With a vibrantly infectious personality, Zainab Qayyum is ready to conquer the world with her positivity and goodwill. She believes in taking things one at a time and believes in being grateful for what you have. After having a successful career in modeling, Zainab conquered the drama industry in the same way and proved herself through her performances in dramas such as Shehnai, Aangan, Mol, and most recently in Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay as Shagufta.
Here is all you need to know about what she had to say about life, her modeling career, the drama industry, and more.
Zainab’s Lesson On Optimism
Zainab Qayyum with her charming personality immediately captures your attention and her optimism is reflected on the screen as well. When asked about all the positivity she brings through her social media platforms especially Instagram, she replied that through all the inspiring posts, she wants to inspire herself and others. She further added that rather than focusing on setting benchmarks, it is better to focus on small goals and take things one day at a time and be grateful for the smaller things in life.
Zainab also stated that if she fails to achieve something for e.g. if she doesn’t get a project, she firmly believes that there is something better planned for her.
Moreover, she doesn’t believe in holding grudges, and even if she gets furious over small things that don’t go according to her plan, she relieves her frustration and moves on.
Her positive attitude towards life is certainly inspiring!
Trivia: Zainab has an obsession with stickers and she has a separate folder for GIFS and stickers for birthdays, get well soon messages, and also for expressing different emotions.
How She Got Into Modelling And Acting
Zainab praised Vaneeza Ahmad and gave her credit for guiding her during her career. She recounted that modeling was completely accidental and it began when she was there to help her friend, Ayesha, and her sister Vaneeza who was her senior in Kinard College during a fashion show, when for some reason, she was asked by Vaneeza to do model for the show. There she began her career in modeling never looked back!
Later she narrated how Vaneeza talked her into doing acting and told her that this was a natural progression to switch from modeling to acting. However, Zainab now feels that she was not so good a heroine and that there is constant pressure on models who are scrutinized when they switch to acting.
She also talked about various blunders that happened during ramp walks.
One incident she narrated was of a show where HSY sent her on stage and her saree came fully loose. She had to walk the ramp while holding her saree to prevent it from unraveling. She also shared incidents of wardrobe malfunctions that used to happen at times during the shows.
Her Childhood And Background
Zainab Qayyum lost her father at the age of nine. She was raised by her mother and planned to pursue dentistry as a career. She did her O levels from Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi and later moved to Lahore to do FSC. The decision to move to Lahore was Zainab’s own just because she did not want to go to a rival school to Convent.
Later when she realized that she had to appear for a test to get into FSC she instantly decided to switch to F.A and subsequently took an Msc in literature.
Zainab expressed her wish to do a show where she can help middle class families who are affected due to rising inflation and can’t ask for help.
Her Take On Loss And How To Move On
Zainab talked about the loss of her parents. She described how hard the months of November and December are for her since they both passed away in these two months. Zainab explained how tough it can be to go down memory lane and realize that you will no longer have those heart-felt moments with your loved ones who have passed away. The best thing she can do is pray and talk to Allah to ease her pain.
Zainab Qayyum described that it is not necessary to show your pain to others and instead what you can do is to try to cheer others up. She eloquently explains that her emotions are very special for her and she doesn’t like to overshare.
According to her, the Zainab part of her is very emotional whereas ZQ is rational but she certainly does not have a split personality!
Zainab also talked about her divorce and said that during this time she felt like a failure. She shared that she has no regrets and after she received the divorce papers she performed two nafals and asked Allah for forgiveness. She also forgave her husband, after which she said that she felt at peace.
She advised all the parents to support their daughters and not let them live in unhappy marriages. Also, she advised all girls to believe in Allah and that they shouldn’t feel afraid to start over and move on. Also as a pro tip, she added that we should try to keep ourselves busy to prevent negative thoughts from invading our minds.
Zainab revealed that she tries to take things lightly and uses humor as her defense mechanism.
Zainab Was All Praises For Her Co-stars And Other Actors In The Industry -Here Is What She Had To Say!
Ali Abbas is a fabulous actor and he effortlessly performs and delivers his dialogues. As for Affan Waheed, she declared him as her bestie and said that he makes amazing pulao and would sometimes surprise her by making pulao for her. Zainab was all praises for him and said that he has been there for her through thick and thin.
Zainab praised Dananeer Mobeen and her acting skills in Sinf e Aahan and professed that it is harder to make people laugh with an innocent and straight face than to make them cry.
However, about herself, she said that she is very self-conscious and doesn’t watch her own plays or watch herself on the monitor after the scenes.
I don’t watch my own plays, … I watch other people I admire
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay & Shehnai
Talking about Shehnai, she gave all her credit to Ahmed Bhatti and Saleem Mairaj for her performance.
Coming to Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay, Zainab was all praises for Mahira Khan and Kubra Khan for being punctual and not throwing any diva tantrums. When talking about the last scene with Mahira Khan, Zainab said that they shot the scene 12 times and in all 12 takes, Mahira and Zainab actually cried. She beautifully explained the psyche of her character in detail, saying that despite resenting Mehreen so much she wanted Mashal to be like her, and all her reactions were a culmination of her emotions.
Her Message For Society
When asked about which cause she would like to take on, she said she would like to work for acid attack survivors and that she has a deep respect for Masarrat Misbah and the work she does. Zainab also urged people to treat animals with kindness and not to hurt them.
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Zainab Qayyum as much as we did!
