Bushra Ansari _ The Drama Queen

Q. Tell us about your ongoing drama serial 'Bilqees Kaur' on Hum TV and the character that you're playing in it.
A. I play 'Bilqees', the lead character in the drama. My look in the drama is reminiscent of a traditional eastern woman, a Sikhni Punjabi, who wears reshmi kapprre all the time. 'Bilqees Kaur' is shot in the US mostly. South Hall is a mainly Sikh area, where the Sikh community is actually found sitting and relaxing on charpoys. The area depicts Jackson High in New York which you can say is the Laalo Khet of New York City. So Bilqees runs this small dhaba there. Her husband is unemployed and stays idle all day long, solely relying on his wife for bread and butter. She's raising her husband's children from his previous marriage as well. Bilqees's character is that of a very hard-boned, strong willed woman who hurls abuses at her husband when angry, has strict control over her children who are completely under their mother's shadow and sometimes answer back in mere frustration. Bilqees is a typical Sikhni and every inch of hers oozes Punjabi character. She is a control freak, to make it short. But you see, the truth is that she's extremely tender hearted from the inside; a side she never reveals. Why she is like that, is because of her past. As she had run away from home and had married this man who had in turn turned out to be a drunkard and a miserable good-for-nothing alcoholic, she keeps a strict eye on her daughter as she does not want her to repeat the same mistakes that she herself committed. Out of utter frustration, Bilqees would hit her kids, abuse them and make them miserable. She lives in her own fears. She does not want them to become her husband or even her old self. Sometimes, Bilqees would start crying hysterically, recalling the time when she ran away from home. She does not want another Billo to exist. But fate gives her a slap on the face, when her daughter runs away. Her children have no idea that Bilqees is not their real mother. So basically, she's dealing with all these problems all by herself, sometimes with harshness, sometimes with affection and sometimes with anger. It's actually towards the very end that her children come to know that she wasn't their actual mother, then they realise what hardships she went through only to raise them, and they beg her for forgiveness. It's a really different scenario in the drama. People would get to see a change and break free from the typical love story-based serials that they normally watch, or something as depressing as watching women being burned to death (laughs).

Q. How much do you relate to your character in the drama? Do you think somewhere inside there's a Bilqees Kaur in you?
A. I am a completely different person from Bilqees, honestly speaking. I had to hit Sadia Imam in some scenes, which was very hard for me to do as I'm not a volatile person at all. It gets harder when you have to shoot one violent scene repeatedly. I was doing this play once, where I had to slap Mikaal, and I just couldn't do it well. The scene was shot so many times and I had to try hitting him over and over (laughs). You see, I hate shouting, yelling or physically abusing somebody. It's just not me. But then at the end of the day, I am an actress and have to give my best at everything. Two days back, I had to shoot this one scene where as I mentioned earlier, I had to hit Sadia. I couldn't do the scene right, and we ended up doing numerous takes with me giving her quite a beating. I felt so upset and guilty afterwards and asked Sadia if I could take her out for dinner. She said she wanted Chinese food and we ended up having quite a laugh when I told her I'll get her Chairman Mao (laughs)!

Q. Tell us about the background score of 'Bilqees Kaur' or any OSTs recorded so far.
A. To be honest, I've no clue about the music. I have my feet stuck in a number of projects currently, so I've stopped keeping track. I had been recording 'Annie Ki Ayegi Baraat' in between for three days, then there is this other play which I'm busy with, titled 'Hiqayat', written by me. I had been shooting for that for the past 15 days so to speak. In between breaks, I shot for 'Bilqees Kaur' for two days. Then I was back to shooting for 'Annie Ki Ayegi Baraat'. So I've really no sound idea as to who's doing the music for 'Bilqees Kaur'. But somebody did tell me that Waqar had done a brilliant song for the play. Then there is XYZ from Lahore, who has sung 'Main Tenu Samjhavan Ki' with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. She has sung for 'Bilqees Kaur' as well. She's really good in my opinion and has a huge voice. I haven't heard Waqar's song as yet, but since he has done it, I'm pretty sure it must be something really amazing and fun.

Q. Since Shazia Manzoor lent her vocals for 'Annie Ki Ayegi Baraat', and seems to have done a tremendous job, did she sing for 'Bilqees Kaur' as well?
A. Shazia, no doubt, has been phenomenal in 'Annie Ki Ayegi Baraat', but no she did not contribute vocally in 'Bilqees Kaur'.

Q. How happy are you with the cast and crew of 'Bilqees Kaur'?
A. The director of the play, Adnan Ahmed had cast me in 'Naseeb' as well, so I have experience with him working. This is Adnan's second drama serial to go on air. His third play has been written by me and will commence soon. So it's really a comfort zone which I have with the director which tends to count the most. ***