Weekend with Zoha Rahman: ‘What does free time actually mean?’
The actor on how she spends her time with a new baby and bingeing Pakistani TV shows
Actor Zoha Rahman is as comfortable on the sets of Pakistani TV shows as she is those of Marvel blockbusters. The 31-year-old lives with her husband and son in London. She graduated with a degree in law before making her 2019 film debut in the Indian romcom Mr Majnu. Rahman is best known for her role as Peter Parker’s classmate, Zoha Souliotis, in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Her character, who sported a pink headscarf, was the first named hijab-wearing character to appear in the Marvel cinematic universe. She recently starred in Martin Campbell’s thriller Dirty Angels.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What would your perfect Saturday morning look like?
Weekends have really changed for me this year as I had a baby a few months ago, but they have always been about rest. Now the best weekend is when there is nothing to do — a lazy morning in bed, maybe ordering in breakfast. Hot coffee. A walk with my family. Taking the baby to the park.
What is your favourite walking spot?
We go to the Cassiobury Park splash zone, near Watford, with our baby. It’s so big. They have a normal playground and a cafe next door, so you can grab an ice-cream or a coffee and then play around with the baby.
Do you ever picnic?
I was a big fan of picnics before the baby and hopefully will be back to picnics soon, when he’s happy to sit in one place and enjoy that situation. At the moment, he’s a crawler and is trying to put everything in his mouth, which is no good.
Has the baby made you more of a morning person?
I was always a morning person. I like to get all the chores out of the way, so then I am free for the rest of the day to do what I actually want to.
And what do you want to do?
At the moment, that’s writing. I am currently working on writing a TV show. But, as someone who does not have a lot of free time on their hands, it is quite the task to feel free. What does “free” mean to me? Do I do a chore, rest and binge-watch a TV show or doomscroll? Or do I get to work on something I have been putting off for a while?
Can you tell us anything about the TV show you’re working on?
It’s a fantasy drama. It touches on the roots of the South Asian subcontinent and the breakdown of the Mughal empire. There’s so much history there and it’s an incredible period to delve into.
Are you working on anything else?
I am working on another film with a director friend of mine. It’s titled Ethnic Lensing. It’s essentially about finding your way back to your identity and your roots after being opposed to that for a very long time.
Is that something that feels personal to you?
I grew up in Pakistan and we didn’t really have a lot of outlets. We didn’t have acting classes as children or dance classes, singing classes or anything. So writing was always my first form of expression.
I think that in South Asian culture, especially as Muslims, we feel like arts and creative freedom are wrong and they are not celebrated by our community. So, this show is about a character who pushes away from their community because they feel more at home with their creative side. Then, through that creative side, they’re somehow brought back to their culture and their roots, finding peace and harmony with those two parts.
What are you watching at the moment?
A really old classic Pakistani show called Shehr-e-Zaat. It’s all on YouTube. Pakistani shows are really good, so I often binge ones like these.
And, please don’t judge me, but I’m also bingeing Desperate Housewives. I’m on season five now, and it’s really sad because it’s coming to an end. I find shows like this really enjoyable. They’re completely silly and ridiculous and I can just mindlessly watch them.
There are more serious shows I’m really excited about, which I haven’t started yet. Code of Silence is one. The cast looks incredible. And I’ve heard really good things about The Other One on Apple TV+.
If someone wanted to get into Pakistani TV, what would be a good place to start?
Humsafar is very good. It’s an old one but touches on a lot of topics that are relevant to so many people in their lives. In terms of new shows, Parizaad is very good.
As a child, did you watch a lot of Pakistani TV with your family?
Yes, I watched them with my grandmother most of the time.
Are your weekends now very different from that time?
No. They’ve always revolved around food and family, and I still see my parents or my partner’s parents on the weekends. Obviously they’ve changed in the sense that now I am hosting them, as opposed to being a child just enjoying the food with no responsibility — which was, of course, great. But, at their core, I think they’re quite the same.
What’s your go-to dish?
My husband makes an amazing ragu. He slow-cooks it and it is absolutely brilliant. Also, his meatball pasta is really good, but I think I like it because I don’t have to do anything.
Dirty Angels is available to rent now on digital streaming services.
