{"id":14441,"date":"2025-07-22T12:05:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=14441"},"modified":"2025-07-22T12:05:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:05:05","slug":"i-stopped-taking-scripts-i-didnt-believe-in-sarwat-gilani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=14441","title":{"rendered":"I stopped taking scripts I didn\u2019t believe in: Sarwat Gilani"},"content":{"rendered":"
Known for her measured choices and commanding screen presence, Sarwat Gilani has consistently stood out for the quality of projects she chooses to associate with. Whether it\u2019s television dramas like Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu and Dil-e-Muztar, or more recent and groundbreaking ventures like Churails and Joyland, Gilani\u2019s body of work reflects both intention and insight. She brings not only talent but also a discerning understanding of how stories shape the cultural fabric around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recently Gilani appeared on the Talha Ahad Podcast in an episode titled, “What’s Really Wrong With Pakistan’s Entertainment Industry?” where she addressed chronic industry issues.<\/p>\n

With a degree in graphic design from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Gilani\u2019s creative journey extends beyond acting. Reflecting on her early career, she shared, “I graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and I worked as a designer for six months after graduation. I was pretty miserable there because I wasn\u2019t allowed to think outside the box, I had to only stick to what they wanted us to make.”<\/p>\n

Gilani later left the field and tried her hand in acting in a television commercial. \u201cI felt free during it. It was a nice experience and I just held onto it after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choosing her projects\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gilani\u2019s screen presence since her first TV drama has spanned about seventeen years, although she has been out of business for the past seven years. Reflecting on this, she said, \u201cI feel for the girls when I read a story. I always want to pick narratives that feature female empowerment, break gender stereotypes and show you how to fight for what\u2019s rightfully yours.\u201d She added, \u201cThe kind of dramas that were being created in Pakistan while I worked were very regressive. I was sick of looking at the damsel in distress on screen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The actor chose to dodge plenty of opportunities in search of quality of scripts, \u201cI always need to strongly connect with the script and tell newer and more uplifting stories. Because of this I started rejecting roles that came my way and eventually people stopped offering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon her departure from acting, Gilani clarified that she was content with the direction her life took, \u201cI was okay with not getting offers anymore. I moved on from acting and got involved in activism and philanthropy instead. I became part of a non-profit that ran olympics for special children every year and it was very fulfilling. I have always wanted to stay grounded this way and acting was only a business at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilani recalled what it was like to choose scripts that she enjoyed, \u201cWith luck if I even received a script like Churails, it would get heavily censored and the team would need to hide face. It was either this fight for our safety and free will or playing someone I didn\u2019t relate to. Eventually I left acting altogether. They could find ten other lead actresses that could play the repressed house wife. I didn’t feel like I was needed anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Standing up for her work\u00a0<\/p>\n

Churails released as a webseries in 2020 under the Indian platform Zee. Knowing the Pakistani censor board will never air it, she recalled, \u201cWe already knew it would get us in trouble and we didn’t care. The story of female vigilantes drinking alcohol and holding guns in Karachi had never been told before. Of course I wanted to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the only time Gilani had\u00a0partaken in a risky project, \u201cWhen Joyland was released in 2022, we were again well aware that it might create problems. It\u2019s like, Churails prepared us for what it feels like to get banned in Pakistan.\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoyland told the story of gender fluidity, desire and acceptance. It was new and well made. Due to this, it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Not only was it screened, it also won awards. That\u2019s a huge deal!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commenting on industry support over\u00a0her exploratory projects, Gilani shared, \u201cThere is a lot of politics in our industry for sure. You follow a trend and become part of a clique to get jobs. Due to this, projects like Joyland and Churails didn\u2019t receive a single praise from within the industry. Which is quite sad because it was so critically acclaimed worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to her, \u201cI\u2019ve learned that no one in industry really stands with you while you are going through something difficult. They don\u2019t want to ruin their own image. Joyland and Churails getting banned in Pakistan was tough for me and it made me realize that I cannot rely on anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t shy away from calling out fellow actors either, \u201cIt\u2019s kind of hypocritical. The actresses that call themselves feminists and claim to support Aurat March will not hesitate while choosing a regressive and backwards script. If you are truly a feminist, you wouldn\u2019t be okay with playing such a demeaning role. Their activism is very performative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her liberal arts background has rendered her to understand systemic issues in the entertainment industry, \u201cEven while working in advertising, it had the same problem. If you want to sell soap, put a woman there, if you want to sell milk, make a woman stand next to it. It\u2019s exhausting and we have more to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for her measured choices and commanding screen presence, Sarwat Gilani has consistently stood out for the quality of projects she chooses to associate with. Whether it\u2019s television dramas like Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu and Dil-e-Muztar, or more recent and groundbreaking ventures like Churails and Joyland, Gilani\u2019s body of work reflects both intention and insight. She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}