A weird thought came to my mind when I started watching an episode of Firaaq. I had been working on the character sketches of the characters of ZGH for the celebration thread and had written extensively on Kashaf. So when I started to watch the episode, Sanam was very much in my subconscious mind, and when the episode started and Paymaan was shown, an involuntary, fleeting and weird thought came into my mind that this is not Sanam.😕 Then it hit me and I realized that it was Kashaf who had been on my mind and when they showed Paymaan I was still thinking of Kashaf and I realized that yes it's not Kashaf, but Paymaan on my screen! And the realization dawned on me that Sanam is such a brilliant actor. In fact she does not act, she lives the character and hence you'll not find Sanam, or any of the other characters that she has been, in another character she is portraying.👏👏
Many have said that she tends to do similar head strong kind of roles, as I suppose, opposed to the abla-nari/ mazloom aurat kinds. Yes she has mostly played the strong woman character, but her versatility lies in the fact that even though they are all strong characters, but they all have the distinctive traits independent from each other. The body language, expressions, reactions and behavior of each of the character she has done is very much the way the character has been etched. It is rare to come across an actor getting so well into the skin of a character. For instance, most actors cry in a particular way irrespective of the character they are playing, whereas Sanam, when she has to cry, she cries differently for different characters.😳
One just have to look at her stills of the different characters that she has portrayed to notice the subtle nuances she displays in her acting. Even in her stills she looks different for different characters and her body language, expressions all scream about that character.⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just a short analyses of some of the characters she has portrayed:
KASHAF
As Kashaf she is shown as extremely negative, rude, arrogant, unemotional and strong, but vulnerable and broken from inside. Quite a complex character and she portrayed Kashaf to the T'.
Also when her struggle phrase ends and she becomes a successful professional and later still, gets married and starts falling in love, there's a subtle softness that creeps into the character, that she has done brilliantly.
BIBI
She portrayed the talkh (bitter), aloof, someone always an outsider, on the fringes , helpless and strict yet loving mother Bibi wonderfully. Her ramrod straight back and faraway look in her eyes portrayed beautifully a troubled person.
FIZA
She was the selfish, jealous, insecure, self-obsessed and spoilt Fiza in Daam and though I had read that it was her first show and she wasn't that good, but I found her spot on as Fiza. Yeah her dialogue delivery did seem a tad rushed, but that did not really hamper her portrayal. And I was so sure that I wouldn't hate Fiza because it was Sanam who was portraying her, but believe me, I hated her and was irritated by her total disregard and lack of concern for others. Hated Fiza, loved Sanam as Fiza.
SANIA
IMO the closest she came to portraying an abla nari was as Sania. (Haven't watched Ek Kasak Reh Gayi) She portrayed the patient, silent, reserved wife, the loving and caring mother and the wronged woman in Shukk. There is a lot of calmness/ theraav to her this character and usually such kind of portrayal tends to get overlooked. But once more she was bang on.👏
SHAZIA
As Shazia, they show her rebellious, outspoken, emotional and a person who wears her heart on her sleeves and after marriage, a strong taking-no-crap kind of wife, who loves her husband but at the same time is not ready to accept his wayward lifestyle and firmly stands up to him.
MINAH
She portrayed the psychotic Minah, who is totally remorseless and would go to any level to take revenge against her dad, his wife and children, very well. Her evil laugh and grudge filled vengeful eyes just lend credence to her character.
PAYMAAN
As Paymaan she is the be-rang and be-jaan/ colorless and lifeless person due to the way she has been brought up. Sanam herself said that it was challenging portraying Paymaan because though she had to portray her as berang and bejaan she had to ensure that she didn't make her a boring person and hats off to her skills she was able to portray Paymaan in such a way that her character interests you.
CHAND NA SHARMA JAAYE
In the telefilm Chand Kahe naa sharma jaye', she portrays a double role and in one of the role she portrays a male character. Portraying a guy can be so dicey. Yet she portrayed Shameer with a lot of confidence and with all mannerisms and unconscious gestures of a male. Not only did she perform 'Shameer' with all manly mannerism, but when, she, as the sister, disguises as Shameer, then her body language, gestures, looks were those of a girl disguising as a guy...such subtle variations!
IN MAAH-E-MEER
In Mah-e-Meer her first Pakistani movie, she portrays a negative character and once more, from the promos, she seems to have nailed the character.
NEW DRAMA
And finally there's her new drama a sitcom coming soon and just from the screen-caps one can see the kind of character she is going to portray and again this look of Sanam I have not seen in any of her previous dramas. Just look at her expressions! So much of attitude. But the amazing thing about Sanam is that she has played a girl with attitude many a times, whether as Kashaf or a Minah, but she does it differently each time and never her characterization overlaps.
Sanam is a very exciting and arresting actor to watch on screen. She brings in such variations to each of the character she portrays. When she portrays emotions, her emotions are according to the character she plays or the situation she is in. Whereas most other actors when displaying emotions do it in one particular way only. But such minute details tend to be overlooked by audience in general. But hats off to Sanam to incorporate these details when she plays a character. And as I said before, Sanam does not act, she lives the character! It's no wonder then, when, whether veteran actors or her contemporaries, are asked to name one actor who is the best, they name Sanam Saeed!😊
Anupamaa
