Pernia sings praises of her co-star Imran Abbas, whom she has developed a camaraderie with. PHOTOS: PUBLICITY
“Is this Pernia?” I ask with a hint of incredulity. “No, it’s her twin,” jests a voice, the buoyancy of which quickly makes me forget the long hours it took to track down the budding Bollywood sensation. Although currently busy promoting her debut film, the Imran Abass-starrer Jaanisaar, Pernia Qureshi gives sufficient time for the interview, addressing every question with an almost pristine vigour.
One of India’s leading stylists, classical dancers and entrepreneurs, with her eponymous online fashion Pop-Up Shop, she has emerged has the ultimate it girl. While it’s yet to be seen if these stints will bode well for her future in filmdom, one thing’s for sure: Pernia’s in it for the long haul.
It’s no easy feat to play a courtesan in a film by Muzaffar Ali, whose magnum opus is the timeless Umrao Jaan. But Pernia seems certain that despite the challenges associated with the role, she couldn’t be off to a better start in B-town. “I loved doing what’s entwined with who I am as a performer. This is an ideal role for me. It’s a beautiful way to debut,” she says. Muzaffar sahab is a true artist and paints his characters well. It’s amazing how he depicts [the life of a] woman in the film.”
Read: Jaanisar director Muzaffar Ali will visit Pakistan soon: Imran Abbas
She clarifies that her character Noor is a revolutionary at heart and nothing like Umrao Jaan. “She’s a revolutionary, who falls in love. There’s no similarity between her and [Umrao Jaan],” notes Pernia. “Umrao was an introvert, fighting her internal battle. Contrarily, Noor is an extrovert, who is fiery and vivacious. She’s way ahead of her time,” she adds. Drawing a parallel between an actor and a courtesan’s ability to grip through a performance, she states, “As an actor, you need to captivate the audiences, prove your skill as a performer and talk through your body language, just like a courtesan.”
Being a formally trained classical dancer, Pernia feels that Noor gave her a chance to channel her passion for dance. “The character gave ample room for me to perform. It provided me with the chance to dance, which I enjoy the most, and that makes the transition into acting so much easier,” she says. “Dance helps you emote and perform, which is something I’ve been doing since I was three.”
Her tryst with dance helped her greatly while essaying the role. “I’ve been a dancer all my life. Indian dancers exude a sense of poise. I learnt the art of emoting through the body at a young age, and acting came naturally with the medium,” Pernia says. Although the stage and screen are polarised in nature, the debutante feels being a trained dancer takes an artist to another level across all mediums.
Read: Something for Imran’s jaanisaars
Pernia shares that she had to “work on [her] Urdu diction” for the character. “Since I have an American accent, it didn’t happen as naturally as expected, so I paid extra attention to perfect my delivery in Urdu,” she explains. Singing praises of her co-star, our very own Imran Abbas, she adds, “Owing to my frail Urdu, Imran very kindly helped me with my lines. He used to listen to me practice delivering my dialogues.” Of her on-screen chemistry and off-screen camaraderie with Imran, she says, “We met two or three days before the first shoot. We became friends eventually, and share a nice comfort level. We have a great equation off screen as well.”
On whether she has more Bollywood projects in the pipeline, she shares, “I haven’t decided yet. I never wanted to divert my attention from this project, so I didn’t sign up for anything else.” Not one to sign up for a film for the sake of signing up for it, she says she’ll wait for the “right project” to come along. “I’ve achieved some great things under Muzaffar sahab’s guidance. So, it has to be a great project next time as well.”
Born in Lahore and with her maternal lineage tracing back to the city and Rawalpindi, Pernia will expectedly resonate with her fans on this side of the border. She considers herself a huge fan of music maestro Abida Parveen, who has lent her vocals for the song Sufiye Ba Safa Manam in Jaanisaar. “If I’m not wrong, this is the first time Abida Parveen has sung a song for an Indian film. It’s a beautiful song. It will haunt you,” she explains.
But Pernia’s connection with the music icon isn’t a new one. “Two years ago, I danced on Abida Parveen’s Jab Se Tune Mujhe Deewana Bana Rakha Hai at Muzaffar Ali’s Jashan-i-Khusro. It’s such a memorable performance. I put my heart and soul into it. Abida Parveen was seated in the audience while I performed, so it’s very dear to me,” she shares.
For her fans in Pakistan, she says, “I wouldn’t consider my fans as fans, but as my friends. Thank you for furthering my career and I hope that when I meet you all, I take back something from our interaction.” She further says, “I want my friends in Pakistan to come and enjoy the film. This movie is a beautiful classic, 30 years after Muzaffar Ali’s last film. Set in a pre-Partition world, the story unfolds at a time when the two countries [India and Pakistan] were one. So, it’s definitely worth a watch.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2015.
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