“I feel the day is not long enough for me to fit in all my work” – Vaneeza Ahmed

The multi-talented Vaneeza Ahmed. Photo: Kohi Marri.

It’s hard to get a hold of Vinnie, aka Vaneeza Ahmed, supermodel/creative manager of a fashion channel/lawn designer/TV actress. She is always on the go. Even when she schedules an appointment, other appointments are likely to run over, which means her phone will ring incessantly without an answer and your frantic text messages will be sent into an unresponsive void. Surely, the eight-armed goddess must be adept at time-management since she has quite a day to plan, between work at Hum TV’s Style 360º and work for her lawn designing studio, fashion shoots and TV commercials.

After waiting 20 minutes for the cool queen of the ramp to open her apartment door, I descend to the parking lot and wait some more for her to call back, getting the sinking feeling that I may have been jilted. Forty more minutes pass and I receive her breezy call informing me she is only two minutes away. After another 10 minutes, I am summoned to her luxury apartment in Bon Vista. After I ring the bell a few times, I am finally ushered in by the tall and lean lady herself.

Dressed simply in an ankle-length khaki skirt, and short-sleeved top, sporting large spectacles and unruly hair, Vinnie says she is not much into clothes as she has been around them too much. Gregarious and vivacious, she is an engaging conversationalist, giving dramatic opinions in her exuberant Punjabi dialect, the actress in her surfacing with the dry, enthusiastic, diplomatic or evasive responses. She is on all fours, looking for her cell phone charger, or in and out of the room checking on her cats, and constantly entertaining phone calls – either from friends who have just caught her ad on TV, or negotiating a prospective offer for another commercial, setting up appointments, or informing her siblings about what’s for dinner.

Playing her own agent with the utmost confidence, the lady is a content workaholic, expanding her career and versatility in the entertainment business. She loves to involve herself completely in whatever venture she embarks upon. Working on a tight schedule, Vinnie comes across as someone used to having things her own way.  Over to the super-achiever …

Q:  Why do you feel you need to constantly reinvent yourself?

A: Well, I do have a problem – I like doing different things. If you’ve achieved something, taken it to certain level, then you want to move on. For instance, I was doing lawn, which is very seasonal, so I still had a lot of time on my hands. As for modelling,  I had reached a point where I was so bored that it would show on my face.  I realised that I was not doing justice to it and felt that I should try out something new. Sultana apa asked me to join Style 360º and I was like, “What, naukri?!” because I’ve never done a 9-5 job before. In the fashion world, you set your own timings;  you’re the bloody queen of the castle. You have the power to say no. I started as GM Programming at Style 360º, but it turned out to be too technical for my liking. Then, I became part of the creative team, as GM Special Programmes, in which capacity I am responsible for the look of the channel.

Q:  How do you rate the fashion industry?

A: It has become more entertainment than fashion. There were a lot of variety programmes, so that really put me off. And I’m sick and tired of being a dulhan. Wohi kaam wala gharara ya lehnga hi bechna hai, aur wohi tika jhoomar.

When I started modelling, there was the initial excitement of just being out there and doing something, but after seven years of being a dulhan, that has dwindled. When you’ve worked with all the multinationals you ask, now what? Sure, there are new photographers and designers coming up, who want to try out different things. But most of the country is not interested in experimentation. The majority wants to see a decked-up bride.

Q:  Is there a paucity of agents who can strike suitable deals for you?

A: I think no one can make a better deal for me than myself. Every time I negotiate a deal myself, I get paid more. I explain to agents that the more money I work out, the more you will make. If I’m doing one ad a year, then I’m not doing it for just Rs 50,000. But you need agents who are well-informed about the markets. You can’t have one face doing multiple brands. This way you’re only confusing the consumer because you aren’t endorsing brand loyalty, which I really believe in.

An image has to complement each brand, like Shaan is a brand, Iman and I are a brand. When I am offered a commercial, I have to consider whether it’s good for my image, are they paying me well? It was a challenge to sell Dettol after Lux.  But I do use Dettol so I’m being true to the product and not lying about it. That matters to me. And I do use Sunsilk as well. That’s why I took this [Dettol] ad and said it’s my job to make the product work. I need to show my versatility in a way.

Q:  What is the most difficult aspect of modelling?

A: Nothing, really. You learn with time and from your mistakes. When you’re younger and there are no agencies, you don’t know what your rights are.  You don’t understand the legal jargon in contracts.  However, there are no major problems in fashion, because no multinational company will eat up your money. It’s more in the field of television that these problems arise because of private production companies.  Also, in the lawn business people within the same factory have copied my designs.

Q:  What gives you a sense of success as a model?

A: Success is very relative. Do you measure it in terms of the number of billboards you are on or the covers you’ve done? I’m not modelling for the money but I do have to pay my bills.  And monetary gain is certainly a measure of your success.  But being successful is very easy in Pakistan, especially now.

Q: But is modelling considered a more respectable profession now?

A: It is getting better. In the past, it was considered very trendy to be a banker or a doctor, these days it’s cool to be a model or an actor. I wouldn’t be receiving so many requests over the phone or on Facebook by people – sometimes even their parents – to help them get into modelling, if they didn’t find it acceptable.

Q:  You must come across a lot of men in the course of your work.  How would you rate the Pakistani man? It is often said that Pakistani women are far more interesting.

A: I think that’s true. Pakistani men do not have any hobbies or passions. And they say if they had money, they would take up the kind of sports that guys abroad do, like paragliding or something. But it’s not about the money. You can go swim in a naala for the sake of adventure. But do something!

Even in educated households, I find that men are treated better [than women] and I believe that it is the mothers’ fault. The guys are always made to feel like they have descended from the heavens and that women should feel blessed to have them around. I have come across very few men who are even remotely interesting.

Q:  Is that why you’re still single?

A: I really believe in destiny. There is a time for everything. I don’t feel the need to have a man in my life right now. I don’t feel the need to have kids. I just think no one can tell me I should “settle down” because I am settled down already. I am independent and I can support my siblings and myself. So call me what you will but don’t tell me after all this, that I still need to settle down.

Q:  What field are you going to venture into next?

A: I am thinking of designing clothes for babies. That market is wide open. Nobody is really doing baby clothes. Other than that, whatever comes along. Now I’m getting into direction, too.

Q:  Modelling, fashion designing, acting and now G.M. Special Programmes.  What has been the most challenging stint?

A: When you start off something new, you find everything challenging. I can’t be a dulhan anymore, and neither can I do stupid scripts any longer. So I even it out. I do commercial work, then act in something like Khamoshiyan, which challenges me as an actress, if you can call me that.

Q:  Do you find yourself limited as an actress?

A: I’m a director’s actress. And there are not many directors who do the director’s job. There are so many channels, so many dramas, so much work, but you’re not really acting because there’s no one guiding you. I’ve done plays like Suraj Girhan which was challenging because my character was married to the Quran. These days there are no roles like that. People think a star cast will make a serial sell.

Q:  Do you ever see yourself working in Bollywood?

A: Once, David Dhawan’s people had seen me and made an offer, but I thought to myself – am I really that sort of an actress? Of course, if Karan Johar were to call me up tomorrow, I think I would be stupid to refuse.

Q:  An actor you would like to be cast opposite?

A: Johhny Depp. More than actors, I think there are directors, like Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair, whom I would love to work with.