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Marriage is the least of my worries right now. I believe strongly in God and will marry when He wishes me to. Right now I have many other things to do…" says Zainab Qayyum better known as ZQ in the fashion industry while commenting on her future plans.
The tall, soft spoken and pretty ZQ is right when she says, ‘I have many other things to do’. One of the top models on the local fashion scene, she’s also been on a roll in the field of acting ever since she made up her mind to try her hand at it. And music video is one specific category she seems to have made her own.
No other actress has so many videos running on different TV channels as ZQ. Looks like she is making up for the lost time as she spent almost an entire decade on the ramp modeling in fashion shows before finally working in TV commercials and then finally moving on to compering and acting.
“I started very early in first year when I was at Kinnaird College. In the beginning I wasn’t allowed to appear on TV or do commercials even in print media but one day I told my mom that I was old enough to take care of myself and she accepted the fact. Since that day I have been working almost non-stop and enjoying it immensely,” she says.
Her amazing run in music videos started with Abrar-ul-Haq’s ‘Asaan Jana Malo Maal’ to be followed by Ali Sher’s ‘Wohi Rastey’. After that there was no looking back. Jawad Bashir offered her Dr & Billa’s trilogy of music videos, which she readily accepted before doing a few more videos those of Amir Ghulam Ali, Ali Sher and newcomer Hammad.
“Yes, I’ve done a lot of videos in the last two years. I enjoy doing them because there are no dialogues and no problem of audio. In short it is a simplified version of acting. It is difficult in the sense that since one does not have the facility of dialogues, face expressions come into play. But I really love doing videos,” says an excited ZQ.
This scribe recently had the chance of working with her while directing the tele-film ‘Dil Hi Jaane’ in which she plays the main lead along with another top model Mikaal. She came out as a very dedicated actress, always willing to learn with no traces of ZQ; the model. The days of preparation and shooting were enough to give an insight into the ways of ZQ who may come across as very simple and thinking girl, a fact which probably has been instrumental in shaping her personality.
Thus it came as no surprise when out of the blue she said, “Did you know that I am working on my first novel?” ‘Novel’ I said to myself, what does she mean? Continuing she says, “It is an English novel, which is about life, about all of us. It’s part reality part fiction but then in reality life is both. It’s based on personal experiences. Ideally I would want it to be published by ‘Random House’, one of the biggest publishing houses in the world and that someday one of my novels is just picked up and adapted for a Hollywood film.”
She has been writing since she was a kid, be it prose or poetry. “I was always writing as far back as I can remember. I was the editor of the school magazine as well as in college and that was why I did Masters in Literature,” ZQ says.
‘Dreams never die’ and ZQ firmly believes in it. “Presently I am at a stage where I am very close to God, very happy and totally satisfied with my life. What more can one ask for…”
After having worked closely with her on the Tele-film ‘Dil Hi Jaane’, it can easily be said that her biggest advantage is punctuality, devotion to the project she is doing and the trust and confidence she instills in her director by leaving herself in his hands.
“I’ve been blessed as far as the directors are concerned. They have guided and given me enough freedom to come out with my talent. Another important factor in my opinion being a model is the choice of the D.O.P (Director of photography). Nowadays with so many models being used to bring in glamour, it requires excellent lighting to expose them because I personally think that lighting can make or break an actress,” says ZQ.
Does being a model help her in acting? “A lot, much more than I had realized earlier. You already have style and finesse and know how to carry yourself. Know what to wear and when to wear it. In my opinion the aesthetics in fashion models are more tuned which definitely helps.”
A household name in the fashion industry, she has also worked very hard to create a niche for herself on the telly screen. Most of the projects she has done so far have been from Karachi which include ‘Bewafaian’ and a 26-episode soap for ARY Channel, an Eid play ‘Najar Lage Sayain’ for PTV. From Lahore she has done a Valentine Day’s special directed by Mehmood Aslam and more recently a tele-film ‘Dil Hi Jane’ which will soon be telecast on PTV national network.
Some of her upcoming projects include a tele-film ‘Bin Tere Keya Hai Jeena’ which will be telecast on Eid day, another Eid play ‘Susr-in-Law’ starring Humayun Saeed, Javed Sheikh and Nadeem that shall be aired on a private channel. But the project she is most excited about and which she considers one of the best till now, is a serial produced by BMN productions in collaboration with PIA to be shot in London and Florence. The main stars include ZQ along with Vinnie, Adnan Siddiqi and Humayun Saeed.
Talking about the acting experience she says, “I like doing both serials and tele-films. The latter is a condensed form of a serial and what you do in two months time, the same you finish in 6-7 days. But then you need exceptional directors to direct them, not everyone can make a good tele-film. In a sense it is more difficult to make a tele-film than a serial.”
And what about the dances in them? ZQ doesn’t seem the type to go around dancing with her hero whoever he maybe?
“No way, never ever! I guess that I’ve been lucky that I’ve had directors who understand me. See, if I really want to dance I’d rather do it in a feature film then. And I also think that if the story, music and director are good then no dances are required anyway. Look at the films made in Hollywood, there are no dances still they are keenly watched all over the world. I think that there’s a very fine line between finesse and vulgarity and for me there’s also my image to think about which does not go with the type of dances that are done over here. I really don’t want to spoil my image because it’s important for the masses to know who they are relating to,” says a serious looking ZQ.
And how would she describe herself?
“Humility is one thing I feel I have. I keep a low profile. God has given me everything that I have hoped for or worked for. What more can one ask from life … I am a very happy and content person,” says ZQ smilingly