There are so many impossibly different shades to Aamina Sheikh. There's the versatile model, yo-yoing easily from urban chic to haughty elegance. There's the bona fide actress who sheds away the model's glamorous façade to enact the scorned woman, the docile housewife, the heroine or the vamp in many a television play or recently, for the cinema screen. While most models historically make wooden actors or overact, Aamina Sheikh has broken the mould. This girl is a chameleon, on screen, on stage and in print.

 She's also quite the red carpet siren; cameras whirr towards her at fashion events as she stands sophisticated in a gown or a dress, sexy in a backless black Fahad Hussayn number perhaps or gilded in gold in a Maheen Karim dress, as she was at this year's Lux Style Awards. While fashion insiders love her energy and verve, they also bemoan her lack of height - Aamina is a wisp of the petite variety and with evolution, Pakistan's fashion scene is favoring tall girls. Not that that ever dampens Aamina's spirit. Her star power that come from television makes her a charismatic brand ambassador. Nothing like a (big or small) screen on a billboard.

She's young, confident and eager to venture into new territories - her on-stage performances alongside husband Mohib Mirza at last year's LSAs were the highlight of the show. This year, she partnered with Ahmed Ali Butt to hilarious affect that will be on air soon. Don't let those uber glam pictures fool you - Aamina is a desi girl through and through with world exposure and she knows exactly which side to play up when. On talk shows for instance, she's the gregarious, affable girl who deliberately speaks in Urdu - “Why would I want to alienate audiences by going on and on in English?” -   and smilingly agrees to whatever the interviewer throws her way; about her career, her marriage and even ridiculous requests to announce that it's time for a commercial break!

Up close and personal

It is this side of Aamina's that I encounter as I meet her one early morning for an Instep interview. Our meeting has gotten delayed by a few days because Aamina's brother was over from abroad and she wanted to spend all her “free time with him”. That's just how Aamina is; even as she runs from one work project to the other, she remains extremely close to her own family as well as to her in-laws. Mohib and she live with his parents and the house that they have recently moved into is strewn with decorative pieces. A colorful chest of drawers stands forlornly at the entrance; a hand-painted mirror leans against a wall. “Mohib and I have been very busy and haven't gotten down to decorating yet,” she explains. “Our bedroom and my in-laws' bedrooms are furnished. We'll tackle the rest of the rooms one at a time.”

It's a peek into how her home-life is: relaxed, easygoing, with Mohib's parents supporting the hectic lifestyles of their son and daughter-in-law. “I am lucky that Mohib and his family have always been there for me. I don't have to worry when I am out till late for a drama shoot or when I have to take a trip abroad for work. My personal life is stable and this allows me to focus completely on work. I see so many other men act chauvinistically with their wives, restricting them with rules. Mohib, on the other hand, has never told me what to do, letting me pursue my dreams, go, fly! That's exactly what I am doing,” Aamina smiles.

And how! One of the things that does stand in place at Aamina's home is a glistening golden statuette high on a wall shelf - her 'Best Actress' award that she won at the recent New York City International Film Festival for her cinematic debut in Seedlings or Lamha, as it is titled in Urdu. “We placed it up there for a magazine shoot and then just left it standing there,” she says. “I'll probably take it down in a few more days. It's not good to show off.”

A star without any starry airs and graces - it's probably Aamina's grounded candor, more than anything else, that endears her to so many audiences. She's someone that people can relate to, a best friend perhaps - albeit a beautiful, extremely stylish, talented one! In a profession notorious for its divas, Aamina Sheikh is refreshing. She giggles as a maid in the house keeps peering at her. “It makes me feel so conscious sometimes. I wonder what she says when she goes back home. She sees me every day and yet can't stop scrutinizing me!”

The art of juggling… in the public eye

Scrutiny, of course, is something that she is used to. Aamina has steered clear of the catwalk simply because she feels that she doesn't have the height for it but nevertheless, her modeling work in print is spectacular. Only recently, her Moroccan sojourn with brother-sister duo Ayaz Anis and Raana Khan resulted in an array of sultry, exotic photographs that have gone on to become part of a number of local publications. As brand ambassador to international make-up brand L'Oreal, she was often seen at events and in magazine shoots, groomed by the ingenious Nabila, sleek-haired, cat-eyed, the classy model.

Moreover, her myriad acting roles in television dramas have earned her nationwide recognition. Even today, she is scheduled for a drama shooting immediately after our meeting and is already dressed for the past in casual jeans and gorgeous grey-green contact lenses. It's a very different look from the tied-back hair and minimal makeup that she's recently been seen in for her TV roles - something that she's very happy about. “The drama is a modern enactment of Mirat-ul-Uroos and I am the bad sister.  It's a relief - I've played the self-sacrificing, plain-clothed, do-gooder in far too many plays!” she laughs.

Then again, Aamina probably gets typecast as the 'good' girl simply because she is, in essence, a very positive person. She laughs a lot, steers clear of controversy and doesn't seem to have a single enemy. “My friends tell me I am boring. I can talk at length about the future of cinema or television but I just can't gossip about other people. If I am negative about something, it reflects in my work. And I can't risk that. Work is complicated enough as I try to balance modeling with acting.”

I ask her the tired old question - which does she enjoy more, modeling or acting? I am rewarded with the expected answer, “Both.” Does she plan on exploring any other avenues soon? “People keep asking me when I am going to be launching my own lawn or start hosting a morning show - now those are things that I don't see myself delving into anytime soon!”

But being a well-known face on television, doesn't she feel that audiences will enjoy watching her in a morning show? “Morning shows are just not fun anymore,” she observes. “They started off as discussion forums for current issues and for the promotion of a channel's latest productions. Now they've metamorphosed into veritable singing and dancing shows. Mohib and I usually get invited to morning shows together and we send a list to the channel explaining what we'd like to discuss and what we won't. Still, when we're finally live, on air, we get asked one career-related question and the next is typically about our marriage and then, the host goes on to gift a lawn suit to a live caller. They just can't help steering away from the main topic. Morning shows and what they've become just don't appeal to me.”

Love, marriage and life

Yet, at the risk of inflicting a 'morning show-type' interview upon her, I can't help but besiege her with the usual questions: How did she and Mohib meet? Has there ever been any professional rivalry between them, what with her skyrocketing to fame long before her husband became well-recognized? One can't help but be curious about this spectacularly good-looking couple; he, quintessentially tall, dark and handsome; she, petite and serenely beautiful.

Aamina and Mohib knew of each other during their school years. She was part of the English theatrical society in her school while he would often be asked to act in the school's Urdu plays. Although Mohib studied in a different college, he was already well-known in student circles for his amateur theatrical work. “I knew of Mohib, of course, but I never met him in those days,” recalls Aamina. It was years later that the two became friends, working together in a children's program for Geo TV; she, the director, he, the host. “I was also simultaneously working with Mohib's theatre group,” she says. “He proposed to me eventually and then spent a great deal of time winning my father's approval. I come from a non-showbiz background and it had been hard enough for my father to understand that his daughter wanted to be an actress. It was even more difficult for him to allow me to marry an actor. But Mohib managed to do it - he's just good with parents.”

Seven years down the line, they're still arm in arm on the red carpet, being paired together on-screen occasionally and even dancing effortlessly on the LSA stage - here's a couple that belies the myth that showbiz marriages don't last and just looks so together. Mohib figures constantly in Aamina's conversation, even when she's talking about a project in which her husband isn't involved. “While other men may have felt competitive of their wives, Mohib is just proud of me,” she explains. “It doesn't matter who wins the award or acts in the hit drama serial, each accolade is for both of us, our mutual achievement.”

I ask her if she's referring to the Best Supporting Actor award that Mohib won back in 2009 at the International Filmmaker Film Festival in England - an award that went mostly unnoticed by the media? “Yes, Mohib did win the award but it was really up to that movie's producers on how they wanted to propagate their project,” she explains. “The makers of Seedlings made the extra effort to generate public interest in the movie. That's the only reason why people know about my Best Actress award.”

Seedlings of all sorts

However, while people may be aware of the awards won by Seedlings - aside from Best Actress the movie also bagged the People's Choice Award for Best Film at the festival - the movie itself is yet to see the light of the day in Pakistani cinemas. “Hopefully, Seedlings will release in Pakistan within this year,” Aamina says vaguely. “It's a very intense movie. It tells the story of a couple, played by Mohib and me, who have just lost a child and the emotional turmoil that they go through. Even before Seedlings was entered into the festival, the movie's production team was trying its best to bring it to Pakistani cinemas. The local sponsors were taking too long to respond and in the meantime, the movie won the awards. There's no frivolous song and dance routine or comic relief and I think local sponsors feel that such a serious storyline will not find an audience in Pakistan. To the contrary, the South-East Asian community in New York came in droves to watch Seedlings screening at the festival. The movie was scheduled for two screenings but a third one was organized because of audience demand. I think Seedlings can make an equally powerful impact within Pakistan. It's a well-made movie and there's an audience that will appreciate it.” 

As she waits for Seedlings to venture into local cinemas, Aamina's next movie is also up for release. Josh, set in urban Karachi, tells the story of the political web surrounding a khana ghar for the poor in a city slum. Aamina plays the intrepid modern-day heroine and while the plot is vastly different from the introspective Seedlings it certainly seems just as thought-provoking. “Josh is a fast-paced mystery thriller that depicts Karachi the way it is now complete with a brave group of young people and villainous politicians. The producers plan to debut it at a festival before bringing it to Pakistani cinemas,” says Aamina.

With such heavy-duty storylines for her first two movies, does Aamina see herself dabbling in more lighthearted roles in the future - the winsome girl next door or the gaudy bombshell perhaps, should Bollywood come calling? “I'll see if and when such an offer arises,” she ponders. “Bollywood hasn't come calling yet so I can't say whether or not I'll work in India or not. I do think that I am lucky to be working at a time when Pakistani cinema itself is evolving and there is the opportunity to act in interesting, challenging movies. Only ten years earlier, our cinema was limited to bawdy gujjars. Now, I feel that acting in movies is my eventual goal. Television has its audience but a good movie has global appeal and is so much more effective.”

A hunky dory personal life topped off by a shiny, successful career - I tell Aamina that she seems to have it all. “I hope it stays that way,” she nods. “I have been very lucky in life but I have also worked hard for it. I come from a family of self-made people; individuals with humble beginnings who managed to be successful through sheer hard work. I am the same,” she shrugs.

While Pakistani television and fashion has seen its fair share of actresses cum models, Aamina Sheikh stands out - for the intelligence with which she speaks, her innate sense of style and for just being so instantly likeable. With a brilliant repertoire of work to her credit already and her eyes on a high-flying movie career, she continues to work hard - very hard - enjoying it all the while. The future can only get bigger, brighter, better.

caption

Aamina glams it up for L’Oreal with hair and make-up by Nabila. Photo by Abid Saleem

capiton

Cool personified: Aamina brought home a trophy from an NY film festival for her performance in Seedlings in which she co-starred with reallife husband Mohib Mirza. Theirs is a 21st century marriage of equals.