“I was always different. I would wonder why we as girls couldn’t talk to boys at school and be ourselves around them. Why we would have a million apprehensions instilled in our heads when trying to have a normal conversation with a guy. I would question these present standards from the very start.” 

It was her grandmother’s persuasiveness which enabled her to get her father to finally agree to  her working in movies and television plays. Nevertheless the general reaction around her wasn't very encouraging and she painfully recalls the time when having shared her decision with her best friend she heard the friend’s mother's sarcastically comment, “Why on earth is she doing this? I always thought her to be such a 'nice' girl.” Even today, the scars of the initial jibes made at her seem very visible as she admits that, “I still wonder why she said that and what she meant by that comment. After all I simply wanted to earn money, be independent and make a name for myself. What was the crime in doing that?”  

I argued with her that fame and money is not bad at all but at what cost?

She got a little irritated and defended herself saying, "Look, I'm going to be nineteen in a couple of months and I've already completed my first year of BA (Bachelor of Arts). Even if I go on to acquiring a professional degree what will I do with it? I’ll probably end up getting a job of about forty to fifty thousand rupees in a month and that will be all.   Today I make a lot more money than that by just doing what I enjoy most and for that I have no regrets.”[Lucky her!]

I found all her points debatable and I tried to explain to her why. After all, education brings in a lot of benefits: panache, elegance and sophistication being just a few of the many tangible and intangible pluses. But Veena was adamant and brushed off my argument by saying, “Being extremely educated has its drawbacks and I don't want to become a psycho-case after studying so much. I want to be self educated” Not wishing to dwell too much over the same issue, I decided to let go but couldn’t help wondering if the lady would categorize most of the geniuses and intellectuals of our times and before us as in fact being “psycho-cases!” 

Having been discovered by a photographer for a simple shoot in a magazine, Veena propelled into the limelight with her first film and television play. She has recently signed four more television serials all of which are under the direction of very well known names. Faisal Bokhari and Haider Imam Rizvi being two such names. At the time when I met up with her for this interview at Laiqa Hassan's Saloon in Clifton, Veena had just walked in after a whole day of shooting and was off the very next day to leave for Bangkok to film a prestigious commercial for an internationally renown brand of soap. “There are very few people in this world who do things selflessly for others. Laiqa Hassan has been one such person for me. Not only is she fantastic with my make-up she has also been responsible for promoting me in the world of fashion which as you know is a totally different and an extremely challenging medium. A few such breaks and I'll be well on my way,” she quips.

Throughout my chat with her I found her to be extremely blunt and very candid. When she doesn’t like something she makes no qualms about expressing her actual feelings and is anything but diplomatic. In fact I had to keep reminding her that she was on tape and that I was going to quote her on whatever she was saying but Veena was unabashed and unleashed. I therefore decided to take her up on her offer to go ahead and write whatever she said and shot out a few more questions just to get a better idea of the kind of atmosphere prevalent in the Pakistani Film Industry.

I asked if the myth about the existence of the casting couch is correct.

She was instantly defensive, “See, these concepts apply not just to the film industry but to all other professions. Every place has good and bad people but do remember that if you yourself are not good enough to survive, this place will not sustain you for a very long time. Hence all such myths are basically shredded once the person involved really gets down to proving his/ her mettle.”

So was she, in effect confirming the existence of the casting couch?

“No comments,” was her only reply. She then deflected the topic and added, "My dream is to be someone, have fame and a lot of money.” I realized how she kept harping on the ‘money’ bit and asked her why that was such an issue with her, “In this world one needs a lot of money to be able to be someone. Lets face it, without money you're nothing and my dream is be able to get this through my hard work and my profession.”

Whatever doubts I might have had with regards to her age flew out the window with her ‘money makes the world go round' attitude. But her simplicity in admitting her dreams made me admire her courage to actually say her thoughts out loud.

I asked her about her ‘filmi’ co-stars, “Quite honestly, I've observed that in the film industry no girl will help another girl. In fact they encourage each other with false compliments even when it is very obvious that the other person is looking horrid! They’ll never tell you what to do or how to better your performance. However, this attitude is completely opposite as far as my television co-stars are concerned. On television, our seniors are a lot more reliable in that they will definitely tell you when your light is getting affected with the pose you're positioned in or when your dialogue delivery can be made better by a certain technique etc. This sadly, is not the case with films.”

She attributed such behavior to the various “complexes” harboured within some people who are too shallow or insecure to come forward and help others for fear of encouraging competition.

I recall reading an excerpt from a recently published survey titled “Women’s Fact Book” wherein it was mentioned that the happiest day in the life of a Pakistani woman was the day she got married. I wondered if this girl who apparently had everything sorted out for herself had actually planned this as well, “No, not at all!” she screamed. “I am still very young and have a long way ahead of me. Of-course I am a woman and I do like guys but marriage is certainly not on the cards for me just yet.”

In this day and age when a lot of people are found to be confused with either their sexuality or their sexual preferences I'm glad she came out clearly with that! Nevertheless I continued to probe into the sort of guy that she'd like to end up settling down with, “Well he shouldn't be fat or the very serious type. You see, I don't find fat men attractive and when I see one I feel like kicking him in the stomach! Conversely, when I find a man who is extremely serious I feel like punching him in the face!" Once again, I warned her of the probability of losing a majority of her fan following with a comment like that but Veena remained firm and stuck to her comment saying, “I can't change the way I feel can I?”