Hilarious Kaarina, serious Kaarina
From working as a content creator to making her debut on the silver screen with "36-24-36", Kaarina Kaisar's transition happened by chance. Nevertheless, she confidently stepped into the role of Syra, using it to highlight an important message of body positivity.
The bubbly and energetic influencer-turned-actress dropped by The Daily Star office to enjoy some delicious pasta, while sharing insights about her new film, which is now available for streaming on Chorki.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Kaarina, who is known for her hilarious skits and comedic chops, had to step out of her comfort zone to portray Syra, a character whose life was marked by a series of emotional tragedies.
"As I was involved with its script-writing process, I used to find ways to remove the emotional scenes but Reza, our director, made sure that I definitely essay those scenes," giggled the actress.
In reality, Kaarina has no insecurities about her appearance; self-love is very important to her. Syra, on the other hand despite being hardworking, lacks confidence.
"I had to put in a lot of effort, even creating a character bio to understand the roots of her insecurities," she revealed.
While talking about her favourite scene, the actress shared, "In this particular scene, my character has an emotional breakdown and starts crying out of anger, driven by the deep self-hatred instilled by the society that made her feel unworthy. She tries to cleanse herself of this feeling—repeatedly washing her hands, and her face, and spraying herself with perfume—as if trying to wash away the negativity. But then, she finally snaps."
"With a perfume bottle in hand, she screams at her reflection and breaks the mirror. It was such a raw and powerful moment, and I managed to do it all in one take."
She continued, "The emotions portrayed on screen were completely authentic. No one believed I could pull it off, but I'm incredibly proud that I could. It represents a major character arc for her story."
While fans have been showing love for Syra, some of them are wondering whether Kaarina would stop making social media content. Addressing this, the actress shared, "If you check my page now, you will notice I haven't been posting much lately. Even when I'm not working on films, I'm focusing on screenwriting, which is a demanding but also deeply fulfilling job."
"Writing is a passion of mine, and seeing my ideas come to life on screen brings me immense joy. For now, I'm keeping my content creation on hold to focus more on acting and screenwriting."
As Kaarina continues to earn praise for her acting, the question remains about the showbiz industry's fixation on beauty standards. Will she be typecast when it comes to roles in the future?
"I know, for a fact, that given how I look, I will only be approached for specific characters," the actress admitted. "While it doesn't bother me much, I do believe it's time for greater diversity and inclusivity in body types and skin tones on screen."
"As a content creator, I've received countless messages from people who found confidence in themselves after seeing how I carry myself. This has shown me how important it is to have representation for someone like me in media. We often idolise 'picture-perfect' individuals, it's high time the industry starts showcasing real women," she asserted.
When Chorki released the first look of "36-24-36", Kaarina faced immense trolling as some netizens made derogatory remarks.
"There is a certain crowd who have hated this movie just because I starred in it. Numerous comments were like 'Why have you taken such a fat actress', 'Oh you have taken Kaarina. The poster should be titled '48-48-48'," she shared.
Despite the trolling, Kaarina was determined to tell the story. "They thought they could break my spirit, instead, they fuelled my determination to combat this mindset. These are the mass representatives of society. They make you feel inadequate for not fitting into a certain body standard."
"Through the film, we aimed to portray this reality and show how Syra ultimately learns she doesn't need anyone's validation to recognise her own worth."
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