Simi Raheal
By Afia Mansoor


Simi Raheal is one of the most sought after actors in the Pakistani media today. She has been a part of television, theatre, radio and advertising since more than three decades and interestingly that’s not all about her. She is a teacher, a gender activist and the mother of super model Mehreen Raheal. Her charisma exudes from her genuine expressions and spirited conversation; it is reflected in her heightened aesthetic sense if you see her tastefully done house. Her close knit circle of friends in the media hold her in remarkable respect which is perhaps why she has worked with nearly everyone to their satisfaction. You meet Simi and realize that she is trying to live every second of her life to the fullest and radiates her energy onto you instantly.

HUMSAY had a tête-à-tête with her on what she has been up to recently.


Q: You and Mehreen make the most successful mother-daughter duo in the Pakistani media today. To what do you attribute this success?

A: (Laughs) Lots of blessings of Allah really. And then I think a lot of diligent hard work. We are extremely conscious of our commitments and of being punctual. I guess when you work like that your credibility follows you around. That’s pretty much the mainstay of our supposed success.

Q: You have been involved with television, radio, theatre, film, music videos and commercials. Which genre do you prefer the most?

A: I have been asked that before. And the answer remains the same. I can’t pinpoint which is better. Each genre of work for me, whether it is radio, television or advertising has its own energy and spirituality. I have loved doing theatre because of the instant gratification and adrenalin rush it gives you. I have loved radio because you could be talking to the world sitting in your pajamas and pretend you have the best ball gown on. Every genre has its own novelty and if you ask me that is perhaps the ingredient to success. If you keep feeling novelty in your work you enjoy it tremendously.

Q: You’re also a gender activist. Tell us what you are up to these days on that front.

A: I believe in gender balance within the limits of a social and religious framework. I teach Gender and Ethics at the Kinnaird College because I feel Media has a great responsibility in bringing this balance. Teaching is the love of my life. It’s the most exciting thing for me. I teach at an institute called South Asian Media School, which is being monitored by the South Asian Media Committee, where a contingent of students from SAARC countries is brought in every year and given intensive classes and workshops on various media issues. This year we have students from Srilanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Pakistan and I teach Media and Development. On the Development side I teach Gender and Human Rights and conduct thrice a week workshops on applying the learning tools practically in media. I have also read papers internationally and done workshops locally.

Q: How did this media school come about?

A: In 2007, SAFMA a network of journalist and media practitioners from South Asia decided to start a teaching initiative which would cultivate a new generation of media persons in the region who would be aware of the socio political nuances of the region and would pitch in their share in it responsibly. The school is an initiative to equip participants with latest knowledge on media and the social responsibility that goes with it. It’s a great grooming platform for the region and we also have a theatre festival on feminism coming up in August.

Q: What have you been involved in with HUM TV recently?

A: I recently did a serial for Hum called Najia. It was based on Razia Butt’s novel. I acted as a motherly Anglo Indian housekeeper living in Mauritius. It was a really good experience. The cast was good the production was professional and Mauritius was fabulous needless to say. Another project with Hum is lined up but lets keep it as a surprise. It is also based on a Razia Butt novel though.

Q: Which has been your most enduring piece of performance till now?

A: It was one of the most popular plays of PTV called Khwahish that was aired in 1991. I played the part of a gypsy woman who had a deformed child. I also loved Asfhaque Ahmed’s ‘Na man milay na peeh’ in which I played the part of a spirit living in a grave. The experience was so profound it re invented me as a human being. I think that is what young actors need to realize. That you need to be selective with work. That a powerful script has to be simulated in the mind and soul and so the strengths of a character can have a profound impact on your life and so can its weaknesses.

Q: You worked in Shoaib Mansoor’s acclaimed Khuda Kay Liyay. How does it feel now that the film has made history?

A: I feel Blessed. I had always wanted to do a good film. I had never imagined that one day Shoaib Mansoor would himself come to me and say I want you to be part of this film. I never asked him a single question. Because that is the track record he carried with him. I feel proud that I became a small part of history with that film. It was a great experience.
The film was a very brave endeavor considering the times we are going through. It was a passionate journey of love and patriotism.

What would you like to see changed in the Media?

A: I would like the media to reflect the reality. I would like that media represents people as who they are versus what they are perceived to be. It should potry our laughter, our tears our emotions as they are. I must say that the new generation of talk shows being aired have a lot to learn about ethics. Journalists and actors need to go back to school to learn a thing or two about ethics and morality.

What do you want to say to the educated young women of Pakistan?

A: My favourite line has always been from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in the Wonderland’, “If you don’t know which way you’re going, any road will do’.

And as Shakespeare says in Hamlet:

‘This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man’.

I would say don’t put barriers to yourself. Open yourselves to education, enlightenment and allow yourself to learn.

This interview was published in HUMSAY; a magazine of HUM Television in September 2008