Veena Malik

Source: thefridaytimes.com

“I am an entertainer after all,” she says. “I wear short dresses which I also wore in Pakistani movies. If I have to wear a bikini, I will do that because I am an entertainer and I represent an industry. I can’t wear a dupatta and be all sachi sawitri. I can fulfill my social responsibly better by creating awareness about issues rather than cover myself from head to toe and ask for a sharafat certificate. What I wear and if I’m a good Muslim is nobody’s business”

Veena Malik is officially a celebrity. Her intimate scenes with one of the Indian cast members of Big Boss got her the kind of attention she couldn’t get after many years in Pakistani showbiz. Just a couple of years ago she was no more than a familiar face and was known for having worked in a few films as a supporting actor. She got noticed after playing the lead in ‘Mohabatan Sachiyyan’ and then became a household name after taking over Geo TV’s ‘Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain.’ Today, after a media storm over the subject of her morality, she has become, as she herself describes it, “an international celebrity, the international face of Pakistan.”

Veena Malik is a celebrity indeed. But, some insist, for all the wrong reasons: she kissed a Hindu Indian, wore “above-knee” dresses, swam with men, worked in an R-rated Indian TV show and gave a Hindu Indian a back massage. All these “crimes” are supposed to have amounted to a desecration of Pakistan as well as the state religion.

But Veena Malik is unfazed. On the day of our interview she is looking good and talking quickly and confidently. Wearing black skinny jeans and a grey shirt, Veena has undergone a significant, if not complete, transformation from the dress-wearing girl we were watching on TV just a few weeks ago. I tell her she looks skinnier in person, and she replies: “People tell me Wow! You are so young in person.”

Despite being in the Big Boss house for 12 weeks, Veena could sense the kind of welcome that awaited her back home. Any other actress might have bought time for things to simmer down, but Veena returned to Pakistan as soon as the show ended. “People in India assumed I wouldn’t go back after all this. I even had a number of film and TV offers but I told them I have to go back, defend myself, clear misconceptions, because at the end of the day my roots are in Pakistan and nobody can stop me from going there.”

Some Pakistanis can’t bring themselves to agree with her. A petition was filed against her for “wounding the religious sentiments” of millions of Pakistanis. “I am a very sensible person,” she says. “I knew from the beginning that I am being exploited in the name of religion and culture.” She thinks a man in her position wouldn’t have to face anything close to what she is facing at the moment.

In fact Veena repeatedly emphasizes the feminist angle in her side of this story. Rather than seeing herself as an icon of defiance against the conservatives in Pakistan, she sees this as a fresh opportunity to expose the objectification of women in our society, especially those women who are exposed to the outer world. “Whatever I have been subjected to is because I am a woman. I am no different from a working woman who is looked down upon by the society. People think it’s OK to malign me because I have nothing to lose, because I am an actress. I am the only one who has questioned this attitude.” In other words, Veena Malik is asking for support from those women of Pakistan who not only comprise the main audience of Indian soap operas and films but are also her harshest critics.

So far, the “controversy” surrounding her Indian stint has raised two issues: the social responsibility of an actor and the inherent hypocrisy in our society. “I am an entertainer after all,” she says. “I wear short dresses which I also wore in Pakistani movies. If I have to wear a bikini, I will do that because I am an entertainer and I represent an industry. I can’t wear a dupatta and be all sachi sawitri . I can fulfill my social responsibly better by creating awareness about issues rather than cover myself from head to toe and ask for a sharafat certificate. What I wear and if I’m a good Muslim is nobody’s business.”

She doesn’t forget to remind us that Star Plus, Colors and Sony are among the most popular TV channels in Pakistan. “Our TV channels have shows dedicated to Bollywood news that caters to the popular audience. If you love Indian television, worship Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, where does my right to be a part of it go?” She also points out the fact that there is no code of conduct that bars Pakistani actors from performing in India. “If there is a collective code of conduct,” she says, “I will follow it.”

Coming back to the issue of her “intimate” scenes with co-star Ashmit Patel, Veena says Big Boss was purely entertainment like film and television. “Certain parts of the show were scripted like me being with Ashmit outside or me going into the pool wearing shorts.” Veena also wants us to consider the “shocking” vulgarity on Pakistani TV channels and the notorious popular stage. “If you think the outside world doesn’t know what our popular media is showing, you are gravely mistaken. To associate entertainment with a certain religion or culture is not fair.”

But why are they picking on Veena Malik?

“Because they’re all vultures. They want TRPs and they found the opportunity to scavenge for the limelight at the cost of my reputation.”

At the moment Veena is the only one defending her reputation. “I could see that no one will do it for me and that’s when I thought I have to shut them up. It is not like they are all perfection incarnate and I am the only black sheep. I tried to show the world that Pakistan woman has the freedom to choose what she wants to do.”

Entertainment, according to Veena, is a beautiful thing. “You can’t stop people from watching what they want. But yes, if you don’t want to watch entertainment shows, watch religious programs, if you don’t like Veena Malik watch something else but don’t use a woman to vent your frustration. I am an entertainer and I went to the biggest show in India and I don’t feel guilty. I had the option to stay there but I belong to these people and that’s why I came back.”

Finally I ask her about her idea of the modern Pakistani woman. Confidently she replies: “The modern woman of Pakistan knows how to cook, how to reciprocate love and kindness, she is intelligent enough to engage in healthy debate and she has the strength to stand up for herself.”

Well then, Veena Malik, we welcome you back!

Sarah Sikandar lives in Lahore

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