Beyond the fourth wall

Nimra Bucha will soon be taking Begum Jaan to Lahore and her film Manto is slated for release by the end of the year.

KARACHI:

A few artistes have the ability to try their hand at both the stage and screen, and even fewer manage to become consummate showmen. Actor Nimra Bucha is among those few whose career in theatre and television is testament to their skill and versatility. From playing the down-trodden Maha in television drama Mera Yaqeen to depicting the aggressive, fiery wife of a dictator in the satirical play The Dictator’s Wife, her career palette is filled with vivid and selective shades of work. 

In conversation with The Express Tribune, Bucha shares her journey from starting off as a journalist to eventually becoming a full-fledged actor. Giving a retrospective glance at her career trajectory, Bucha stepped foot in journalism with a local publication right after she completed her education at a liberal arts college. “I was there for two years,” she says, adding that, “at that time, there wasn’t much theatre going on in my life, so I did a bit of writing.” “Although I was always interested in writing, I am not cut out to be a journalist.”



The actor is presently busy with theatre rehearsals and will soon be seen acting in the play Begum Jaan in Lahore. On the film front, Bucha has acted in a film titled Manto, which is slated for release by the end of the year. “In Manto, I am playing a muse and alter ego to the writer,” she shares. The film has been written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Sarmad Khoosat. She feels that if such work continues, the booming television industry and its talent can help in sustaining what she refers to as the “baby film industry”.

Over the course of time, Bucha has acted in a handful of television dramas, which has kept her away from the spotlight in the mainstream media. “I do very little work compared to others — partly, because I am lazy and partly, because I want to work with good scripts, which are rare,” she comments. She seems more inclined towards working in theatre. “Theatre provides good scripts, especially for women. And I get a buzz by being on stage. Unfortunately, it’s television that stereotypes against women and has mediocre scripts that solely bring money and fame,” she adds.

Bucha’s performance in The Dictator’s Wife (2008) written by her husband, writer-journalist Mohammed Hanif, was lauded by audiences and critics alike. She first performed the play at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival. “The Dictator’s Wife was my baby. I came up with the idea and twisted my husband’s arm, pleaded and bribed him into writing it,” she shares.

A scene from The Dictator’s Wife

Of her experience acting in a one-woman show, she says, “A one woman-based play is very difficult. If it is bad, you have no one to blame but yourself.  Rejection by the audience is very scary and an actor always fears that.” She further states, “Actors have to put themselves out there, which is not easy. Sometimes, you cringe and think, ‘Is this the worst job in the world?’ But then you know it’s not by far.”



Bucha is hopeful that the theatre scene in Pakistan, especially in Karachi, is evolving. “However, we still have a long way to go,” she clarifies. “Proper funding is required to develop theatrical projects.” She commends the efforts of initiatives such as T2F and the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa). Napa graduates such as Fawad Khan, Meesam Naqvi and Samina Nazir, among others, have made a go at doing  ‘bold’ and original work,” feels the actor.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2014.

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