Actress Fajr Sheikh, in an honest interview with Fuchsia Magazine, spoke about her life, family, and how her mom comically misinterprets her interactions with men as potential husbands.

Fajr disclosed that she is from Karachi and lost her dad early in life. Being the youngest among seven siblings, she lived in a very caring environment where her older siblings and brothers, 13 to 15 years her seniors, pampered her like a child and raised her.

Even though Fajr did not always dream of being an actress, her early interests were rather different. She initially wished to work in the banking industry and studied accounting. Her career path changed in 2015 when she was offered a chance to work in a beauty salon commercial. That is what made her interested in performing arts. She auditioned for a number of roles afterward but was not picked at first.

Eager to learn, Fajr took admission at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) to study acting formally. At the academy, she started taking part in theater, which slowly paved her way to professional acting. Her career in television finally gained momentum in 2021.

On a question about her personal life, Fajr jokingly explained how proposals for marriage have been a part of her life since a very young age. She remembered getting rishtas (proposals) already in eighth grade. Whenever she visited a family gathering or even a modest religious function like a milad, older women would turn up on her doorstep the following day with matchmaking agendas. At some point, she had to resolutely begin rejecting these proposals as they became overwhelming and obtrusive.

Fajr recognized that in most families, young girls no matter what their dreams are tend to be pressured into marriage. She pondered over the social attitude in which even doctors among girls are not exempt from this mentality. She added, People still say, What’s the point of becoming a doctor if she didn’t get married?

But now that she’s into showbiz and has made a name for herself, marriage pressure has been put on hold a bit. Her family now has faith that she will choose to marry as surely and on her own terms as she has chosen a career.

The actress a humorous anecdote that has become a common pattern in her life: her mother always sees every male acquaintance as a potential son-in-law. Whenever I bring a guy friend home and introduce him to her, she immediately starts imagining that he’s the one, Fajr chuckled. She starts complimenting him, asking him questions, and even calls him as if he’s already one of the family.

Because of her mother’s overzealous matchmaking nature, Fajr confessed that she now steers clear of introducing any male friends to her mom at all. Although it’s obvious her mother has her best interests in mind, Fajr appears to be playing hard to get, focusing on her career, and waiting for the right guy to appear on her own terms.

We welcome your contributions! Submit your blogs, opinion pieces, press releases, news story pitches, and news features to opinion@minutemirror.com.pk and minutemirrormail@gmail.com