Every generation has a handful of actors who aren’t just good-looking but are great at their craft too. Beautiful and extremely endowed, Sonya Hussain definitely belongs to this category. From playing a sensible mature girl in Dareecha to giving it her all in the deeply troubled character of Zeeniya from Teesri Manzil, Sonya has proved in her brief career span that she can take on any role and continue to keep audiences captivated. Consistently delivering stellar performances in Dareecha, Main Hari Piya, Mere Harjai, Teesri Manzil and Shehryar Shehzadi, Sonya Hussain is rising as the next TV sensation.
With her slight physical presence, flawless skin and bewitching sharp features this young beauty is often compared with Bollywood glam lady Priyanka Chopra. In an exclusive tête-à-tête with MAG, Sonya opens up about her childhood dream to become a news anchor, recent ventures and working in a movie with Jami. Read on to find out more…
I met Sonya at Shapes, where she comes regularly to work out. As I patiently wait in the cafeteria sipping on a watermelon cocktail, she finally came in apologising profusely to have kept me waiting and putting me in a surprise with her appearance totally different than that I had I mind. Wearing fitted black t-shirt with baggy pants and sneakers she had her tresses tied up in a high ponytail.
She seemed to be excited and nervous at the same time at the interview. “I am not sure how to do this… so please cooperate with me.” After getting my assurance she started revealing a little bit about her background.
“I come from a very close-knitted family. Being the eldest of four siblings, I am particularly more attached to my father than my mother. He is the one who has always supported me through every big or small decision of my life. Be it my decision to become a doctor or to join showbiz – Abbu has always cheered me on. That’s why he is my biggest inspiration and his approval is very important for me in every matter.” Sonya is a girl who did not want to be in showbiz rather she wanted to be a news anchor. “I never dreamed that I would end up becoming an actress one day. What I really wanted to be was – a news anchor! I went through many auditions as well but unfortunately it didn’t work out. After a few years, I went to audition for a sports show on a local channel and there I met Ali Saeed, who offered me a role of a young girl in his project, Don’t Jealous. I eventually accepted the offer. So, that is how it all started and gradually offers started pouring in.” Upon enquiring whether she is satisfied with the feedback Main Hari Piya received, she said, “Well… Main Hari Piya was a soap and as compared to serials, soaps usually don’t get great ratings. I did Dareecha as well which was also a soap but it was a hit. So, I guess eventually it all comes down to what the audience wants to see. However, I do believe Main Hari Piya has its share of loyal followers. Wherever I go, people come to me and say ‘You are Pareesa from Main Hari Piya’, so it feels great when people recognise me and appreciate my work.”
Her real sustenance, it seems, comes in the form of profound thought – even the most straightforward question can engender a furrowed brow and a spell of extended soul-searching.
On Love, Life & More
Love or money? Both!
What is an ideal relationship for you? For me an ideal relationship is when two people understand each other’s feelings and are concerned for each other.
One romantic thing your fiancé did for you… When he proposed to me on a live morning show. I think that was really romantic.
My most prized possession is… I am possessive about everything that belongs to me.
My latest purchase was… a pair of shoes!
In my downtime, I love to… work out and watch movies.
My biggest indulgence is… when someone calls me up and compliments me, it makes my day! (Laughs)
I am highly inspired by… Benazir Bhutto. She has always inspired me and when I was growing up I thought that I would follow in her footsteps and venture in politics. May be one day I will!
If given a chance to choose, who would you want to be locked in a room with and why? Oh… I wouldn’t like to be locked with anyone! I would prefer to stay alone. It would be unbearable to put up with “anyone” in a locked room for too long. (Laughs)
When asked to describe herself as an actor, she pondered over the question for a while and claimed, “I understand characters really well and I have an impeccable observation. I believe it’s a god-gifted ability that helps in understanding other people and I am fortunate enough to have it. I am also very emotional and sensitive which helps me stay in character.”
Sonya has a profound ability to inhabit widely varied roles, so when asked what would be a dream role for her, she said, “Oh… there are so many wonderful characters out there that I wish to do. Like I haven’t got the opportunity to enact a blind girl’s character – I would love to perform that. So, there isn’t just one dream role that I want to do, there are many!” Recalling her Dareecha days, the actress mused. “Dareecha was my first big project. The character was of a very strong and mature girl. Mohammad Ahmed helped me a lot in understanding the character. I personally knew a family in which the father had a drinking problem, so I took the inspiration from there. It helped a great deal in getting the character’s perspective. So, overall it was an amazing experience – I learnt a lot and had fun at the same time.”
Professionally, she is strongly driven to deliver her best every time and does extensive research for every role. As a result, barely in her early 20s, Sonya is already one of the most promising talents of her generation. She has been accumulating critical acclaim for a wide variety of roles on screen. So, when asked what she looks for before finalising any project – a good script, a good director or cast, she stated, “The most important thing for me is my character. It needs to have certain amount of depth to it and it should be challenging, only then I would go for it. After that I see if the story is powerful enough or not then comes the director, co-actors and so on.” Sonya attributes her soaring success to the kind guidance of her seniors. Badar Khalil, Behroz Sabzwari, Rashid Farooqui and Naila Jaffrey are some of the few people who she holds in high esteem.
One and a half years down the road, she is still a newcomer in this highly competitive entertainmentindustry. So did she face any challenges during her showbiz journey? “Of course I did. I believe in every profession one has to work hard in order to make a mark but in this profession especially, there is immense amount of hard work involved. For people outside this field acting might seem like an easy job but it’s not like that. Sometimes I do so many emotional scenes in a day that by the end of the day it greatly affects my mood and I don’t want to see anyone’s face.” She has delivered a heartfelt performance in the ongoing drama serial Teesri Manzil in which she plays Ziniya – the disturbed daughter of Shaukat Baig who imprisons her in a room on the third floor of Shaukat Manzil. The drama which is beautifully directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain has so far gotten a great response from the audience. Sonya has nothing but fine things to say about Wajahat’s work. “It was a phenomenal experience working with him, I learnt a lot from him. As mine was a very challenging character to enact so whenever I was unsure how to go about any particular scene, he used to help me a lot.
Besides Wajahat, I also had the extreme pleasure of working with Sohail Asghar – it’s always great to work with seniors.” Teesri Manzil is in fact a gripping watch, almost entirely because of Sonya’s outstanding performance. She is mesmerising on screen and makes herself lost completely into the character. So, does she think she has grown as an actor? Almost immediately she nodded her head, “Oh… I certainly think I have. But there’s still so much to learn.” Her charming personality and girl-next-door appeal has bagged her handful of contracts with some of the top-notch advertising campaigns be it for a famous clothing brand or a leading soft drink company. So, I cut to the chase and asked her if she was planning on becoming the next glamour icon? She laughingly said, “Well… yes of course! I guess everyone wants that… who doesn’t?”
Sonya shared that leading the high-profile life of a celebrity is a tough feat but she tries that her work shouldn’t take over everything. “I work from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Afterwards, I do whatever I feel like doing – gymming or hanging out with friends. On weekends, I go out for a movie. So, I make it a point to take out time for myself in any way I can.” Does she have long-term goals? “I normally don’t set goals, I just focus on one project at a time. Moreover, to be very honest I am not very ambitious and work is definitely not the only priority in my life right now.”
She is much in demand: next year sees her appearing in a movie which is directed by our very own Jami. “It was an amazing experience working with Jami. He is one of my favourite directors and he has done a commendable job. It is expected to come out next year in January. Right now it’s in the editing process. If people like Jami and Asim Raza start making movies more often, I might quit working in dramas.” She is currently busy in shooting of Soha Aur Sawera, whereas Mere Harjai and Daag-e-Dil are currently on-air.
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