I grew up with a lot of Indian cultures: Sarwat on 'apprehensions' before signing Indian projects

The actor opened up about Indo-Pak relations, her latest collaborations and the characters she essayed as of late

Sarwat Gilani has had a fruitful year. From making her maiden appearance at Cannes Film Festival to having her recent offering, Joyland, shortlisted for the Oscars this year, Gilani's professional front has been phenomenal.

The actor, who has starred in two Indian streaming projects, Asim Abbasi's Churails and Meenu Gaur's Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam, was recently honoured for her performance in the latter show. Gilani accepted the award with her co-star, Sanam Saeed.

In a recent interview with The Indian Express, the actor opened up about Indo-Pak relations, a possible collaboration on cards and her characters as of late.

"It was very layered, to say the least," Gilani told the publication about her character in Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam. "My character Mehek is inside me, and she would live in me forever. She is one of the most beautiful characters I have done."

Speaking about Gaur's directorial, the Jawani Phir Nahi Ani star added, "The show was extremely special, and then working with our Indian friends and team, they are remarkable. Our processes are done amazingly, they make you feel like a certain somebody, and they are so forthcoming with their love, appreciation and help. Then to share the names of these two countries together, is beautiful."

She went on to add, "It puts that message across that art together with anyone and everyone is going to be beautiful, it is going to win, and it has no boundaries, Zindagi has paved a path to bring talents together from across the border: They get to work with us, we get to work with them… That’s the only way forward, you cannot live in your small bubble and say, ‘We are creative.’ You have to expand, have to expose yourself to art, which, just like love, is universal."

Talking about whether she had apprehensions before she signed Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam, an Indian production, Gilani simply said, "Never." She elaborated, "Half of my family is from India. I grew up with a lot of Indian cultures. To feel, ‘Oh as a celebrity it would affect me, people would not look so kindly towards me’– no. Even if they didn’t, it’s ok. At the end of the day, you have worked 18 years for this country, and have had the best of times."

She added, "It is time to expand and there is no harm in doing that because you are not degrading anyone with your craft. You are only spreading inclusion, love, narratives and stories that need to be told across borders."

Gilani went on to highlight, "I am also an activist, so a little bit of that also comes from the fact that, ‘Hey I am a woman, I have a mind, a mouth, so let’s talk.’ It is important for us to not confine art in these small boxes because that’s not where it belongs. It belongs in the thousands of houses where people want to see some glimpses of what life could possibly be."

Sharing how art can't be confined to boxes, Gilani remarked, "People do get this. The majority of people get it, ki yaar koi masla nahi hai, jeene do logo ko jis tarah jeena chahte hai (There is no problem, let people live the way they want to). But people, who have bigger agendas or bigger purposes, have this opinion." She continued, "They are set in such positions where their opinions matter. Out of ten thousand people, there will be 500 who don’t connect with you and that’s fine because not everyone has to agree with you."

The actor further added, "But it just so happens that they are in a position to say something, and it does matter. What that does is, that marks the death of art… There will always be people who do not agree with this collaboration and maybe feel uncomfortable but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a great collaboration. We go to New York, we work with actors over there, we travel and work with international artistes, so why can’t we do it here? What’s the big deal? Keep art out of it."

Does that frustrate her? "No, because what is meant to come to me will eventually come to me," she told the publication. "That’s the beauty of being this little artiste with a paintbrush on this big canvas– of media, social media, communities, skin, colour, languages, and accents. Imagine the number of things we are given to play with, it is remarkable. It is what you do with it that matters."

She concluded her chat by highlighting the responsibility of artistes in both countries today. "To never give up on hope, and always hope that we will penetrate through this hate that has been done for a very selfish reason at some point," Gilani said. "And it will penetrate because you can’t stop heartbeats, you can’t stop people from living."