Anika Zulfikar aka Faryal from Qarz e Jaan is loved by everyone for the raw and real representation of foreigner Pakistanis in the drama industry. The starlet started her career in Canada with theatre and appeared in YouTube videos with Shahveer Jafry. She started her drama journey with Imran Ashraf and Sarah Khan starrer Namak Haram. She sat for an interview with Something Haute and spoke about her journey.
Personal Life
Anika Zulfikar was born in Karachi and later on moved to Canada. She came back to Pakistan at the age of 10 and then went back when she was 15. She has lived there with her family since and recently moved back to Karachi as she wanted to pursue acting. She revealed that she worked in several music videos in Canada for singers like Karan Aujla and Jazzy B and she also performed in theatre but at some point you get stereotyped there and she wanted to explore more in acting.
This is what she shared:
The actress revealed that she came back to Pakistan because she never felt at home in Canada. She always thought that she found her identity in Pakistan and life abroad is not easy. There are a lot of struggles. Thus she always felt more connected to her own country.
Listen to what she shared:
She also revealed that she was a Hjabi till the age of 17 and she thinks that Faryal brought a cool and real version of a hijabi on our television. She was confident and not stereotyped into a mouse-like character:
Career & Qarz e Jaan
Anika Zulfikar said that she connects more to Nashwa in Qarz e Jaan. She revealed that her own mother was like Bisma. She was married at the age of 21 and she moved to Canada. Her mom had to live in Canada with her mother-in-law while her husband worked in Dubai. She never really spoke up for herself and Anika and her sister became her voice. Thus she connects to Nashwa far more than she connects to Faryal.
This is what she said:
She also shared that she has been working hard and she has been able to move into her own apartment while she has done advertisement campaigns and supporting roles and still she was able to sustain a life for herself:
