In the constellation of Pakistani cinema, there shines a star whose brilliance knows no bounds — Mehwish Hayat. With a career spanning over a decade, she has not just graced the silver screen but has become its guiding light, illuminating every frame with her unparalleled talent and charisma.
Rumoured to be the highest-paid female actor in Pakistan, Mehwish’s journey to the zenith of stardom has been nothing short of extraordinary. From her early days in the industry to now being hailed as one of Pakistan’s biggest female superstars, she has captivated audiences with her magnetic presence and powerhouse performances.
Her cinematic voyage has seen her traverse diverse landscapes, from gripping dramas to captivating musicals. But it was her groundbreaking role in the global Marvel series that
catapulted her onto the international stage, cementing her status as a force to be reckoned with.
Beyond the silver screen, Mehwish’s talents transcend boundaries, as evidenced by her mesmerising appearances in music videos that have left audiences spellbound.
In 2019, she was honoured with Pakistan’s highest civilian award, the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, a testament to her indelible impact on the nation’s cultural landscape.
With a single film release every year, Mehwish may be sparing in her cinematic ventures, but each outing is a testament to her unwavering commitment to excellence. Time and again, her films have not only set the box office ablaze but have also garnered rave reviews, with critics lauding her performances as nothing short of exceptional.
Now, as she returns to the silver screen with “Daghabaaz Dil,” a spellbinding tale of marriage and supernatural occurrences, Mehwish Hayat is poised to once again enthral audiences with her unmatched talent. Directed by the visionary Wajahat Rauf and co-starring the esteemed Babar Ali, the film promises to be a cinematic spectacle like no other.
Ahead of the film’s eagerly anticipated release, we had the privilege of catching up with Mehwish Hayat herself. In our exclusive interview, she shares insights into her craft, her experiences on set, and what audiences can expect from her latest cinematic endeavour.
Prepare to be dazzled, as Mehwish Hayat takes centre stage once again, reminding us all why she is truly the epitome of stardom in Pakistani cinema.
So good to see you Mehwish. Now that the film is finished and released, how do you feel?
Mehwish: Very excited but at the same time very nervous too, like always. There are always these mixed feelings with these releases. A lot of excitement, I have very high hopes that it works and that it does well, because it’s the only thing coming out and it’s a complete family film with entertainers and all the masala and everything that a family fun movie should have.
Well, I’ve watched the trailer, and I absolutely loved it, mainly because, the story line sounds really bizarre but it’s sort of connecting as well. So tell me if I’ve got this right. So, your character, she is spiritually possessed, whether that’s the evil eye or a jin, that’s how it starts out – we get this little background, and then the family want to palm her off because of this, by getting her married. And then obviously what happens after that is what we’re yet to see. So, what attracted you to such an unusual, yet mysteriously interesting storyline?
It is and let me tell you something Fatima. a lot of the things that we see in the trailer, are in a different order.
Oh, so there’s more! You see this is the fascination, now we want to watch it! We want to watch it for this reason.
Exactly! So, the order and the way it goes, it may not be the way that we see it in the trailer. But it is still the same entertainment and fun, with all these elements that you see in the trailer, it has all the masala, like I’ve said, and I love the supernatural thing about the story because this has not been done before in Pakistan, you know. So, its something that is unique, it’s a horror comedy element, so that’s something that everyone enjoys. People need entertainment, people need to disconnect from their lives, issues, miseries, whatever, for two hours they just want to get entertained, and I think that’s what this movie does.
And we do come from a community whether Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, most of us from the sub-continent do actually believe in supernatural beings, whether that’s the evil eye or a jin.
Absolutely Fatima! Didn’t we all grow up hearing all the stories? All those bedtime stories, sitting with friends and so we’re all used to hearing these stories and also there’s a lot of fascination around it and mystery around it and that’s how it’s always been. And so being a part of such a story makes it so much fun because we all are deep down scared of these things but at the same time, we want to know about it, we don’t want to talk about it, and we want to hear stories. So, I think it’s fun in a way, and it’s something that really intrigues all of us, the supernatural element. And especially from this part of the world, we all grew up hearing all these stories and cooking up stories and scaring your friends and family, so I think the spooky element is really a lot of fun. And I hope that people will enjoy it when they watch it on their screen.
“Supernatural elements intrigue all of us, especially from this part of the world, we all grew up hearing all these stories and cooking up stories and scaring your friends and family, so I think the spooky element of Daghabaaz Dil is really a lot of fun.”
No definitely, I’m looking forward to it. Now you’re returning to working with Wahajat Rauf, and the two of you have had a huge and successful film before, Chhalawa, and you’re coming back together after five years. Is it a completely different experience working with him now or have you just picked up from where you left off?
So, Wajahat and I had done this film and also the same year we had done a TV show for Eros India. I had a wonderful experience that time also and then between those five years, he offered me a movie, I was busy at that time, so I didn’t do that one. This one when he called me, and he told me that there’s an amazing script that I have, you’ll love it and you must hear the story, I’ll get it to you, if you like it then let me know. But you’ll have to let me know like by today or tomorrow because we’re short on time and we have to release on Eid. So, we have to start shooting”. So, this is December end and Eid is two days away now, so we literally had no time. So, when I heard the story, he narrated it to me and I was like ‘Wow, okay I like it.’ There is something about it and its going to be a fun joy ride to be part of and people will enjoy this movie and I think I had a good feeling about it, so I said okay lets do it. And then, the only difference between Chhalawa on which we worked like five years ago and this one is that we were really short on time, like there were no breaks. Literally usually you know what happens is like we have 15-day shoots and then you’ll have a ten-day gap and then another location for ten days and it goes on for a couple of months and the shoot happens with breaks and there’s a lot of time. But in this one we literally had no breaks, like not even Sundays were off, and then even if there would be an off day for any of the actors, they would just go – I also used to do that, I would go and record the dubbing for it. So that way I literally had zero time and also the pressure of an Eid release and we’re sitting like two months away from Eid and we’re shooting and we have to do a lot of work, so that pressure was daunting, and I think all of us were going through that pressure but still the experience was amazing, because we were like one big family and we all were supporting each other through this, we were all like trying to get the work done and give our best at the same time. But I felt Wajahat this time had a lot of pressure on him. I could sense that as a director he has ten thousand things running in his head, but it was an equally enjoyable experience as well, like the last time and nothing much has changed its just that the timelines were really tough and to meet those timelines we were all like going crazy. That’s what happened, but again I think with all the fun we were having behind the camera and behind the scenes, I think that is going to reflect in the movie when people watch it and they’ll be able to enjoy along with us all the chaos and madness that happens in the film.
By the sound of it, you’ve put everything into the film, which is great. And like you said, when it’s a big Eid release it comes with a lot of pressures because places like Pakistan and India its holidays and even here now, for us South Asians we tend to take the day off and cinema is a family outing. So, with that pressure and with expectations, there’s also the fact that in the UK your film will be competing with films from Hollywood and Bollywood, who normally have much bigger marketing budgets and they can actually spend more money in terms of pushing more marketing out there and doing more promotions and things like that. How do you feel about being in that space and competing at such a level?
I don’t know which Bollywood movies are coming out, but then again, I guess the audience would be divided when it comes to Bollywood and Pakistani cinema. But I believe if your product is good, if it’s a good film, people will watch it. They would watch the Bollywood one and then watch the Pakistani one. So, I think the chances of us doing well in the UK is huge, because we also have a lot of Pakistani fans in the UK, and Pakistani families and community that actually wait for Pakistani films to come out as an Eid release. So, I think they’ll have the option to watch both the movies and I hope that they watch both, I mean if they are watching a Bollywood movie they should also watch our movie as well. I think that would be great, that’s what I hope and pray for, I mean we can only hope and pray for it we really don’t know what happens until the box office results and the feedback.
But we’ve not done much marketing to be honest, and like you said they have huge marketing budgets, and here I don’t think we’ve done a lot. So its only going to be a word of mouth thing and it’s going to be that people see that it’s a Pakistani film, they see me in it, in the trailer and the poster, and all of my fans, the USP, please my fans don’t let me down, go watch my movie please.
I definitely would be going to watch it. You’ve got a huge fan club here in the UK and I’m sure all over the world. Before we end this interview, I’ve got a couple of rapid questions for you and we’re going to start with rumours. The first rumour we have on you, is that you’re the highest paid super star, how much truth is there in that?
All I would say about this, is that I wish it were true.
We think it should be true
I wish it was true, I mean I get paid well I will say that, but the figures the articles are carrying have no substance to it and no truth to it. Its just some BS to be honest. I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s a click bait. No, I may be the highest paid, to be honest. I may be the highest because it’s the A-listers actress list and I’m hoping that I’m behind … but the figures are basically just made up.
Tell us about your collaboration with Yo Yo Honey, what’s the truth in that?
Oh my God, it was such an amazing experience, working with him, it’s a fun party song that he recorded and I’m singing in it and also featuring it as well, and yoyo has done the rap and the singing part as well. It’s a very nice song and I mean I’m so excited about this one and I can’t wait for you and all my fans to hear it finally once it’s out. It was a wonderful collab, it was long overdue, we had been discussing it for a long time and now finally we were able to record this last week and here we are. Its an exciting collab and one collab that I’m really really excited about and looking so forward to releasing to be honest.
That’s great and we’re definitely excited, I’m even more excited now that you’ve said you’re going to be singing in it as well. I mean we’ve seen you in music videos and you’re also a wonderful dancer.
You’ll see me dancing too!
That is what we want to hear, definitely looking forward to that. And how is your production company going – Pink Llama films. How is that shaping out?
Mashallah, things are looking good. We have a couple of really interesting projects that are in pre-production at the moment, we’re just getting the scripts written and I’m hoping that by the end of this year we are going to be announcing our first project from Pink Llama films, we just need a lot of prayers from you .
Definitely that’s always there. I’m going to end the interview with the most important question obviously, firstly everyone has to go watch your film and secondly, but before that you’re going to tell us how you’re going to be celebrating Eid.
This Eid is special, of course every Eid is special but this one, usually my films are released on Eid. So, this is usually spent at home just chilling, having food and catching up with relatives. But this time I know that I am going to be going to the cinema’s a lot with my friends and family, I know another bunch of friends would be like let’s go watch your movie, so I know I will probably be running to the cinema a lot this Eid. Otherwise, it’s the best time to really unwind, to catch up with family, it’s a long holiday this time, six days this year. So I’m just going to really take it easy because I’ve had a really hectic schedule for the past two months, so this is the only opportunity where I can really relax and really catch up with the family and friends and just have good food, then sleep, catch up on my sleep, I think its going to be a relaxing Eid, but at the same time I’m obviously reading all the reviews and catching up with what’s happening with the movie.
So, I just want to say to my fans, please go watch and show support and love and I want to wish you all a very very very happy Eid
Eid Mubarak to all
