The Herald
October, 1983
By Sadiq Jafri
-Huma Hameed
Huma Hameed is too naive to be true. Uncannily like the character she played in KTV’s Eid day play “Maikay Ka Bukra”. Too Sensitive to be a television artiste. “I’m an introvert and not very expressive,” she says – but she would like to be “bold enough to face life’s ups and downs.” An intelligent but shy girl, Huma is frightened of success and its accompanying intrusions on one’s private life. “I don’t want to sacrifice the freedom anonymity gives me.”
Apart from a two years gap Huma has been appearing on television for the past five years. Earlier, she was not much noticed. Then suddenly, her performance in Hasina Moin’s Raushni, produced by Lahore Television’s Mohammad Nisar Hussain won her rave reviews. A combination of both her personality and her portrayal, made her an overnight craze. Her refusal to give press interviews generated even more interest in her. Her marked absence from the TV pages of newspapers and magazines was explained away by excuses such as “sorry, she’s busy with her exams.”hased by fans. I want to live a life of my own.”
This sudden success, however, has not affected her at all. She is still the same sensitive little girl, “seeking truth in this big world full of deception.” Huma elaborates on this, “you know, there is such a big queue of publicity-crazy people around, just dying to get newspaper space. In television, a big majority of people strive to attract attention, and gain publicity to feed their egos. It’s just awful. So, I decided to stay out of this line. Anyway, I don’t think I’ve done anything extraordinary. I’m the same Huma Hameed, as before Raushni. But of course, Raushni itself was something special. It was a simple love story, with no complications. The script was easy. No heavy themes and philosophies like in most Lahore plays. And it was produced by the best man in LTV. It was a nice combination. Asif was also superb and helped me a lot.”
In the same vein, she talks of “most of the people in our society,” who “live double lives. They’ve got two standards. One for themselves, one for others. Except for a very small number, television is full of such people. Hypocrites, intriguers. And these are the people who claim to be educating the masses. The intellectuals who don’t even understand themselves. All my illusions about the big names of television were shattered when I met and worked with them.”
Despite the negation Huma speaks of, the TV Stations remain popular places to visit. “I can’t explain what kind of environment exists in the television world. You have to be at least a little artificial. Without artifice, one can’t get ahead. For me, television is both irritating and pleasant. Pleasant in the sense that I find an artistic outlet―I’m very happy when I’m before the camera. At that time, I feel I’m relating not to the people around me but to my audience – the masses. The moment the camera stops rolling, I start feeling irritated. In the past five years, believe me, I have not found a single person on the television sets who I can spend time with. People stay there for hours even when not working and discuss, I don’t know what. They seem to enjoy it, and I can’t understand why.”
But she is still very much a part of it. “Yes, I am right now. But I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll continue on television or not. It’s not a creative activity. All false and farcical. Educational? No, not at all. Entertainment? Yes. But unnatural, made-up. Teaching the people to adopt the same artificial behavior and farcical attitudes it portrays.”
Does she feel that the TV people respect her?
“Yes, but only to a certain extent. The respect ends at the point their ego begins. Artistes are like puppets for them. We are expected to obey their orders like slaves. The moment you ask for the script before accepting a play, the offer is withdrawn. You are a nobody, supposed to do as you are told. All these hardships for such sub-standard productions?”
According to the figures presented by Television authorities, the majority of viewers enjoy the currently aired programs. “What majority?” says Huma. “The same who pay twice or thrice in black, to watch sex and violence-oriented movies? They are not the real viewers. The real majority has stopped watching films as well as television programs. Or they only see late-night imported movies. It’s all being done in the name of public taste. Why destroy a State-run television for commercialism? Television is run by the National Exchequer. It should set new trends instead of converting itself into a film industry. Our television is not doing what it can easily do with the present resources. The TV authorities claim that public taste has deteriorated. In fact, it is the other way around. Television has destroyed public taste. Of course, today it’s very difficult to show creative productions. But who is responsible? It’ll take a long time to get back to the beginning.”
What of Huma’s future plans? “I don’t know yet. About television I’m still undecided. Today, I can’t place myself anywhere. I can’t say I’ll adopt television as a career. I’m doing my B.A. Honors in Fine Arts and after that I’ll do my M.A. Maybe I’ll become a full-time commercial designer. I’m more inclined towards that. It’s my real field.” Of her day-to-day life, she says, “I don’t avoid socializing. In fact, we are four sisters and one kid brother. Plus, I have a lot of cousin sisters. We’re all friends. We do things together.”
Has Huma the actress been inspired by anyone in particular? “No. No one in particular. Asif Raza Mir is a neighbor and he has encouraged me a lot. Another person who I won’t name, was my ideal before I joined TV. But when I came to know him, I was totally put off. Like they say ‘all that glitters is not gold.’ But acting in itself did not prove difficult, although I don’t know much about acting technique. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure of myself. I even disliked my voice. From my childhood, my choice has been a standing joke with my sisters and cousins. They used to say, ‘she shouts so much, her voice has cracked. I’ll tell you a secret, I was planning to get my voice cured. But now I won’t do it.”
Some Indian director supposedly offered Huma a role in his new film. “Yes. I got the message through someone But I won’t do it. Filmland is worse than television. I can’t stand being c