been thinking about this for a while now and I think I want to start producing,” she disclosed. “I can’t always expect people to write quality content for me, the kind of projects I feel like doing. A lot of people aren’t open to taking risks for you. But, I for one enjoy experimenting and through my own productions, I’d want to create awareness about our social issues and I want to begin with the misuse of drugs.”

“You see I feel I get along with people from every age-group; I connect to them. And I feel the single biggest problem of our current generation is that most of them are involved in drugs. I’ve interacted with a number of drug abuse victims and it makes me wonder if this is our future,” Qamar adds of what her debut production might shed light upon.

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Aspiring to produce content that is pertinent, Saba sees it as an opportunity to give back to the society. “I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist. One grows with time, age and experience; you learn gradually,” she says of what made her take the leap behind the camera now. “Also, you see there’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders now. I’ve had enough of the conventional love sagas. Maybe not something as dark as Udta Punjab, but I’d want to work on a similar plot outline. Probably dealt slightly humorously, that will be able to connect with our people of all age-groups. I want to create content that is important and caters to all.”

Coming back to Hindi Medium and Saba’s fleeting international success; it’s a pity that she won’t be able to flourish in Bollywood due to the ban that’s been placed on Pakistani artists from working across the border by the Directors’ Association.

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That said, Saba revealed that she’s been approached for a number of films, three of which she is considering and will begin working on them once the unofficial proscription is removed.

Baaghi is on its way to giving birth to a relevant debate. Qandeel’s brutal and unjustified murder is amongst the millions of similar cases of honour killing that we’ve been ignorant towards. On a parting note, Saba shared the importance of forming an independent perspective. “You need to form your own opinion. Don’t follow or become influenced by what others feel. Agree or disagree to something after you’ve experienced it yourself and I want the same for Baaghi.”

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