By Navaid Rashid

At a time when her co-stars are making frequent trips to India in the hope of making it big in Bollywood, Resham entertains no such thoughts. "I was offered a role by Rahul Rawail but I declined the offer as it required me to wear revealing outfits and also do a love scene with Sunny Deol.

If I do all that in India, people here in Pakistan will take it very seriously. I will only accept an offer from Bollywood that is according to our cultural values. We all saw what happened to Moammar Rana in Dobara.

The day our stars make a name for themselves in Bollywood and earn the respect that is their due is that day I will be convinced that our stars can make it big in the Indian film industry. Naturally, for the Indians their artistes come first."

Acting aside, Resham made headlines recently because of her planned marriage to Paris-based Pakistani designer Mehmood Bhatti. The couple had reportedly decided to tie the knot and everyone expected to hear wedding bells soon when suddenly it all ended quite abruptly.

"Bhatti and I were about to get married but then I felt that I was not ready to take up the commitment of a lifetime. After his divorce, he proposed to me and I initially agreed, but then certain things had to be considered. There was the age difference between us. Then, he couldn't leave Paris and I couldn't leave Pakistan to be with him. Therefore, we decided to part amicably."

She added: "Bhatti had proposed earlier, too. He told me once that he wanted to marry a Pakistani girl, in this case, me. I was flattered. Paris is full of beautiful women and I'm nothing compared to them. If he likes me, what can I do about it?"

Resham scorns the allegation that it was all a publicity stunt engineered by her to stay in the news. "What publicity will I get from Bhatti? Had it been Shahrukh Khan or Brad Pitt, I can understand. But Bhatti? He might have obtained publicity from it, but not me."

And what about her marrying the man for his money? "What? I already have everything I need. I will never marry someone for his riches. Whoever I marry will definitely want to know about me, scandals, films, etc. It's a lot of baggage. I feel I am still not ready to get married."

What about love? "Who hasn't been in love," Resham confesses. "I feel a good artiste needs to be in love to become even better." Back to her work and Resham sees the coming of super models in films as no solution for the betterment of the industry, "They are not bigger models than Aishwarya Rai.

Except for two films, even Ash looks like a lifeless mannequin in her films. These models are so used to being stiff and poised that they cannot get out of it. They behave like models even in everyday life.

You have to kill the model inside you to become an actress. The body language has to change. They should be able to take on their characters and not just look good. It is easy to be photographed, but very difficult to act."

Popular opinion has it that Resham is the heroine with the most class in Lollywood after Neeli. She is also the only one to have a somewhat successful modelling career.

But Resham's forte is acting, making her the best in the industry today and not at all happy on being stereotyped by Lollywood film-makers and dancing to cheesy songs with dubious content.

It is not surprising then that Resham took a year off from the film industry. "I did 40 films in 2002 alone! And they were all the same as Punjabi films need a lot of energy in terms of dance, dialogue delivery and body language. And I got sick and tired of all that.

Needless to say that except for two, the remaining films bombed at the box-office which sent a clear signal to me to distance myself from such productions. The only good that came out of it was that I proved my critics wrong who thought I couldn't do a Punjabi film."

And so the star of films such as Sangam, Jeeva and Dupatta Jal Raha Hai waited for a film that would carry some meaning. Resham didn't have to wait long before film-maker Mubasher Lucman came up with Pehla Pehla Pyar.

She says she literally jumped at the offer. "It was like a dream come true. I am proud to be a part of Pehla Pehla Pyar as it is not only strong content-wise but also one of the best films technically to date in Pakistan. What's more, my role is a central one and I love it. My entire career depends on it."

Resham terms her experience of working with Mubasher Lucman as pleasant. "I was surprised to see him work like a pro although it is his first film. The role he gave me is perhaps the best character a female lead can have."

There are those who point accusing fingers at Resham, saying that she left Syed Noor in the lurch when she decided not to work with him. Syed Noor, for his part, says that she was rude to him. Resham vehemently denies all such talk. "It was the other way round.

Syed Noor stopped working with me after our films won National awards for both of us. When Saima arrived on the scene, he started focusing more on her and I quietly opted out.

I am a professional actress and if I can perform better than others, why should I let them spoil my career? The day Syed Noor writes a good role for me, I will work with him. He is still the best director our film industry has."

Another director Resham never works with now is Javed Sheikh with whom she shared hits like Yes Boss and Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaye. Is she daggers drawn with him, too? Resham disagrees, "I have good relations with Sheikh saheb. In his case, Sana took over his heart and so she is now in all his films.

I am in the film industry to work. I have talent so why should I be insecure? Why don't Syed Noor and Javed Sheikh cast their favourite heroines with me is parallel roles? Then we'll see who has talent and who doesn't."

That is exactly why she walked out of Reema's maiden directorial venture. Though Reema has called her rude and bad-tempered, Resham has another story to tell. "Reema signed me. I didn't force her. She likes me as an actress and wanted me to be in her film.

I liked my role but then the writer told me that my role had been cut to a great extent. Obviously, Reema is playing the lead in the film and she would make herself look the best.

How can I play a supporting actress? If I was her, I would not act in the film and concentrate on direction only. But it was her choice. If she makes a good film it will be good for our industry and we all will benefit from it."

About the drought of new talent in the industry, Resham says, "There is no good work. But we also took a risk as newcomers and today by the grace of God we are stars. That's how the status of industry will improve.

Film-makers need to make good films that are technically sound. The audience knows that after Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua good films can be made here, too. Pehla Pehla Pyar will hopefully add to it."