I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter Dancing through the fire `cause I am a champion And you`re gonna hear me roar` Katy Perry`s anthem for all womankind rings through my head as I write this piece. The song could have been referring to Naeema Butt, ready to take on the world, letting the world hear her roar.

Not that Naeema has had to dance through fire, per se. But she has faced her fair share of obstacles and has chosen to walk the path less trod. In fact, Naeema fairly waltzes down it, swaying her long mane behind her, `roaring` every now and then.

The entertainment industry may generally follow certain mandates but this young actress prefers to set her own rules. She picks her dramas carefully, not in a rush to constantly be visible, even though some time has passed since she was last seen on TV in the 2024 hit Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum (KMKT ) and Jindo in 2023.

She is not afraid to recount bad experiences with her peers, even though some of them may be the biggest names in the industry right now. And when it comes to matters pertaining to her country, she is not afraid to profess her patriotism, even if it means losing out on social media followers.

I met Naeema for the first time right after she had become massively popular, playing KMKT`s ambitious Rubab. Rubab may not have been the quintessential lead, but she was a woman who gripped the audience`s interest: ruthless, manipulative but, also, burdened by the shadows of a past that made her the way she was.

What had struck me then was her candidness, bordering on what I felt was naivete sometimes. Now, I meet her a few months later and she is just as forthright, although perhaps wiser and a bit more cynical about the workings of show business.

She tells Icon, `I have been told that I should be signing on to lots of dramas right now. I have been advised to not be so openly opinionated. But I just think that if I am doing something right and something that I believe in, things will just work out.

PICKING AND CHOOSING She is in no rush, she says, as she navigates her career.

Her repertoire other than TV acting includes working in theatre and helming her own production company. She has sporadically released short films online that have been produced, written and directed by her and also feature her in the cast! `My theatre experience spans 15 years and I have a theatre group called Pehlaaj Story Centre for Change which has, for now, diverted towards film because we are able to reach more people through social media, Naeema explains. `Over the past many years, I have tried to highlight causes related to women as well as men, and I want to continue to do so. There are so many stories that I want to tell.

Similarly, she wants to take on TV drama roles with a difference:`I have been getting a lot of script offers, she says, `but I have always wanted to play characters that have substance and that drive the story. It`s not that I am picky but, in order to play a character well, I need to believe in her, feel the magic, so that I can pass it on to the audience. Rubab was like that. A lot of women told me that they felt inspired seeing such an empowered woman representing them.

`Right now, I have signed on to one drama that I am very excited about but I can`t talk about it because the dates are still getting figured out and shooting hasn`t started yet.

We break away from the on-record discussion for her to tell me what the drama is all about and it truly does sound exciting. If only the cameras had started rolling on it, my questionnaire for this interview would have trebled at this point! Naeema continues, `There are other interesting scripts that have come my way but I didn`t say yes to them because I had already committed my dates to this project. There is this one other project again, I can`t talk about it right now which is expected to begin shooting later this summer.

Her character in KMKT may have been pivotal to the story but she wasn`t the main `lead`. Is she now being offered lead roles and is that important? `Yes, I am now getting offered `leads`,` she makes quotation marks with her fingers and exclaims, `Yayyy! Whatever!` Sarcasm and nonchalance in equal measure.

`Playing the lead isn`t my priority,` says Naeema. `The role needs to interest me. Right after Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, I was offered a role which I really tried to convince myself to do but I just couldn`t. The character was just too miserable, getting tortured throughout before finally getting a happy ending. As an actor, I would have also had to go through similar emotions and, as women, we are already under so much pressure. We have to hustle and a woman like me, especially, who is outspoken tends to get judged a lot. I want to play a character that I enjoy.

This must have been one of those `massy` dramas where the heroine is a perpetually tortured, innocent young girl? Naeema nods, smiling.

`Yes, the innocent little girl serving everyone tea,` she says, in a simpering tone. `I just think that someone else could play that girl better than me. When I get an offer like that, I tell people to offer me something that maybe others can`t do. So many of my peers do accept such roles and that`s amazing, they are fulltime actors.

You`re a full time actor too, I interject. `I also write, make films, create social media content,` she responds, referring to her work as an independent filmmaker.

`Though, of course, acting is my top thing to do.

Could it be that she also hasn`t been able to sign on to as many scripts because she has commitments abroad for which she has to travel every now and then? `Yes, that does affect my career choices,` she accepts.

`I am always upfront about my travelling commitments, so that a project doesn`t get delayed because I have to be out of the country for some time. I don`t worry about it. I sincerely believe that what is meant to me will come to me.

There are some things that a person can`t control.

True, I agree, adding that I hope it works for her balancing her various priorities, taking her time choosing projects and waiting it out for roles that have bite. She says, `I am even this way when I am asked to endorse a project in a social media campaign. Usually, a lot of money gets offered and I can actually earn more than I do in a drama, just sitting at home. However, I refuse to put my name to a product that I don`t believe in.

`If a skin or haircare brand reaches out to me, I first try the product on myself before agreeing to endorse it. Some of these products did adversely affect my skin and hair, and when I would call the team and give them my feedback, they would get confused. They would ask, `Aren`t influencers simply supposed to take the money and promote the product?` And yes, I know that they do and I know that I am probably cutting down my opportunities by being so particular, but I have to take responsibility.In this age, when celebrity `collaborations` on social media campaigns are rampant and undiscriminating, Naeema`s perspective is rare. She similarly believes in taking a stand should she feel that she has been mistreated.

HEAR HER ROAR! We turn to a recent bit of viral news, when Naeema was the guest in different TV talk shows and she alluded to having been mistreated by people she had considered her well-wishers. While she did not name names, she referred to a recent event where efforts were made to `push her off the stage` and said that she had then realised that a lot of celebrity friendships were `only for Instagram` and `there was nothing genuine` about them. In an Insta story posted earlier, she had similarly shared a cryptic message about the two-faced nature of people in the industry.

Many joined the dots and assumed that she was referring to recent promotionalevents in the US, which she had attended with her KMKT co-stars Fahad Mustafa and Hania Aamir. Naeema, to date, hasn`t made any comments regarding this assumption.

I mention the entire episode and she says, `I did not plan on saying anything. I was asked questions in these shows and I simply responded with honesty. People around me tell me to play it smart, that such things happen in the industry all the time but, if I am on the right side and if God knows that I am right, and people know that I am right, I am doing nothing wrong.

She adds, `It`s all in the past now and I learnt a lesson through it. There are times when you are in grief and, even though they know about it, people still don`t hold back from trying to push you down. Experiences like these may be painful but they open up your eyes and you realise what reality is like.

There were those around me who knew the truth but chose to be diplomatic, perhaps because they thought that it could affecttheir work, and that`s fine. It`s the path they have chosen.

Did it affect her work? `Actually, no. People told me that I wouldn`t get any work now, that such politics happen in the industry and they have to be ignored. But I have been getting offered work throughout! MATTERS OF THE HEART We delve a little into her personal life. Three months ago, she had told me that she was single. `Yes, and I am still single, single and not ready to mingle, she quips.

What does she have against `mingling`? `I meet a lot of interesting people but I am just not ready for a relationship anymore. Not all love stories are wonderful,` she points out.

`Love itself is wonderful, but the story itself sometimes ends.

Sometimes, love lasts longer than the relationship.

It`s a vague answer one that makes me very curious, but one that she says she doesn`t want to elaborate upon.

We move on to other mattersof the heart that Naeema is more open to discussion on.

When tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, she didn`t hesitate from posting patriotic messages. While some of her peers a small fraction compared to the many who rallied for their country opted to stay quiet so that they wouldn`t upset their considerable fan bases in India, Naeema followed her heart.

`I love my country,` she says. `I am first a Muslim and then a Pakistani and I will always speak up for my country, especially now, when it is on the right side. This does not mean that I am not fond of my Indian followers and people who appreciate my work, but my country comes first.

Her opinion made her the target of some very mean jokes, including one AI-generated image that showed her tearyeyed, getting her head shaved, with the caption stating that she was sacrificing her hair for Pakistan.

`Yes, I did get bashed a lot, she nods. `I got threatened.

There were people commenting on my Instagram page that the Indian government needed to ban me, why was I not banned.

She laughs. `What could I do if they forgot to ban me? I told one of them that perhaps I didn`t get banned because God wanted to reach out to them through me, she chuckles.

`I would respond to the hate with a prayer or a `best of luck` but it never pushed me towards changing my stance. This was a time when we all needed to raise our voices, to keep our country`s morale high. I tried to do my part.

The roles that Naeema chooses to play, both on-screen and off-screen, are unique ones, which mean something to her.

She seems to have eschewed the rat-race for maximising social media followers, resisted the urge to constantly be seen on TV, and refused to succumb to industry politics.

There`s little doubt in my mind you`re gonna hear her roar!