Meera: Gravitating towards a spiritual path

The Lollywood actor talks about her religious inclination, receiving the Sitara-i-Imtiaz and more.

KARACHI:

Before Veena Malik became the talk of the town — due to her alleged photo shoot for FHM and later an item song “Channo”, revealing her signature sleaze — we had our ever notorious Meera. New people may come and go but Meera’s popularity doesn’t seem to fizzle out and the actor continues to grab headlines.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Lollywood diva met up with journalists at the Karachi Union of Journalists office, and talked in detail and her spiritual side, about receiving the Sitara-i-Imtiaz while blatantly avoiding questions regarding her wedding plans.

Religion — A new factor in Meera’s life

Clad in jeans and a silk top, Meera, who was clutching black rosary beads, was seen constantly reciting some verses — which she termed as “zikr-e-Allah”. On turning religious, the actor said, “I am trying to be a religious person and I’m taking Quran classes from Tahirul Qadri these days. He has also gifted me the Holy Book and I’m busy learning more about my religion through it.”

Meanwhile, she further added that a conscious effort to fulfil religious obligations has also changed her day-to-day routine to a great extent. “My daily routine has changed greatly; I wake up early for my fajr prayers and that’s the start of my hectic schedule. I’ve also become more punctual as I arrive for appointments much before the scheduled time,” said Meera.

The actor also announced that she is going for Umrah next week. “Recently, a multinational company offered me to go on a fully funded vacation and I thought I’d better go for Umrah. Hence, next week I will be going for Umrah for two days.”

‘Thank you Mr President’

Meanwhile, Meera also took this opportunity to thank the government, especially the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, for awarding her the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence). “Sometimes, the award is bestowed after the recipient has passed away and that way you don’t get a chance to fully enjoy the glory. However, I am one of those few lucky people who have been awarded in her lifetime, and I would want to thank the government for recognising my talent.”

Word woes

However, try as she might, the notorious actor is never too far away from embarrassing situations. While talking about how the state of the local film industry is improving, the sultry actor made a remark that left the audience surprised. “Look where Lollywood stands today in the world — Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won an Oscar.”

While Meera may not realise that Obaid-Chinoy is not associated with Lollywood, the journalists present in the audience were certainly equipped with more knowledge regarding the Oscar-winning documentarian and film-makert. “But Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy did not win an award for a Lollywood film,” pointed out a member of the audience. The flustered actor then replied, “Whatever, she is a Pakistani and she won an Oscar for the country.”

Wedding bells?

On another front, when asked about her wedding plans, Meera dodged the question very artfully, “I will speak to you about this later, for I have a flight to catch at 7 pm. I am getting late.” The actor then rushed out without even having a cup of tea with the journalists.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2012.