Miss Trans Pakistan Shyraa Roy may be well-known for her modeling, but did you know that she is also an actress? The first of Roy’s exciting new projects are already underway: she is presently filming the upcoming psychological thriller Sanak, in which she plays the lead role.
She spoke with Images about her recent de-nomination by the LSA and the obstacles she has encountered in her approach to where she is now.
Sanak, which is derived from the Urdu word sanki, refers to unusual and eccentric behavior. Roy disclosed that the film tells the narrative of a psychopath. My character’s name is Samaira Khan, and she is a popular actress on par with Mahira Khan from Pakistan or Deepika Padukone from Bollywood.
She is one of the most popular celebrities in the city and has millions of fans. This is my job; I play the film’s primary protagonist.”
The model described the plot of the anticipated film release for the following year. “The plot revolves around this mentally ill man, Zafar Minhas, who is madly in love with Samaira; he is her crazed admirer.
“However, he is so unstable that at age 12 he murdered his parents,” she stated. Now, to get to me, he is attempting to murder my father, my sister, and my manager, among others.
Roy remarked that despite the film’s classification as a dark film, there is something that holds your attention. She believes that the inventiveness with which the terrible murders are committed is a sign of creativity. The model also believes that the disparity between the killer’s demeanor and acts tugs at your heart and confuses your mind.
The film, directed by Hassan Fareed and scripted by Indian director Vikram Bhatt, combines show business with psychological suffering. It features a cast that includes Muneeb Ali, Mureeb Kazmi, Resham, Javed Sheikh, Beenish George, and others, as well as “some great melodies.”
“The picture will be released in March or April, and the first teaser will be released around the end of December or the beginning of January,” she continued.
Roy believes that playing the lead is a tremendous duty, especially in Pakistan’s film industry. In response to the ban on her friend Alina Khan’s film Joyland, the model chose to focus on the positive, highlighting the film’s success at foreign film festivals. Her team is consequently targeting both the Pakistani and foreign film markets.
Miss Trans Pakistan believes that the hostility garnered by Joyland was unjustified because “the film had several tastes and different storylines – it is simple to target the trans community.”
She posed several queries, including, “Tell me, is it impossible for a guy to fall in love with a khwajasira?” Does a khwajasira lack a heart and emotions? And there are so many men in love with khwajasiras in the modern world.
Therefore, if the picture depicts a true aspect, a highly spiritual love — he cares about her and is concerned about her — is the issue that significant to warrant such criticism?”
She believes that the Pakistani film industry desperately needs a change. “How much longer will we keep true stories out of the movies?
How long will we continue to portray fake storylines and romantic comedies? Are our citizens so insecure that they do not know which movies to watch? Is their judgment so poor?”
Although Roy does not anticipate the same level of criticism for Sanak as she did for Joyland, where the focus was on human interactions, she does predict that some individuals may have difficulties with a trans woman portraying a cisgender woman.
As an introduction to her criticism, she cited all the cisgender performers who have portrayed transgender characters and been praised for it, including Bollywood star Vaani Kapoor in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Sushmita Sen’s upcoming film Taali, and Pakistani actor Nayyar Ejaz in Shanakht.
“If so many of these performers have portrayed transgender individuals, why can’t a transgender girl portray a [cisgender] woman? If she can represent them, she will. I’m projecting the image of an actor, not my sexuality, she explained.
Roy is also a talented singer who was nominated for an LSA award. When asked about the hardships of a transgender person in the Pakistani industry, she revealed a recent injustice that she buried in silence.
This year, the model’s collaboration with Mohsin Abd Haider on the song ‘Kamli’ was nominated. After being invited to the wedding, she went from Dubai to Pakistan a month before her arrival here to film Sanak and rearranged her schedule to begin filming earlier.
She paid for her airfare and lodging, booked her grooming team, cosmetics team, and photographer, and had her expensive clothing ready in anticipation of her first nomination for an award.
Then, at the eleventh hour, she reported receiving a notification that she is being de-nominated because “there is currently a problem with trans persons.”
“I wept for around two hours, do you know why? Because my friends expected me to be on the red carpet and my entire team was prepared, my family anticipated my presence.
Whether I won or lost, at least I would be representing my neighborhood on such a large stage. “I could have made a big deal about it by going public, but I didn’t see the point,” she explained.
She stated that even major corporations discriminate against transgender individuals, refusing to compensate them for their labor. “They simply wish to demonstrate that they are representing trans individuals in a respectful manner for the image of the company.
So many clothing businesses with the capacity to pay us — many of which, I believe, would give other actors lacs or whatever they ask for — leave us with an apology and claim that simply associating us with their brand is a big deal. They do not pay us our dues, which we are entitled to get.”
Men ask her improper questions, like those posed to Biba in Joyland, she added, relating some terrible casting experiences. “They believe that trans actors are sexual objects, to be completely honest.
First, they ask incredibly personal questions, such as, “What’s between your legs?” I have been asked this by both drama casters and a very famous author whose name I will not mention.
“I had to zone out to answer such inquiries because they are so embarrassing and tough. One time I argued with them and blocked them, and another time I left the meeting immediately.
Casting is a distant concept; initially, they assault your body. They want to know about every procedure, when it was performed, how it felt, and our sexual preferences, among other inane inquiries.
They ask when you realized you were transgender, and others have even remarked, “You seem like a lady, so what do you have underneath?” she said, adding that these are both problematic and traumatizing questions to answer.
Roy stated that she is uninterested in acting in Pakistani shows since transgender individuals are portrayed as a joke and women experience daily humiliation and domestic violence.
She does not see room for her community here, but she is optimistic about the international industry.
