Recently, Pakistani actress Nimra Bucha spoke about exploring different platforms of storytelling through her latest project Yaar Julahaye, her hit web show Churails and being part of Marvel’s upcoming Ms Marvel, alongside Fawad Khan.
Nimra Bucha believes the success of her web show Churails gave her a fan base in India, that has been the highlight of her last two years. Nimra said, “It was a true collaboration – a very Pakistani show, a Pakistani story and facilitated by an Indian producer.”.
Churails was written and directed by Pakistani filmmaker Asim Abbasi and was co-produced by Zee Entertainments’ Shailja Kejriwal.
While Nimra played the role of Batool Jan, the web series also starred Sarwat Gilani, Mehar Bano and Yasra Rizvi.
Nimra is currently seen reading Ismat Chughtai’s ‘Mughal Bachcha’ in Zee theatre’s series Yaar Julahay. In an exclusive chat, Nimra spoke about exploring different platforms of storytelling, opening up borders for artistes and being part of Marvel’s upcoming Ms Marvel alongside Fawad Khan.
Regarding bagging her television roles, she said, “I don’t sometimes fit the stereotypical kind of characters that mainstream popular television offers. I’ve been lucky to find people who know how to work with the sort of performer that I am.”.
On Chudail’s bold story-telling, Nimra expressed, “We were so scared that this project wouldn’t see the light of day, just because it was a very honest piece of storytelling. The content was sort of brave, there were a lot of things that were shown on screen for the first time because no one else had the courage to do that. It didn’t have a lot of filters. So, we were not at all sure how people would receive it. But we were really overwhelmed by the love.”.
Talking about her on-screen character Batool, she said, “It’s a silly thing but I feel people finally noticed that I exist. Batool’s character gave me such a big margin to perform. So I got a lot of love, and lots of people, especially women have approached me. There have been arguments, debates. It’s been a very different experience and I feel blessed.”. She further added, “I think the biggest physical strain was to work in the summer two years ago. But the best thing was my costumes were very different from Jugnu (Yasra Rizvi) and Sara (Sarwat Gilani). Just that I had to pay attention to Batool’s body language because there was stuff Asim (Abbasi) was keen on getting right. If I would slip out of my character, he would remind me. And all the action is always a collaboration of so many people who will then make it look convincing even though I’m not good at doing my own stunts. So, when you look at yourself on screen, you say ‘Oh that’s me!’.”.
On the initial banning of Churails, she said, “Initially it was hurtful and disappointing because your show is taken off-air. Then you have to remind yourself that these are all bureaucratic things. People will be inclined towards something that’s been banned and they’ll still watch it. Just that broadcasters will suffer financially because it’ll be pirated content. We are so used to censorship in our countries, that we hesitate to do or say anything without censoring ourselves first.”.
Regarding Churails’ Indian broadcasting enhancing a welcoming change, Nimra expressed, “In an ideal world, we would be able to travel between the two countries easily. But the reality has been very hard. So I think it was really lovely that Churails was being broadcast in India and all over the world. Churails was one of those situations where people from both countries were equally involved in creating a show. I’m hoping it will continue and these silly things will take a backseat.”.
Confirming her upcoming role in the MCU, Nimra shared, “I can share that I am in Ms Marvel, but that’s all I can share! We will see you onscreen soon. We have shot a lot, but there’s more to shoot. I think it’ll come out next year. I haven’t even shared anything on Instagram yet. I don’t know what to say. I’m a very timid person, so I can’t share much. Fawad deserves all the love. He’s a very good actor.”.
Lastly, she revealed that she definitely wants to collaborate with the Indian filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj, stating Maqbool being one of her favourite works of his.
