Veteran actor Hina Bayat reflected on past criticism and her decision to work in the controversial web-series Churails during an interview with Tabish Hashmi. She explained that accepting any role requires a deep understanding of it. “If I manage to convince myself to play a certain character, only then do I take it on,” she said. “Due to this, I usually don’t have regrets.”
Discussing Churails, she clarified, “It was a web-series, not a mainstream drama serial. Content like that has a specific, subscribed audience.” Speaking about her character Sherry, she added, “Personalities like that exist in our society and should be represented as such. If you want to show that something is wrong but cannot portray it truthfully, how will you distinguish between right and wrong?”
Churails follows the joint venture of four women, whose separate misfortunes lead them to band together and launch a business to suss out cheating husbands.
Aside from its uncensored portrayal of social issues, the web-series made noise for its overt discussion of sexual favours in the workplace through Sherry, who climbed the corporate ladder with this tactic. Shortly afterwards, the show was banned in Pakistan on grounds of indecency.
“That was used as an excuse to personally target me,” Hina mentioned. “But the One who preserves dignity rests above us.”
Despite the challenges, the Agar actor’s resolve has largely remained strong. Over the years of working across different media forms, she has never been bored. No obstacle has pushed her to consider quitting the industry, safe for her own helplessness.
“There have been certain heart-rending instances and people. If I couldn’t help them, that would make me realise my own impotence,” she revealed, adding that that’s how she began doubting herself and questioning why she was pursuing this career in the first place.
“That was when my husband – may God rest his soul – asked me, ‘Are you a quitter? If you’re letting yourself be burdened by the fact that you can’t help just one person then you’ll end up abandoning the many people you are able to help.’ So, never give up,” she concluded.
Hina also believes that creative liberties should be exercised with certain limitations and grace. “You shouldn’t just outright say what’s on your mind. Your words should be backed by research, and you must speak in a mannerly way. But if you instead take this as a reason to use foul language and be aggressive, then this freedom can become dangerous,” she observed.
