Pakistani actress Sarah Khan, who has a huge fan following in India courtesy her shows Hum Tum, Khirkiyan, and Sabaat, says her dream since the time she began acting has been to star opposite Bollywood star Salman Khan.
Sarah, 31, who currently features in Zindagi show Abdullahpur Ka Devdas, a classic love triangle that revolves around three characters, says she has fans both in India and Pakistan and given an opportunity would love to star in a Bollywood movie.
"For any actor, it is a big deal to work in another space so it will be great if I get to work in Bollywood. I would love to. I feel half of my audience is in India, and the other half is in Pakistan. Who is not a fan of Bollywood?... I really like Deepika Padukone. And when I began my career, I thought that I would work with Salman Khan," Sarah told PTI in an interview.
Her new show, shot just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, had a slightly delayed launch but the actor is confident that the old school love story will resonate with the audience".
"I wanted my audience to see Abdullapur Ka Devdas and my portrayal of Gul Bano. It's an old-school love story set in modern times. It's about two people who fall in love through letters.
"Audiences in both India and Pakistan love beautiful love stories. We both love 'shayari' and a story of love rooted culturally," said the actor married to Pakistani singer Falak Shabir.
Abdullahpur Ka Devdas, directed by Anjum Shahzad and written by Shahid Dogar, also stars Bilal Abbas and Raza Talish. It is produced by Shailja Kejriwal.
Sarah believes the reason behind the popularity of Pakistani serials in India is their portrayal of day-to-day reality.
"These are stories that more or less are happening in our homes and our neighborhoods. So people from both countries can relate to it. Our actors are known for their natural acting, hence the audience feels connected to them," she added.
According to Sarah, Pakistani serials are also evolving with time and looking beyond the typical "hero-heroine centric plots".
"It is no longer just about the love story between two good-looking people," she said.
Sarah, who wanted to be a singer in her school days, said she found her way into acting by chance when she met people from Hum TV during the recording of one of her songs after which she was offered her first drama Badi Appa.
"I thought 'Let me do it since it's the time of school holidays', but that project made me realise how big a responsibility it was. I stayed away from acting for a few years but I couldn't find joy in any other thing. It made me realise that I wanted to be an actor and there was no looking back after that," she said.
Abdullahpur Ka Devdas can also be viewed on YouTube.
Sandhya Suri poses during a photocall for the film "Santosh" at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2024.