Aina Asif was 'ecstatic' to star in drama tackling child marriages in Pakistan

Emerging actor has captivated audiences with her new role

Aina Asif is playing the protagonist in the new drama serial Mayi Ri, which tackles the serious issue of child marriage in Pakistan. The drama has, in just a short amount of runtime, accumulated a large audience — with many praising Aina for her stellar performance in a challenging role. 

Some of the actors from the serial’s ensemble cast recently appeared on Nida Yasir’s morning show Good Morning Pakistan to promote their new project and talk about their experience of being on set. The guests included Saad Faridi, Maya Khan, Hiba Ali Khan, Samar Abbas Jafri, and Aina Asif. During the cast interview, Aina stated that her character Annie was the most important character of her acting career thus far. 

When Nida asked Aina how she felt when she got the offer to play the female lead in Mayi Ri, the 14-year-old responded by saying that she was very excited and happy to receive that fateful acceptance call. “When I got the call [for the role], I was ecstatic," she commented. 

She went on to share that her excitement was piqued even before Aima got the role and as soon as she was given a short description of the character. “Jab mujhay iss character kay liye aik brief di gayi thi, tou main tab hee bohat excited ho gayi thi. Mainay kaha mujhay yeh character karna hai (When I got a briefing on the character, I was really excited. I said I want to play this character).”

Aina also shared that she initially auditioned for another role which she ended up bagging as well as the lead character in Mayi Ri. The director of the drama serial, Meesam Naqvi, was impressed by Aina’s audition and brought her on board for the project which also includes big names like Nauman Ejaz and Maria Wasti. 

Mayi Ri is not the first acting project credited to Aina’s name. She also played a supporting role in the recently concluded hit drama serial Baby Baji and had already acquired a fan base for her talent and on-screen presence before appearing as Annie her latest offering.