If there’s one actress, who has that unique quality of making each character her own with her natural acting prowess, it’s Zhalay Sarhadi. Not just TV, the very talented actress earlier amazed us with Jalaibee and is now set to star in the upcoming movie Chalay Thay Saath.
The Express Tribune got in touch with the cast of Chalay Thay Saath, the conversation kick-started on a quirky note with the ever-charming Zhalay Sarhadi joking about being compared to Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra. “I started working the same year that Indian channels got banned in Pakistan and Priyanka became Miss World. I remember, I was hosting a show back then and everyone thought it was Priyanka and not me,” said the supermodel. “It’s been this way ever since that time. I bet even Priyanka knows about me by now.”
Zhalay recalled how once an Indian actor she had been working with sent a picture of hers to his friends and agents as a joke. “The agent asked him, ‘Who is this? Priyanka ki cousin aisi tau nahin hai. Someone from India then approached me to do a body double for Priyanka, which really offended me,” she said. “I thought, ‘really?’.”
About the role she has plays in Chalay Thay Saath, Zhalay proudly said, “I don’t play the female victim anymore; I do characters that are real. In films, you’ve got more opportunities to explore but breaking stereotypes takes a lot of work and I believe films like Chalay Thay Saath are doing that.”