Spotlight Kehkeshan Awan

Spotlight Kehkeshan Awan

By

[Sadaf Fayyaz]

Tell something about your basic education and early life?

My education is a blend of Psychology and Business Studies in Marketing. My childhood was spent on Pakistan Air Force bases all over the country and was full of fun and adventure.

How were you offered a role in Dhoop Kinare? There was another serial in which you worked, named Jungle, tell something about it too.

Before Dhoop Kinare I had worked in ‘Jungle’ and another play called ‘Asman Tak Dewaar’. When Sahira Kazmi asked me to work in Dhoop Kinare and I accepted as doing a play with her and Haseena Moin as it was an exciting option.

How many serials have you worked in total?

Three Serials

Out of all the co-stars which one is your favorite?

Everyone in Dhoop Kinare was a role-model of sorts. Everyone I guess! And this includes the very competent production team as well.

Tell something about your ICI job and achievements.

Moving from the media to the business world was not easy as I had to continuously work on establishing my credibility in the corporate world’s peer group. Being a woman definitely adds another dimension to the career challenges. Looking back I guess my key achievement was to successfully lead the sales function which opened up a new path for the career progression of women in the company that I was working with.

You didn’t continue a career in acting. Is there any reason for that?

A full time job didn’t leave me with much time for pursuing my interest in performing arts.

Tell something about SIRAAT.

SIRAAT, launched in 2008, is my capability consultancy portfolio focused on developing business skills. In Arabic SIRAAT means ‘the path’ and as an acronym for my work it stands for ‘Strategic Intervention for Resource Activation and Training’.

What is the best part after an acquisition and the worst?

The key challenge in an acquisition environment is the integration of processes and teams. Good communication with all the stakeholders is extremely important throughout the acquisition process. As the Corporate Communications manager I learnt a great deal about this from the acquisition of ICI by Akzo Nobel.

Your ‘Anji’ role sounds a very sweet and loving kind lady, are you like that in real life too?

The fun in playing the ‘Anji’ character was that she is a full, 180 degrees different from me. I am career minded and enjoy being in a work environment. It was great to play this character. The one thing in common though is the passive-assertive trait. I too find myself sitting on-the-fence quite often -– not wanting to hurt others’ feelings but not wanting to give-in to their wishes either!

Who are your favorite actors?

I have always admired Uzma Gillani, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri.

How do you feel after almost two decades, when people admire your acting?

It makes me appreciate the immense talent and efforts of Sahira Kazmi and Haseena Moin who put products like Dhoop Kinare on the entertainment map of the world.

How do you take criticism?

We all like to think that we are good at what we do until someone points out the gaps… Over the years I have worked on developing the capacity to appreciate criticism and use it constructively. I now also train people in giving work-related feedback effectively specially in appraisal interviews.

Share your experience of working with Haseena Moin and Sahira Kazmi.

I was initially scared of her because I thought that I was not doing justice to the ‘anji’ character as she had envisioned it. At the time of doing Dhoop Kinare I also held a full time job and at times found it difficult to manage the two together. However, Haseena Aaapa’s script took care of the problem for me. The characterization and dialogues were so crisp that one didn’t have to struggle much to make the charters come alive!

I saw Sahira Kazmi as a perfectionist. And yet she was willing to take a risk with some relatively new members in the cast. She drove me to do better than my best-rehearsed performance and then she did a brilliant job of editing the scenes which made them look very natural.

What is your biggest desire and expectation?

To see our beautiful country progress and its people become one of the happiest in the world.

List any funny or memorable incident during shooting.

All of the six months of rehearsing for and recording of Dhoop Kinare were funny / fun-filled.

If you are given a chance to work with Haseena Aaapa, what would be your response?

If I can devote the right kind of time to it – definitely!

Are you a deadline oriented person or let the things happen their way?

I work best when a deadline is staring me in the face and is too close for comfort.

What is the most difficult part of acting? You find acting or your current job more difficult? Why?

Dhoop Kinare was a blend of comedy and romance. Both are difficult to do. It’s easy to cry in a scene but very difficult to make people laugh through a scene. Training people is difficult in a different way. People have different learning styles and designing a program that addresses all those styles in a short duration of one or two days is always very challenging.

What was the public response towards you when Dhoop Kinare aired?

At that time I got the feeling that the response was average. But for some reason the liking for the play kept getting stronger with each passing year. Two decades on I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s still poplar here and abroad as well.

Share a few lines on "Glass ceiling" in Pak companies. Is there any you faced being a female manager?

The Glass ceiling is a cruel reality in many corporations in Pakistan. Companies look at gender diversity in terms of the percentage of women employed in their organization. This is nothing more than paying lip-service to the issue. We need to look at the number of women in senior commercial roles in any organization to see that company’s mind-set towards women. In many organizations in Pakistan women get dropped out of the race for senior commercial positions and get stuck in middle management. We need to raise the awareness and accountability in this area from platforms such as the OICCI.

What are the most challenging and difficult part for a woman to be a leader?

The leadership challenges are the same for both men and women. One additional challenge for women, depending on the environment they are in, is to manage mindsets that might not accept women in leadership roles.

What is your message for the readers?

Maintain a healthy work‐life balance and enjoy the simple joys of life.

Woman Empowerment

Women Empowerment

By

Sadaf Fayyaz

(Published in She August Issue)

Gender equality is considered to be the vital concern in the development and welfare of a nation. Therefore, a nation must invest in women’s empowerment for the utmost development and welfare. A nation cannot move ahead without utilizing the experience and knowledge of both the genders. A politically and economically stable society is only assured if these forces are used effectively. Women empowerment is not only restricted to control over financial independence only, but it is a fusion of literacy, employment and health. Women empowerment has a positive relationship with the well being of their families and betterment of their country. Upon asking certain female celebrities belonging to different professions like show business, fashion, life style, management, music and entertainment, they shared their views on Woman Empowerment with us:

 

“Get educated mothers to teach the benefits of education to ignorant mothers. I think it could be a great way of enlightening women and girls.” Shakila Ahmed (Singer & Musician) 

“The issue of human rights and women’s rights is an issue of the greatest importance for Pakistan today. It is so important because -first and foremost - in order to make Pakistan a strong, self-respecting, self-sustaining country, it is essential to build its moral foundations and this cannot be done until justice is done to those who are the weakest and the most vulnerable in society. Abraham Lincoln had said that a nation could not survive half-slave and half-free. Likewise, without establishing gender equality and gender-justice, Pakistan can never become what Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-e-Azam wanted it to be. Economic and military strength, important as they are, cannot stem the rot that has set in through a long period of intellectual myopia and moral bankruptcy. The only way the process of ruin can be reversed is by building, brick by brick, a tradition of respecting the fundamental human rights of all citizens and residents of Pakistan, irrespective of gender, class, and ethnic, sectarian or religious difference.”  Mehrunnisa Hassan (Model, Actress, Classical Dancer and Singer)

“The empowerment of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic and health status is a highly important end in itself. In every society empowering women is a huge resource for social change and the broader fight against global poverty. It is essential for the achievement of sustainable development.” Sobia Nazir (Fashion Designer)

“I believe all women have 'empowerment' within themselves - they just need to recognize their strength and the contribution they are already making on a daily basis to the betterment of our country, as mothers, sisters, teachers, career women etc. The environment and opportunities need to be made more beneficial so that the power within women can surge to the surface. There are many draconian laws relating to women that need to be repealed in Pakistan - this is one of the major ways in which 'empowered' women of Pakistan can make a change for betterment of our country. Women also need to ensure that the correct and equal recognition is given to them as respected, honored and dignified citizens of Pakistan, This recognition needs to be given, starting from the government corridors all the way to individual households.”  Fariha Rashed (CEO Ink Magazine & National Communication Manager Red Bull)

 “In my view, for development and betterment, Pakistan needs a value system that fights corruption not only at the organizational level but also at the level of the institution called the 'family'. If women contributed to the income in the family and (as wives and mothers) instilled the right values, there's hope for things to move in the right direction. The question is whether they are empowered enough through education, career opportunities and an equality-status in the family to do this? Perhaps not! But it’s never too late to start.”Kehkashan Awan (Former Actress and now Industry Consultant at SIRAAT)

“Women Empowerment, for me means, when a woman walks side by side a man in all walks of life. As women if we are not equal then there is no way the world can progress. Woman empowerment means that a woman should not be discriminated in what work she chooses to do, what she wears and should not be tied down to traditions of a culture. She is free and thus can contribute equally as any male member of the society. Without women's empowerment, no country will progress as society needs women to educate, improve on her children, as well as sow the seed for tomorrow, which again means women should be educated and encouraged for further education. A child's education starts at home, and if you have an educated mother, the child is enriched. A man who can lose his job tomorrow can also rely on his wife for support, hence going through fewer traumas in life. Both as equal partners can contribute to a better world.”Sonia Ahmed (President - Miss Pakistan World and Mrs. Pakistan World)

“Women are as powerful and important in the development of our country and the uplifting of society as men. In fact one educated and empowered woman not only changes her own life but also that of her entire family and her future generation.” Nadya Mistry (Fashion Designer)

Until a woman doesn’t feel self-satisfied, she cannot contribute anything towards her family
so the ratio is one unhappy female = 5 unhappy family members.” Mona Jamal (Makeup Artist)