Veteran actress Rubina Ashraf has many feathers to her cap, for the wonder woman from the golden era of PTV has not only given us breathtaking performances in Kasak, Tapish and Hazaron Raaste, but has also played an active role in the fields of direction and production. To add to the celebrations of Ashraf’s birthday, which occurred on the ninth of this month, here are the actor-director’s best directorial works.
Tere Siwa
Tere Siwa hit the television screens in the early 2000s, and had a cast the kind of which we would still love to see on TV, such as Saba Hamid, Vaneeza Ahmad, Jamal Shah, Adnan Siddiqui, Badar Khalil, Naila Jaffery and Rubina Ashraf herself. Written by Mohammed Ahmed, Tere Siwa was way ahead of its times for its incorporation of multiple issues faced by women such as being burnt alive post-rejection, being domestically abused and being asked to submit before men. Both Rubina Ashraf and Mohammed Ahmed were brave enough to highlight these issues during the times when feminist dramas were not much in vogue and such serious societal issues rarely made it to the limelight. One of the best lines of the serial, eloquently delivered by Saba Hameed, was, “Mein mohabbat mein jaan dene par yaqeen nahi rakhti. Mujhe apni zindagi aur apni azaadi buht azeez hain [I don’t believe in giving my life for love, my life and my freedom are dear to me].”
Phir Youn Love Hua
Phir Youn Love Hua followed Tere Siwa, and once again had a stellar cast including Ali Kazmi and the super-model, Nadia Hussein. A serial, the title song of which grew quite popular in those times, Phir Youn Love Hua was written by Seema Ghazal and directed by Rubina Ashraf, who once again showed her progressiveness by dealing with the issue of relationships developed over computer chats, something which had just been introduced in Pakistan back then. Phir Youn Love Hua amalgamated this burgeoning issue with decades-old customs of Pakistan, thereby turning the serial into a wonderful representation of generational gaps.
Aik Adh Hafta
Aik Adh Hafta was a long play which had a minimal cast, but with breathtakingly beautiful dialogues and an inspiring storyline, it won the hearts of many and also bagged an award at HUM TV’s telefilm festival. Since the writer Ali Moeen and his co-director Naeem Khan were short of funds, Rubina Ashraf not only assisted them in the direction but also produced the telefilm, roping in Badar Khalil as the ailing mother nearing her death and trying to make out the meaning of life.
Ruswai
Ruswai happens to be Rubina Ashraf’s latest directorial work, released in 2019 and continuing into 2020. Ruswai dealt with the issue of gang rape, with Sana Javed and Mikaal Zulfiqar in the leading roles. Written by Naila Ansari, Ruswai also took its inspiration loosely from the life of Mukhtaran Mai, who also made a cameo in the last episode of the serial. Ruswai, like all other directorial works of Rubina Ashraf, also had a wonderful star cast such as Usman Pirzada, Irsa Ghazal, Mohammed Ahmed, Seemi Raheel and Osama Tahir.
