In a recent interview with Dawn Sunday magazine Atiqa Odho shared some very interesting thoughts. Atiqa Odho is very pretty but she does not think that being beautiful is everything. “I really believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is more to do with the nature of the person. Perhaps I’m blessed that I was born looking a certain way but that isn’t all there is about me. I have had personal struggles which have gone beyond the way I look.”
After being in the media for 30 years Atiqa Odho feels happy to be where she is today.
“When I was looking at the display of archives for my 30 years’ celebration, I could see a vast range of accomplishments. I don’t take all the credit myself as I could not have achieved anything single-handedly. But what a tremendously blessed life I have had. It gives me a lot of comfort to feel that I am able to help people around me.
My children are now grown up and grandchildren have become central to my life. My make-up brand is in its 10th year, I want to work with the breast cancer awareness cause and be very focused on it. And for as long as I am around, I will continue to work as an actor and producer. Even with all the challenges, I would still do it all over again.”
When asked if being good looking gives you an edge over others and helps you overcome obstacles Atiqa said, “The challenges are tremendous and it is a difficult burden to carry. Expectations are different. People want you to be a certain way and do certain things in life. Loag bari mushkil se aap ko sukoon se jeene dete hain. The intelligent will be able to read between the lines of what I am saying. There is always someone who is trying to get you; there are people who have a crush on you. I had my first stalker when I was 12 which is unnatural, intimidating and borderline frightening for a young girl.”
So what is Atiqa Odho doing with her life right now?
“Now in my mid-40s, I find myself wondering how will I deal with old age? I hope I am balanced enough so as not to be depressed about being aged and old. Being beautiful is a challenge, especially when you are in the limelight too much, in the same way as being unaware or uneducated is.
You can never go out for a meal with your family without being stared at. I have never been comfortable with being stared at. This is why I decided to convert this public interest in me to social work.”
Atiqa Odho has also started production, talking about that she said, ”
“Today, as an actor in her mid-life, I feel challenged as to why everything is about 20-year olds; why can’t a woman in her 30s and 40s have a story to tell? So I don’t just sit around waiting for those ideas to come to me but try to develop those as a producer.
Every character represents the society and should have a purpose, even if it sends negative energy across the screen. For instance, Farida in Humsafar was a product of the society.”
Atiqa Odho believes in hard work. “I believe that nothing is unachievable or unattainable. If you are willing to work hard and with integrity, you will reach where you want to go.”
