Amazing Progressive Side To Pakistan, Drag Queen
Progressive and Pakistan, are rarely found outside the large cities. Interesting to find a cross dressing and drag queen with such a high profile. Ali Saleem hosts a television talk show!
“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.
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. <<<<<>>>>> 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: There is a very mixed response to the show - people either love or hate it.
A: If they hate the concept of a man dressed up as a woman then they need to grow up. I have taken a very bold step, given the falling media standards. The concept is original and something to be proud of. It has a viewership so I am very happy. Why, nothing like this has ever been done before, not even in India. India makes its heroes - they know how to build them up and then cash in on them later. Aishwarya is world famous while we peg Meera down at every given opportunity. Who is our national hero after Quaid-e-Azam? Bhutto was a criminal according to the law of the land, Imran Khan has one skeleton after the other popping up. I want to break this mindset through my show. We don’t let individuals live nor institutions flourish. We are a repressed, sick society and there is negativity everywhere. I stand for everything that is positive and not bad. It is very easy for ten people to sit in a drawing room and criticise others, and we are too jealous of anybody who is even slightly better than us. This should change with our generation.
Begum Nawazish Ali - Drag Queen Defies U.S.
Lahore, Pakistan - “I’m a drag queen, darling…not an extremist…and I still say if Pakistanis had more self-respect, we’d be even more anti-American,” says Ali Saleem, who glosses his lips and dons a sari each week to interview celebrities and politicians on his TV program, Begum Nawazish Ali, a talk show sensation in Pakistan. “I’m not speaking religion; it’s common sense.”
From politics to culture, Ali says American intervention in Pakistan has “brought nothing but sadness” by supporting dictators and rendering Pakistan’s people impotent, constantly looking to the outside world, particularly the U.S., for help solving its own problems.
He sees his TV show as an attempt to rekindle a sense of pride and responsibility in his viewers. He uses our interview to call for a boycott of all American goods and cultural products. Pakistanis must “Turn within for inspiration.”
That’s what Ali did. Growing up in an army cantonment on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border during General Zia ul-Haq’s years, Ali always knew he was a woman and “would just sit and pray for hours and hours in one place and say again and again to Allah, ‘Make me a girl, please make me a girl.’”
“America just cares about its interests, not about principle,” says Ali. “You can’t trust it. It’s selfish and cold.” What Pakistan needs is a warm local face of difference, be it a male, female, or both.
Amazing, I’m rethinking this whole scene …
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