We were very conscious of not enabling any stereotypes while showing Indians: Hajra Yamin

Actor talked about the Indian ban on her web series and working with an alleged abuser

Actor Hajra Yamin, whose web series Sevak: The Confessions has been making headlines for being banned in India, opened up about the alleged stereotypes in the film and what she thinks triggered the Indian government when they’ve merely showcased historical events.

In a conversation with Independent Urdu, the 28-year-old actor expressed how upset she was about the ban. “I wasn’t happy at all, to be honest, because as an artist, you can never be happy with the fact that there’s a place in the world where your work cannot be accessible at all,” she said adding that the producers found a silver lining in all of this. “However, the producers and the rest of the team were very happy for all the spotlight the ban brought. It was an organic promotion of sorts but I would rather have the film be seen everywhere.”

Upon the tags of propaganda on the web series, Yamin strongly asserted that the Anjum Shahzad directorial merely states historical events. “When I first met Anjum Sahab and Misha (the producer), the first thing they assured me was that this is not propaganda. It’s mere historical events, and they asked me to cross-check facts and figures if I had any doubts,” she added.

On how the team focused on staying true to history, she recalled, “While we were shooting, these two were very particular about the way we’d deliver our dialogues and our body language for it to not be exaggerated and look accurate. The whole team tried their best not to tamper with the facts and figures of the event but since, the topic is so sensitive on its own, given it is India and Pakistan, the debate doesn’t even count as what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Yamin said that the India-Pakistan rivalry becomes the utmost trigger for the masses and government, regardless of the storylines and the rest becomes history then. “The only thing that matters is why India spoke about Pakistan, even if it's something nice, or why Pakistan mentioned India, regardless of what merit the story holds. It just triggers nationalistic sentiments and a ban is imposed then,” she stated.

The host highlighted that a lot of Indian Hindus expressed their reservations on how the Pakistani actors representing Hindus didn’t speak proper Hindi. Upon that, she said, “We were very conscious of not enabling any stereotypes while showing Indians because we, Pakistanis, are already tired of being stereotyped on screens for speaking the textbook Urdu when that's not the reality. So we tried to show how modern-day Hindus navigate and converse in Hindi and not the textbook version of it.”

Yamin played a Pakistani journalist in Ehd-e-Wafa and then a Hindu journalist in Sevak – and this isn’t just a coincidence, according to her, but formula writers and directors use to play safe while showing empowering female characters.

“When we talk about women empowering characters on screens, there are very limited options and there’s monotony in it. Producers have to play safe and not take risks because even if they take a slight risk, things get controversial and PEMRA puts a ban on you. So then when we dodge most characters and list a number of safe characters, a journalist tops the list. It’s the safest way you can show an empowered female onscreen, so there is that.”

Moving on to how OTT platforms get away with screening “bold” content, Yamin gave a straight answer. “If your focus is on a particular scene, and not the context or the story, then you’ll find things controversial. Focus on the writing and plot, sab sahi lagega phir.”

While Yamin has done two films, she has never been seen in a conventional heroine role. “It’s not like I don't want to do it. I want to do it, and I think with a good director, I can even work on a run-of-the-mill script and get a good outcome with it,” she said while adding that she cannot work with a team that wants her to be conformed within their ideologies and stereotypes.

The host questioned Yamin about the trolling she and most female actors in Pakistan get for wearing any kind of western clothing. While accepting that the negative comments affect her mental health a bit, she said trolls will never be a reason for her to change who she is.

“I know I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just living myself, and all one person should make sure of is that their actions do not harm others. Mine don’t so let me be. Look at my work, and leave the rest. It’s not any of your business,” she exclaimed.

Last year, Yamin worked in a TV serial titled Mohabbat Chor Di Maine alongside Mohsin Abbas Haider, an alleged abuser accused of domestic violence. Justifying why she continued to work with him, the Pinky Memsaab actor said she would never pull herself out of a project when the accused gets to work.

“As a female actor, I’m working in an industry where I already have lesser opportunities. I know that if I leave a project because there’s an alleged abuser there, so I will leave but they wouldn’t kick that person out,” she said adding that she does control what she can. “In my professional space, I wouldn't leave my work as an artist but with a social gathering, award shows and parties, where I know alleged abusers and predators are invited, I simply do not show up.”

She concluded by saying that she would never, even now, leave a good script and director for there is already a scarcity of good characters for women – and that it’s not her fault that the channel and team continue to hire problematic people.