Her flight began early last year and within a few months, she was soaring. Regular TV buffs cannot miss her. She's prominent in several promos - a housing scheme ad, a cooking oil commercial, a cosmetic spot and a major toilet soap advertisement she has just recently done.

Those who love to flip through local magazines and newspapers are familiar with her face since she's done a number of print media ads, too. She's an actress, model and a host. This newest sensation has literally shaken the Pakistani showbiz scene with her good looks and histrionics. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Ayesha Sana.

Ayesha's a lovely person to be with, unlike the rest of her shrewd and calculating contemporaries. With her around, there's never a dull moment. She's bright, intelligent and has a tremendous sense of humour, something most actresses in her category lack desperately. She's quick-witted, smart and hails from an educated but rather conservative family. But with the kind of persistence and determination she has, it wasn't hard for her to convince her family to let her become a part of the Pakistani showbiz scene.

After meeting Ayesha for our interview chat, we first laughed for about two straight hours about silly little things and when our guts couldn't take the upheaval anymore, we decided to exchange a few words for the paper. She refused to tell me her 'favourite flower and color' bit or what is the first thing she does when she gets up in the morning or when she stares back at her reflection in the mirror. "Please don't ask me such boring questions," she screamed. "Why the heck would people be interested in my favorite shade of lipstick or what mascara I use?" Since I, too, wasn't interested in indulging in such silly queries, I decided to talk about the incidents that have occurred during her association with showbiz.

It wasn't long ago when a showbiz journalist introduced Ayesha to Raheel Rao, a private TV producer. Since then, there hasn't been a single day when Ayesha's home telephone hasn't rung with offers from famous producers, "There were many people calling me," she confessed, "some of whom I didn't even know."

The offers were so many that Ayesha had to turn down quite a few of them, something a newcomer never does in the beginning of her career. But Ayesha was in a position to do so "despite the fact that I accepted many of them," she claims. "But then I could accommodate them. I can't accept offers beyond what I can easily manage."

Ayesha's first appearance on television was in the popular comedy series Family Front, "I met Samina Ahmed and she offered me a guest appearance in the ongoing play. My work was appreciated and later I was offered another episode. It was a good experience. I would have worked some more with them but then I was flooded with offers and I couldn't find time to work for them."

Ayesha's stint in Family Front proved that she can execute comedy roles quite well. In fact, it is after a long time that Pakistan Television has an actress who has a penchant for comedy. Her first serial Saas nahin raas was again a comedy. But the experience is not a good one. "Please don't ask me anything about it," she pleaded.

The newcomer is now engaged in doing serials like Girift from Lahore and Tawaan from Karachi. She's lucky to have done leading roles with veteran producers of PTV at such an early stage of her career. About her roles, she said, "In Girift I play an Indian agent who has plans to create havoc in Pakistan. It's a very challenging role. Tawaan features me in a very tempting character. In the Rashid Dar play Kafas, I play the daughter of a bureaucrat who lifts the cover off the corruption prevalent in society. It is a very difficult role and most of my scenes are pitted against an actor of Qavi sahib's caliber. The script is flowery and tricky, but nevertheless crisp. But I like working hard as this has opened various new dimensions in my career as an actress. Then in the Ayub Khawar's serial Kaanch ke paar I am pitted against Iffat Rahim and Jana Malik." The word is that if Ayesha works hard in these serials especially Jaal, she can easily win the best actress PTV award next year!

Ayesha also has a long play with Babar Ali titled Ideal to her credit but she's not very vociferous about it, "The team was new and my character was stripped of glamour and make-up. It is after working in a few episodes that you get to know what kind of make-up suits you and which kind of light can make you look good."

But the young debutante is all praises and excited about Hit Sangeet, the Rashid Khawaja program she's hosting, "This is one of my major breaks till now because I am the sole presenter in it."

On the modeling front, Ayesha has done ads and swayed on ramps, "Catwalk is the most difficult thing in modeling because it is live and you just cannot commit a blunder or else you're dead. My first professional show was at the Millennium Cafe in Lahore and I received a fairly good response. In my second show which was jewelry based, I was pitted against top models and still appreciated."

Some of Ayesha's plays to watch out for are Aan and Dil hi dil mein, "Aan is a mega serial with a very heavy budget and shot in Dubai. Abid Ali is the director and it is a multi-starrer production. Dil hi dil mein is again shot in Dubai and I love my role in it. Faheem Burney is directing it and we'll shortly leave for Malaysia to shoot the rest of the scenes."

She has also done two plays with Kamal Ahmed Rizvi that are yet to go on air. Last but not the least, her show Paighaam is for Prime TV. This is shown in the Prime TV's transmissions in Norway.

Ayesha's entry into the world of TV has added freshness to the otherwise stale scenario. Newcomers like her should be encouraged to rid the viewers of the monopoly created by the same boring and hackneyed faces.

Courtsy of Dawn