Creativity dies when political correctness is prioritised: Faiza Hassan

Pakistani actor Faiza Hassan in recent months has become one of the most prominent faces on television with her stellar performance as Gohar in the hit drama serial Nand. Opening up about her breakthrough role, Hasan in a recent interview with BBC Urdu revealed that the deciding factor for her in picking any project is always the script.

"I have always said that if I like the script, I take on the project otherwise, there is no motivation to play a role. You can say I am kind of lazy. Unless the script is able to touch my heart, I am unable to perform," Hassan said. Talking about Nand specifically, Hassan shared how the project was fulfilling for her as an actor. 

"The script allowed me to do a lot of things as an actor. When I saw my work on the screen I was really satisfied," she said. Adding on, Hassan discussed the stigma against negative roles in the industry. "I don't know why some of the actors and actresses are afraid of doing negative roles. I felt really happy and content doing the role. It really challenged me as an actor. Not only did I had to rely on dialogues, but there was also a lot of physical movement in my role," she said. 

When asked about the melodramatic nature of her character, Hassan noted that the audience had been yearning for a change of style. "I think there is no harm in it. You can always use a change in flavour. Just like people go out to eat spicy food every now and then, the same goes for this. I think the audience had gotten tired of seeing a sophisticated and reserved style of acting over and over again. That's why the fans enjoyed my performance in Nand," she said. 

Nand's popularity in recent weeks has to have declined with many criticising the show for dragging the story. When questioned on this, Hassan maintained that a show's pace is never in the hands of the actor. "What can I say on this? I have finished my work. This is more so in the lane of director, producer, editor and the channel. Unfortunately, the actors are always blamed for even such things, even though we are not the ones dragging it. It's their decision whether to drag it or not. Today I have heard there is a new trend wherein if the ratings are climbing, the show is dragged. I think you should ask a channel's management as to why this happens," she said. 

Addressing the nature of the show's content, Hassan noted that the team has made sure to present previously used themes in a new way." Content wasn't new but the approach was fresh. This I think everyone would agree on. I personally was very careful of this and so was the director," she said.

Hassan also talked about criticism levelled against the show for being objectionable to some. " It's very strange that we have started to judge scripts based on their political correctness. I think its a wrong trend. Creativity dies when someone gives precedence to political correctness while creating. You have to be brave and bold enough to make what's in your head. It's the people's job to decide," Hassan said.

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