SHE was a simple city girl, who one day said playfully to her friends "I will become a superstar one day." Of course, she didn't even believed in what she had said. Call it destiny or whatever, but superstar she did become after a few years. Still in her teens, Reema got her first taste of fame when she made a debut in Javed Fazil's movie Bulandi, opposite Shaan.
A teachers' pet, Reema participated in all her school and college functions. However, at home she says that she was an altogether different person and was fond of solitude. "My mother used to ask me why didn't I participated in family functions like other girls," she reveals with a laughter. She confesses that she didn't do well in studies in her early school days. "I was made to sit with students who were below average, I used to feel ashamed. But then I thought that I have to put an end to it and prove myself as a bright student," she narrates. And that, she says, is what she eventually did.
Although pretty pleased with her career and enjoying the popularity and respect she gained from it, the film star does not find acting a suitable career option for girls. "They should sign a movie only when they are sure that they will be working with good directors and in a comfortable environment," Reema says, sounding serious and concerned.
She reveals about her early years in this field, "Initially I was quite gullible. The only thing that mattered at that time was having a large number of films under one's belt. Over a period of time, I realized that it's not the number of movies that count eventually, but, in fact, the quality of your work that pays off," the actor says in a single breath. Probably this realization made her stop acting in the run-of-the-mill type movies. She has given her career a new twist and landed in the territory of the directors with the release of her debut directorial venture Koi Tuj sa Kahan.
Reema also claims that she is one of the three highest paid models of the country. Her contract amount is, according to her, the highest among the female models.
Talking about music, she says, "Music is a gift of God. It is amazing how it has multiple effects on one's mood. It brings tranquillity and calmness, and when you are in a mood to party you can switch to some hip tunes and it will lift you up high. And if one is down and blue, then you can tune on some mellow tracks.
Reema's favourite Western singers happen to be Celine Dion, Marriah Carriah and Whitney Houston. But when she is in a mood to party and dance, she chooses some of the upbeat numbers by Jennifer Lopez and Madonna. Among the Indian singers, she simply adores the songs by Lata, Rafi and Mukesh. As for the younger lot, she enjoys the numbers by Sonu Nigham and Alka Yagnik.
Among our local singers, Reema terms Madam Noor Jehan and Mehdi Hasan as matchless. And she is of the opinion that the problem with the younger bunch in the music field here is that it is hard to differentiate between them. "They all sound the same," is how she sums up the matter.
Reema is not particular about movies, however, horror movies doesn't appeal to her at all. She claims to have watched almost all the movies of Jackie Chan and Van Damme (whom she met personally). But when it comes to naming her favourite actor, she mentions Sean Connery and Denzel Washington as the ones who have left a deep impression on her. "I have also seen all the movies starring Julia Roberts, and I do like Cameron Diaz she is natural on screen and I think she copies Julia Roberts while acting," expresses the actor.
Talking about her dream role she declares Rani Mukherji's character in Black or a role similar to it as the one she would love to do. "I would prefer to do a role which challenges me as an actor," enthuses Reema. "There is one more role that fascinates me and that is the one performed by Vijantimala in Amar Pali. She portrayed a classical dancer and looked bewitchingly beautiful in it," she adds after a pause.
Among the Bollywood female actresses she admires Nargis, Madhubala, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. About Rai, Reema says that she doesn't show those mechanical and artificial expressions while performing in a movie that are the trademark of models-turned-actresses. In fact, she thinks that over the period of time, Rai has improved much more than her colleagues. On being asked if she would opt for acting in an Indian movie, pat comes the reply, "Only if it's a joint venture." However, she does aspires to win herself an Oscar, for direction and performance both. As they say that nothing is impossible, so let's keep our fingers cross for it.
When inquired about not mentioning the names of any Pakistani actors she retorts, "You didn't ask me to name any". After what seemed like an afterthought, she mentions Waheed Murad, Nadeem, Babur Ali and Moammar Rana, and for the female counterparts she says Sabiha Khanum, Rani, Aasia and Neelo are the best ones.
Two of her all-time favourite movies are Braveheart and Gladiator. What is even more interesting is the fact that she decided to become a director when she saw the former in a cinema house abroad.
Reema has little to say about books, though she loves to read a lot. "I used to read in my school days all the popular series among the children of that time, such as Inspector Jamshed Series, Imran Series and Secret Seven," Reema reveals. Bano Qudsia (especially for her novel Raja Gidh) and Ishfaq Ahmed turn out to be her favourite novelists. Whereas Nicholas Path is the one whom she admires among the Western authors for his book The Notebook.
She is quite into the spiritual reading and, therefore, reads a lot about the life of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and a good number of dua and wazaaif. She claims to have had a flair for history in school but can't remember any book that she has read on the subject except studying it in school. For her, poetry is something that is very close to her heart. Among the poets whose work she likes to read are Ahmed Faraz and Parveen Shakir.
FAVOURITE MUSIC: Songs by Noor Jehan
FAVOURITE MOVIE:Braveheart
FAVOURITE BOOK: The Notebook by Nicholas Path
Edited by cutestar - 17 years ago
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