Savera Nadeem

For Tv actress-turned-director Savera Nadeem, life is simply a journey of adventure and discovery. We recently caught up with her to find out how she prefers to chill out when she is not making memorable moments for the television.

When it comes to movies, the lady best remembered for plays like Savera and Inkar, that won her the PTV award a few years back, names two modern-day classics. “My favourites would most definitely be the Italian movie, Il Postino and the Chinese hit Hero.” Elucidating on what constitutes a good movie for her, Savera stresses that a film should be aesthetically pleasing.

“It should be the right combination of a number of elements. It should be aesthetically pleasing, and the drama, the music, the performances should all gel together. There should be complete harmony in what is happening on the screen.”

Starting her theatre career in 1989 with Ajoka, Savera talks about the current scene on the small screen, “Reality shows are the big thing. They are definitely in at the moment.” But when asked if she is now going to do a reality show of her own, she simply replies, “No, not at the moment.” Among others, Savera has directed a few love stories and a 13-episode serial called Qurbatoon Kay Silsalay.

Though the movies that she has named as her favourites just cannot be categorized as funny, when it comes to television programmes it’s the comic genre that she takes time out to watch. “I like watching stand-up comedy and comedy serials. Other than that, I also watch science fiction and documentaries.”

No wonder that her two favourite channels are the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel. “Just by sitting in the comfort of your home, you get to visit so many places in the world,” she explains.

So is she planning a trip to any exotic place? “Not at the moment, but it is definitely on my to-do list,” pat comes the reply. Adventure sports appeal greatly to her and she reveals, “I am really all for scuba diving and trekking. I am planning a visit to the northern areas as well as Nepal just for the purpose.” At the same time, Savera has her heart set on on skydiving.

Turning to talk about music, Savera says, “Almost all kinds of music appeals to me, be it classic, dance, soft rock or pop. These days I am basically hooked to modern rock. James Blunt is what I play these days.”

Apart from western music, her taste for the local, subcontinental music is somewhat restricted to a few names only. “Pathanay Khan is one of my favourite singers. Basically I like listening to Sufi music because it is soothing and not like the stuff that is being rolled out these days,” declares Savera.

Though it may rule the airwaves for most of the day and it may be the best selling music in this part of the world, Savera likes to stay away from Indian music. In fact, she has only a few words to say for Indian music, “I don’t like it.” Period.

“Of course I have heard a few Indian songs, you just can’t escape listening to them with everyone being so crazy about them. However, I have never taken time out to sit and listen to what is being filtered our way from across the border.” She goes on to explain that there’s no prejudice against Indian composers. It’s just that the kind of music that is being made there just does not appeal to her.

It didn’t seem wise to keep to the topic so we turned to the local music scene, the currently ‘commercially in’ beats of the Pakistani music.

Once again Savera holds a similar opinion, “I am not a particular fan of the Pakistani commercial music either.”

However, thankfully to the relief of the local artistes, she is a little more forgiving when talking about them. “Yes, there are a few names that I would like to mention. Fuzon and Strings are two of them. In fact I have used a few of their compositions in my productions. I also like a ‘few’ of Atif Aslam’s works,” she said, emphasizing on the word ‘few’.

Coming to the section where most on the Hot Seat feel lost or don’t have a clue of what to say, Savera can’t seem to stop talking about the books she likes and she loves to read again and again. “Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are my favourite books of all time. They are works of the highest order,” Savera fondly reveals.

And if anybody thinks that these works are good only for school children, the artiste totally disagrees, “What nonsense! Have you ever read these two works of brilliance? The material and the sensitivity in these books are unparalleled.”

Fiction appeals the most to Savera when it comes to books and poetry is what soothes her tense nerves with its beauty. And her favourite poet is none other than the matchless man Ghalib. “Ghalib, his work and the man cannot be praised enough,” opines she.

Commercial fiction is also on her bookshelf, but there is not particular author that she searches for in bookshops. Anything she gets her hand on and which clicks with her is a book she can enjoy.

Savera reveals that she is particularly fond of the international weekly newsmagazine Time. “I really look forward to reading it every week, especially its review section focusing on books, music and movies. I have found their reviews to be pretty accurate.”