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Barzakh EXCLUSIVE: Sanam Saeed opens up about working with co-actor Fawad Khan, her character sketch, and more
In a candid conversation with Pinkvilla, Sanam Saeed spoke about her role in the upcoming series, Barzakh. The actress also discussed working with Fawad Khan and the cast of the show.
How about witnessing Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed together again? Well, the wishes of the ardent fans of the actors have finally come true with the scheduled digital release of Barzakh. Helmed by critically acclaimed Asim Abbasi, the upcoming series explores mature themes like generational trauma, mental health, and gender inclusivity. Recently, makers released the trailer, giving a peek into the mystical world.
Meanwhile, Sanam Saeed sat down for an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla and opened up about her experience reuniting with Fawad after more than a decade. The Pakistani actress also shed light on her character in Barzakh and revealed why she agreed to do the project.
How has your friendship with Fawad Khan developed in the last few years?
We were two actors who met on the sets of Zindagi Gulzar Hai, and then we went off and did our things in life. We would meet occasionally, but to reunite on a long-term project again after eleven years was Barzakh. We were all up in the mountains, and Barzakh became a family. We were a great source of support and strength to each other. It was really difficult up there in the mountains as it was cold and we had long nights.
We were there for about five weeks, and I can't single out Fawad only because it's such a strong ensemble cast. Each one of us became a family. We would eat together, we would get tired together, and we would trudge through the difficulties up to the top of the mountain. So I can't single out our dynamic because it's an ensemble cast and we all are kind of working together. But it's always a pleasure working with Fawad because he brings his game every time, and I was happy to see him not play the typical hero role.
How will Barzakh change people's perspective on the Pakistani industry?
It's a universal theme: Family, drama, love, loss, death, and the afterlife. So, it's something that will resonate not just with the Pakistanis or Indians or people from the subcontinent but globally. The way we watch foreign film content or foreign shows similarly it has that kind of universal theme to it. It explores love between father and son, single parents, dysfunctional sibling relationships, single parents, and much more. So, these are things that every human being kind of relates to.
What's your role in Barzakh?
My character is more like the uniting force, the kind of reasoning force, hopefully. I'm the character whose sense prevails over me, and I try to bring people together. If everything is falling apart, my character tries to find a solution and resolve it. She is proactive about how we can get what's done.
She's aware of people's roles in her life and the hierarchy of things. She is respectful of those hierarchies, those traditions, and those cultures, but she stands up for what is right. She is someone who very quietly manages from backstage. Basically, she secretly manages to go backstage in order for the center stage to come together. Scheherazad is my character. She is the glue that brings family, situation, and this magical world together.
Why did you say yes to Barzakh?
It was Asim Abbasi first and foremost because I have read his scripts before, and I have worked with him before, and I enjoyed that dynamic. And then it was a story that was really intriguing. And then Scheherazad, because she was a very difficult character to play because I could not emerge too much, but I couldn't be too flat either.
So, it was a very resolved and controlled character that I found a challenge. Working with Asim, the rest of my colleagues and cast members made that process more interesting for me because I learned more about her and how I should play her as we rehearse our scenes. For me, the process before filming is what is most precious to me.
Barzakh encapsulates magic realism, so do you believe in such a concept?
I do. We are not the only beings on this earth. We are not the only ones who have powers or there is life after that. There was life before us, so there's definitely, and for us, that's magic. What we can't understand or what is beyond our imagination is magic for us. So, it's very spiritual also. It's very philosophical and fantastical, and all these words are used to describe Barzakh. Because it's about two different dimensions, mostly this dimension and a parallel word that exists, which I believe in as well.
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