“Won’t play ‘Oppressed women’ roles anymore,” says Sarwat Gillani
Sarwat Gillani, who plays Nucchi in Joyland, recently appeared in an interview where she talked about switching to independent projects from mainstream dramas on TV.
In a recent interview Sarwat Gilani spoke openly on various topics related to social issues, including her showbiz career and her roles.
She went on to say that some very important issues were not being given their due in serials that are aired in primetime and are being watched by the majority of women. Sarwat added that she cannot go back to being the oppressed women as she just doesn’t believe in that.
Explaining the reason behind giving priority to independent projects over commercial projects on television, the actress said that the reason for this is to effectively raise voice on some very important issues which are not being given much importance in TV serials.
“Over time, I have started speaking out against women’s rights, child abuse and many other serious issues in real life, which made me feel as if I was talking about it and I believe that there are certain things that need to be done in our society so I can’t go back to the role of the oppressed woman roles because I don’t believe in them,” Gillani said.
She added, “I am convinced that there are countless extraordinary women in Pakistan, there are many examples of such women and we need to tell their success stories.”
The actress said that the entire season or the 26-episode serial should not be based only on whether a girl is suitable for marrying a boy or not. Is she good enough to be accepted by her in-laws? Life goes beyond that, especially for women who are struggling to break free from these stereotypes.
“In this context, I think television stops me to work more. I worked in the drama industry for 20 years and also played the role of an oppressed woman, but now I think that’s enough,” said Gilani.
The actress further said, “I acted in ‘Khasara’ in 2018, it was my last television role and in it, I played the role of a really strong woman, this is the aspect that I want to highlight that women are strong.
Sarwat Gilani has a role of Nucchi in the latest project ‘Joyland’. This independent film produced by Saeem Sadiq was presented at the Cannes 2022 festival this year and also won 2 awards.
Apart from this, Sarwat Gilani also played a role in Zee Five’s projects ‘Qatil Haseenao ka Nam’ and ‘Churails’.
