Resham recalls auditioning against Maria Wasti

Resham, an actor in Pakistan’s film and drama industry, recently shared the story behind how she bagged her first lead role. Known for her selective choices when it comes to her projects, Resham was last seen in The Legend of Maula Jatt and Gunjal.

During a recent appearance on the Mazaq Raat Show with Imran Abbas, Resham recounted her early career struggles and how she landed her first leading role at PTV. At the time, she was accompanied by her brother to auditions. “My parents never wanted me to become anything. My brother would take me on the back of his bike to audition for the role of some extras,” she revealed. “I used to play small roles, characters who only had three to four scenes. I did that for a while until they offered me a lead.”

She recalled being intimidated by the presence of prominent names at auditions, including Maria Wasti, who spoke flawless English, while Resham struggled even with her Urdu. She recounted the time the two were up against each other for the same role “I was aware that I was not the most educated. Forget English, my Urdu was so bad as well because we primarily spoke Punjabi in my house,” she said. “Maria was sitting there at the audition talking to everyone in English, and I was getting nervous, thinking there is no way I would get this role, I’ve definitely lost this audition.”

Despite her initial doubts, Resham secured the role. The producers felt Maria’s English proficiency was a disadvantage, whereas they believed they could work with Resham to improve her Urdu. “For me this was something unbelievable,” said the actor.

This project marked Resham’s debut under her professional name, as her original name, Saima, was replaced due to the presence of another established actor with the same name, Saima Khan. “We had shot the drama, and the pilot was being released when my sister said that my name will not go as Saima. She stayed awake the entire night thinking of a name for me until she came up with Resham,” she confessed. This revelation was met with roaring applause from the audience.