The past year has been quite a year for Sanam Baloch, but the feisty young star seems coy, nay almost embarrassed, when I meet her and express my admiration at her quick climb to success. Baloch came under the glitzy limelight with HUM TV’s ‘Chaudween Ka Chand’, aired last Ramazan, wooing audiences with her dimpled smile and innocent face. After that it won’t be amiss to say it became Sanam’s year, as she delivered one hit after another. “I joke around on the sets that I have delivered a hat trick of hits – ‘Chaudween Ka Chand’, ‘Doraha’ and now ‘Noorpur Ki Raani’” she laughs.
Baloch met Sunny Tunio on the sets of one of her talk shows. Later, when he was doing the play ‘Kalaq’ and needed a female actor, he approached her. Baloch’s initial reaction was an instant no - although her sister, Sabreen Heesbani, was already an actor - because she thought she couldn’t act. But upon Tunio’s insistence, she conceded reluctantly. Not surprisingly, the play turned out to be a hit. She says in wonderment “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that the play would be such a huge success. The play was aired at night, and in the morning I started getting calls from people congratulating me on my performance! In this day and age when there are so many channels this is truly remarkable.”
After this hit debut, Baloch took a sabbatical for two years. Says she “I wasn’t very mature when I launched my career in acting, but in these two years I grew as a person. Now, I know what sort of roles I want to do; what to look for in a director, and more importantly, that the script is vital in a play’s success.”
Consequently, Baloch got into the practice of saying “no”, and not accepting all the offers that came her way. Although she appreciates that she has been lucky enough to be offered so many roles in the first place, she is determined to maintain a certain standard, and accepts only lead roles. It is rare to find such confidence and focus in a newcomer. “My sister says I get things ready-made on a platter, and indeed, it’s humbling to have options at this age. New people have difficulties enough getting work, but I have been lucky that I have actually selected what I want to do” elucidates Baloch.
