Sahar Hashmi talked about the criticism she got for hugging someone on screen in her dramas. She said it hurt her and made her feel confused.
Sahar Hashmi sat down for an interview. Said that even though criticism helps her become a better actor some comments are just silly. She said “I think it is silly. I am not the actor to hug someone on screen and I will not be the last.”
People on media called Sahar Hashmi “Pakistans Emraan Hashmi” because she hugged someone in her dramas Zanjeerain and Shaidai.
Sahar Hashmi asked why actors get blamed for doing what the script says. She said “These are things that happen in the story. It is something that has to be done. You have to understand that.” She also said “My director told me to do it if I was comfortable with it.”
Sahar Hashmi said that these moments are in the script because the director thinks they are important. “I know that in our culture it is not common for people to hug someone of the gender but it does happen. Let us be honest with ourselves. In some parts of Pakistan it might not happen often but in parts it does ” she said.
When asked why people criticized her and not the actors Sahar Hashmi joked “It is because of the Hashmi-Hashmi connection.”. She said that the criticism made her think twice about doing such scenes again. “I will be honest I will be more careful in the future because if we are making dramas for the people and they do not like it then we will not do it. But do not force me to do something I do not want to do ” Sahar Hashmi said.
Sahar Hashmi also talked about how the hate comments on the internet affected her. She said “When there are things people will always find something bad to say.” She also said “Not everyone wants to see you do well and that makes me feel sad.”
Sahar Hashmi said that she used to cry herself to sleep because of the criticism.. She said that her friends and colleagues were very supportive. “Shehzad Sheikh was very nice to me. He was my hero so he really helped me. My director was also very supportive. Recently when I was feeling stuck my co-star Nawal Saeed and even Feroze Khan reached out to me and said ‘Do not worry everything will be okay ‘” she said.
Sahar Hashmi said “Where people will criticize you there will also be people who will tell you that everything is fine.”
Sahar Hashmi also talked about her career. She said that one of the reasons she took the role in Zanjeerain was because she got to work with Sajal Aly. “It was a chance to work with Sajal Aly, who’s one of the biggest stars in our industry not just in Pakistan but also internationally. I wanted to work with her and learn from her ” she said. Sahar Hashmi said that even though they did not have scenes together “every scene we did together was fun.”
Sahar Hashmi said that she first said no to the role in Zanjeerain because the characters death reminded her of when her mother passed away. “At first I said no to Zanjeerain. The reason I said no was because I was still feeling the pain of losing my mother ” she said.
Sahar Hashmi said that she felt like she had no purpose in life after her mother passed away because she had spent her life taking care of her. “When she passed away I kept thinking ‘What’ I started having panic attacks because I thought I would die too. I thought that my purpose in life was over. So I did not want to play a character who dies ” she said.
Sahar Hashmi said that she eventually changed her mind after the producer Momina Duraid called her. “I thought, if someone important as her is asking me to do it I should do it out of respect. I told myself ‘I should do it.’ I was scared but that is okay ” she said.
Sahar Hashmi is a rising actor who has been in popular television serials like Zulm, Ishq Hua, Mann Mast Malang and telefilms, like Deewani.
