My linkup with Aftab is only for publicity- Amna

'My link-up with Aftab is only for publicity'

Aamna Sharif

It's been a long time since your last show on the small screen...

Films were my final destination. I capitalised on the show's exposure, took a well-deserved break, went through a lot of scripts before zeroing in on my upcoming venture.

So, you consciously shunned the limelight?

Though the show earned me popularity, I realised that the audience wouldn't pay to see me in films if they got a dose of me five days a week on the small screen. I wanted them to forget me and my character (Kashish) before I made my filmi debut.

But the promos show a salwaar kameez-clad Aamna, a la your show's character Kashish...

I am not trying to carry forward my show's image. In the film, I play a Muslim girl, hence I have to be clad in salwar kameez. There are no two ways about it. But in spite of that, I've tried to be creative in my wardrobe. I want the janta to see an Aamna Shariff film and not a Kashish film.

You sound a lot like your "good friend" Rajeev Khandelwal...

Really? I think Rajeev has done a great job in Aamir. People tried discouraging him, but he proved everybody wrong. I'm very happy with his success.

Rajeev arranged for a special screening of Aamir for you...

He did. And I went for it too. I don't care much about rumours.

With Rajeev's and Prachi's films becoming huge hits, is the pressure on you building up?

Rajeev and Prachi have done great for themselves. Many say that TV actors can't be successful in films, but Prachi and Rajeev have proved them wrong. In a way, their success has taken the pressure off me. People are now more receptive towards actors, irrespective of the background they come from. Many advised me against films. But Rajeev and Prachi's success stories have boosted my confidence.

It's an open secret that Ekta Kapoor will go to any length to help her blue-eyed boy or girl, like she did for Prachi. You were Ekta's blue-eyed girl once ...

I don't know about Prachi, but I was never Ekta's blue-eyed girl. We shared a very professional relationship. Once the show went off air, we stopped working together in a professional capacity.

Are you and Aftab too working in a professional capacity?

It generally happens that before any release, the lead pair is linked. My link-up with Aftab is only for publicity. I come from a conservative Muslim background. Earlier, my family would be upset with such news. But now, they've learnt to take it with a pinch of salt.