Saba Qamar totally relates to her character Umaina in Mrs and Mr Shameem

Sheetal

The trailer of Mrs and Mr Shameem, a Pakistani original series released on Wednesday, has been watched by more than 1.9 million people.

An engrossing tale of a guy named Shameem (Nauman Ijaz), who doesn’t fit into the societal norms of a man and his friend Umaina (Saba Qamar), it is their journey together from being friends in college years to bringing up a child.

Saba has worked extensively in all platforms, from TV to digital medium to music videos to films. She played the lead in Hindi Medium opposite Irrfan Khan. She also has her own YouTube channel.

Talking about her character Umaina in the series, she says, “While I do relate to the character which is as feisty as I am in real life. But my character lives in a very different situation and goes through various emotions. So, Umaina is a character that has surprised me as an actor; it has length, width and depth or whatever you want to call it.”

Does Umaina remind her of Meeta from Hindi Medium, who too is headstrong? Saba interrupts, “I have never played anything like Umaina before and you will get to know once you watch it. It’s inspiring and at the same time talks about society which doesn’t treat those who are different and do not fit into the collective notion of a society. As we talk about LGBTQIA+ rights, it is important not to make fun of men who are feminine or women who have inclination towards masculine things.”

Saba, through her YouTube channel, has come closer to her fans and followers but now she lacks the time and will to manage it. She says, “I have always been moody. I cannot pull myself to work on something if I don’t feel like it. Same goes for the channel. During the lockdown I had time to connect to people who loved my craft and work. But, I don’t ever work under pressure. I haven’t posted for past one year but you never know, suddenly I might decide to drop six-seven videos in a single day.”

By the way, she admits that she also has a fake account to stalk everyone. “Those who say they don’t stalk are lying,” adds Saba.

While the Indian fans will get to watch the series on Zee5 starting March 11, her own people will have to wait for the series to stream in Pakistan.

In terms of work, Saba has around nine projects lined up for release. She says, “I am looking forward to a great year and hope that people would keep pouring in their love.” On her love for music, Saba says, “Music and I are inseparable. From waking up to doing my daily routine chores, I need to have some background score running at all times. In fact, I even keep playing a song while giving interviews.”

“I have never played anything like Umaina before and you will get to know once you watch it. It’s inspiring and at the same time talks about society which doesn’t treat those who are different and do not fit into the collective notion of a society. As we talk about LGBTQIA+ rights, it is important not to make fun of men who are feminine or women who have inclination towards masculine things. — Saba Qamar