Kinza Hashmi looks out for pigeons' well-being

Actor talks about faith and kindness

Kinza Hashmi may be best known for playing the villain in Ishq Tamasha, but her real life outlook couldn't be further from her onscreen persona. During a recent candid conversation with FUCHSIA, the actor opened up about her deep faith and personal acts of charity in her real life. And animal lovers will be delighted to learn that Hashmi's charity is not just limited to people.

"I normally leave out plates [of food or water] for pigeons," remarked the the Kattar Karachi actor. "Whenever I think there is no water to be found for miles, I always make sure to leave something out for them."

Hashmi is a firm believer that such acts of kindness and simple charity are woven into faith. "I think we should all do something like this – this is all a form of sadeqa jaria, [ongoing charity] and I believe that such small acts of charity will only come back to help us later in life," she added. "It's the small, simple things that make a difference. If we all perform little acts of kindness, it will go a long way in creating a better world."

Against the backdrop of these small acts of kindness, Hashmi highlighted her deep faith by pointing out that she regularly prays for whatever is best for her instead of outrightly demanding her heart's desires. "I always pray for guidance," she noted. "I always ask Allah to guide me towards whatever is right for me, rather than praying for whatever I want, which may not be best for me at the end."

Amid this strong faith and inner peace, Hashmi noted that she strives to glean lessons from her past mistakes. "Rather than repeating your patterns, you should learn from them," she stressed. "We should learn from our mistakes and so we can save ourselves from whatever lies ahead. After all, if you are not in control of your own mind, how will you cope later in life?"

One of Hashmi's life lessons has been coming to terms with what real love looks like – and like so many others, the actor has come to realise that it is not the in-your-face romance depicted on screen or even on social media.

"Love is peace," she stated. "I don't want to make any extra effort, and I don't want to make myself restless by going out of the way. Don't love-bomb anyone. You should only do what is sustainable."