Pakistani actress Mehwish Hayat has confirmed in an interview that she will be playing Benazir Bhutto in the upcoming biopic of the political leader. For a long time, there had been speculations that Mehwish would portray Benazir Bhutto in a biopic and now the actor has revealed them to be true.
"This is the story of a hero. Benazir Bhutto is a hero to me, and I love that woman. Her story is so inspirational to me. This generation and the generations ahead must see her contributions, her struggles and her progress. She was the first woman [to be] Prime Minister."
She went on to talk about portraying Bhutto, claiming the role to be a "complicated" and "difficult" one, calling the biopic itself, "a huge subject and a very complex one."
Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of former President and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who founded Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). After rising to prominence in politics, she faced much opposition from Pakistan's Islamist lobby for her secularist and modernising agenda.
She was finally assassinated in 2007 during a public rally in Pakistan's Rawalpindi city when she was leaving in a bulletproof vehicle. Just when she opened the car's escape hatch, the assailant who stood only two to three metres from the vehicle, fired bullets at her and detonated a suicide vest, fatally wounding Bhuttom who died en route to the hospital.
Mehwish also shared a picture of herself reading a book on Bhutto on her Instagram account. She says that she looks forward to "giving life to her story soon."
Mehwish’s fans are thrilled ever since the confirmation.
A fan wrote on Instagram: “Indeed she's an inspiration for all of us & I also have read this book. She's my role model & the way she wrote her biography, so beautifully & dared to tell everything is remarkable & @mehwishhayatofficial I'm sure you'll ensoul this story so brilliantly. Best of luck & looking forward to it.”
Another one wrote: “No doubt with all due respect, there has never been any leader like Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto...❤ @mehwishhayatofficial 💖’
One fan writes: “She resembles Benazir Bhutto. I'd like to see her in that role.”
Mehwish also took a jibe at Bollywood for making films that portrayed Pakistanis in a negative stereotype. Mehwish is known for her films such as Load Wedding, Punjab Nahi Jaungi and Actor in Law. She was honoured by the Government of Pakistan with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz this year.
Tamgha-i-Imtiaz is a state-organised honour of Pakistan for civilians, given to civilians in Pakistan based on their achievements.