Ali Safina, Hira Tareen talk woes of being typecast, ‘overrated’ actors

The couple, who tied the knot in 2013, sat down for an interview on ‘Time Out with Ahsan Khan’

Celebrity couple Ali Safina and Hira Tareen, who tied the knot back in 2013, made an appearance on Time Out on Ahsan Khan, reflecting on the entertainment industry, as well as their personal lives. The couple shed light on the trials of being typecast and the actors they believe are “overrated”, with the couple sharing how having a child has changed their lives for the better. 

Former VJ Ali, who made his acting debut with the hugely popular sitcom Taakay Ki Ayegi Baraat, and later Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat, shared that he is known primarily for his comedic roles, which leads to him being offered similar scripts. He explained, “When Dolly and Taakay happened, they were such phenomenal hits that all the production houses identified me through the characters I played. Due to that, when I would meet with directors and producers, they would prefer to see me in comic roles as opposed to serious ones. I wouldn’t call it being stereotyped, it’s more like I made my own brand of comedy.”

He added further, “It doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is when you’ve made a niche for yourself in the industry and then you don’t find the right amount of work pertaining to that niche, that’s when it becomes a problem.” 

Hira, who has also suffered from being typecast, shared, “This is an issue that most actors face. They often get typecast. It happens more often in comedy because there aren’t a lot of people available who can do comedy well. Even if you look at my acting career, then I also get the same roles of the girl from abroad or the homewrecker over and over again.”

Ali highlighted the issue of variation on television, sharing that in Pakistan, there are only two kinds of roles, one pertaining to the serious category, and the other to comedy, disregarding sub-genres like horror, thriller, romantic comedy, etc. He commented, “When we start looking at dramas genre-wise, then we’ll have a better understanding of directors. Right now, everything feels like a mish-mash. There are only two boxes in our industry, serious and comedy. There are so many sub-genres in both.”

However, the actor feels that the rise of digital platforms offers respite from the derivative content on television. “One good thing that has happened is that now with all this digital content being made. You know, short films and all that. Especially short films.”  

Hira elaborated on the matter further, adding, “I think digital is picking up in Pakistan now. People have shorter attention spans, and also I feel that, for a particular age group, there really is no content on television. I think in digital content you can select what you want to watch and also when you want to tune out. It’s a new medium. I don’t think it’ll replace TV, but it’s definitely growing.”

On how he has been lucky to have worked with good directors that allow for a greater variation in characters, Ali shared, “Luckily, in comedy, I have also had great directors. They are all the kind of directors with whom you can talk about characters. Even if the script doesn’t give you a lot of margin, directors can really transform the characters for the better. In my most recent experience with Chupke Chupke, the director Danish Nawaz played a major role in giving me that look. He knew the right kind of gimmicks necessary for that kind of character.”

On the short notice at which production houses offer actors scripts, Ali commented, “These days, things happen at the last moment. Recently, I was supposed to do a drama with one production house which was delayed, so the same production house came up with another drama, and they were like, ‘Why don’t you do this?’ And when I asked when they said two days later. They weren’t giving me enough time.” 

He added further, “Not everyone has the luxury of actually taking out time and deciding between projects because, at the end of the day, most dramas are the same. Their standard is the same. Every once in a while you’ll have something that stands out, otherwise, it’s the same old thing  every time.”

In a segment of the show where they were asked which actor in the industry they are not too fond of, Ali reflected, “There are some actors that we feel are overrated, who don’t churn out enough hits and don’t put out enough work, yet they are always in the news. We were like, what if the newer actors are given more work, as opposed to giving the same kind of work to the same kind of people over and over again.” 

When pressed for names, he revealed, “We like Mahira, but acting-wise, I feel like she needs to up her game when it comes to acting,” with which Hira disagreed. She added,  “Mahira is one of those blessed actors that only needs to be her charming self. She’s like the Shah Rukh Khan of Pakistan,” later revealing her distaste for Yasir Hussain, commenting on the actor’s attitude that she feels is disrespectful. She asserted, “It’s not about star power, it’s about tameez [respect] and knowing how to speak to people.” 

On how becoming a mother changed her life, Hira explained, “When I first found out I was expecting, I had sort of an existential crisis. A lot of women would relate to me on this. We all feel this way, but most of us don’t say it out loud, because then people call you unthankful. I was very happy that my life was about to change, but I kept thinking about all the things I wouldn’t be able to do anymore.”

She continued, “I spoke to all my new mother friends asking them how they deal with this. I was going to have a little human being who’ll be running around and I’ll have to look after it. So, that year and the year after she was born, I felt that existential crisis in phases. But now, it’s been three and a half years, looking back, I launched my channel, I got all these new ideas, I have never been so focused before in my life. I think that’s because she’s given me a new purpose in life. I’m also a lot more unapologetic now. I don’t think about what other people will say anymore.”