Begum Nawazish Ali talks with Etizaz Ehsan
Ali Saleem or “Begum Nawazish Ali” Talks about US
Star-trek
“I get to have the best of both worlds”
-Ali Saleem
By Sohema Rehan
Ali Saleem, aka Begum Nawazish Ali, aka BB – son of a retired army officer – always evokes very strong reactions. Although his Benazir Bhutto impersonation may be his claim to fame, the Meera he has been doing lately tops that. Both acts, whenever performed, have always brought the house down, with the audience rolling over in hysterical laughter. Currently hosting The Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali on Aaj TV, Ali chats up invitees comprising the who’s who of the Pakistani literati, glitterati and chatterati. Whether it arouses disgust, curiosity or appreciation, the drag show is undoubtedly the talk of the town. The same can be said of Ali’s not-so-clean break with Geo TV and the subsequent court battle that ensued over the intellectual property rights of Begum Nawazish Ali.
Apart from impersonations and drag, Ali also dabbles in writing and has penned Aap Jasai Koi, a series aired on HUM TV starring top models Aminah Haque and Iffat Rahim. Ali says he has “always wanted to be on stage,” and his ultimate fantasy was to “die performing on a glass stage in the middle of a vast sea with the whole world watching!” At some level, he feels he is spiritually connected to “the dancing girls from kothas” which he believes is the reason for his supreme confidence. Labelled a drag, a eunuch, a cross-dresser – Ali is firmly entrenched amongst the ever growing coterie of people Pakistanis generally love to hate. Over to Ali…
Q: You have been openly mimicking Benazir for ages now. Have you ever felt that you were stepping on political sensitivities?
A: Not for a minute. The first play I did was for Yasmeen Ismail at the Arts Council, organised by Interflow. I went on stage wearing a burqa and when I started my monologue, there was stunned silence – absolute disbelief – followed by a thunderous response. People even went to the extent of asking whether there was a tape recorder on, but they loved the performance.
Imran Aslam writes political satire and people who come to see the plays are politically aware and educated. The word of mouth publicity which we get is always good publicity. I was very young at that time and through the plays I was exposed to people much older than me as they were the ones who viewed my plays, giving me a chance to think better and mature faster.
There has never been a political reaction ever. I get my confidence from my honesty. I can face anybody in the world and don’t have to hide from anybody. I impersonate Meera on stage, wear saris and dance, imitate Benazir and am not scared of anybody because I am very confident and have never faced any problems.
Q: Have you ever performed for Benazir?
A: I did it informally once at her request, at Nazia and Zoheb Hassan’s house. It was Zoheb’s dholki, and Nazia had pre-warned me not to, even if requested, emphasising that Benazir had no sense of humour. However, Benazir requested that I impersonate her and Nazia gave me a silent nod of approval. When I started, there was pin-drop silence amongst the small group of people present – until the [former] Prime Minister burst out laughing. She enjoyed the performance a lot and said, “You have made my day.”