With STAR Plus show, Mariam Khan – Reporting Live, taking a leap, Rukhsar Rehman, who plays Mariam’s mother, is hopeful that the current leap will help the show.
“I really don’t know what works or not, but if the makers (Saba Mumtaaz) have decided to take a leap, I’m fine with it. And let’s face it; the whole business is all about numbers. Having said that, the leap was always on the cards; just that it was hastened a bit. The story, going ahead, seems interesting, so fingers crossed. We also have a new team of directors on board.”
She goes on, “I guess audiences like high drama; and the light-hearted bit surrounding Mariam was always an experiment. It is disappointing though that the entire child Mariam dyslexic track, which we had attempted to show in a lighter mode, might not survive now. It would be interesting to see how this is fused in the current phase, where grown-up Mariam joins hands with her sister, Meher (Sheena Bajaj), to prove their father, Maajaz Khan’s (Khalid Siddique) innocence from trumped up terror charges.”
She also accepts that, going ahead, she might be shooting a bit less. “Anyways, I have my hands full with a few films (Uri) releasing in the near term.”
“But being an integral part of the narrative, as the main person in the haveli, my strong woman character will attempt to rise, hoping to see Maajaz and Mariam (Mahima Makwana, post leap) alive, having already lost one daughter. Her main trait, of speaking her mind to family, while not being aggressive outside, will continue.”
Rukhsar also informs us that the second season of her Alt Balaji show, Haq Se, is surely on the cards. “The makers have touched base with me. It will mostly happen next year. Things are a bit delayed, due to scripting and other factors.”
Rukhsar, who has dabbled in all mediums (lead film D), finds telly the most challenging, “For you always have to overact. And things are stiffer, given the fact that you need to emote with the same intensity over and over again in different takes, i.e. group, master and close up, the end result being that you get emotionally drained at the end of the day.”
“I just hope that one day TV audiences too warm up to realistic content, like films and web,” ends Rukhsar.