Talented Pakistani actress Arjumand Rahim has just returned from a visit to Mumbai and is happy with her experience of working in Indian theatre there, but says she turned down several film offers as she is reluctant "to be launched as a sex symbol".

The actress, who has acted in several TV plays and launched her own production house Art Republik, said: "Mumbai presented an exciting option to rejuvenate my soul as well as to explore different avenues. Luckily, the experience turned out to be rewarding."

Doing theatre in Mumbai, Arjumand says, "made her feel alive". Television, however, did not attract her. "I got a lot of television offers, none of which seemed exciting enough to pursue. I don't rate Indian TV serials and soaps very highly, and I certainly wouldn't give preference to them over the Pakistani ones.

But what I do appreciate in the Indian entertainment industry are the films, and preferably those that fall in the alternative and crossover category," Arjumand told in an interview.

The stylish actor was enjoying a plate of spicy nihari (mutton dish) in her office during the chat.

Arjumand said though she received several commercial film offers in India she turned them down because she did not want to be launched as a sex symbol. "It just did not feel right to accept those offers.

Naturally, I'd prefer to be noticed as an actor rather than for attributes that don't necessarily require any efforts at my end."

"I went to India because I wasn't very excited about my work here or the kind of roles that were being offered to me. Mumbai presented an exciting option to rejuvenate my soul as well as to explore different avenues," said the actress.

"The truth is that very few directors' work in Pakistan meets international standards. The quality of script has also deteriorated over the years and the influx of channels has led to a compromise on quality programming. Finding the right wavelength with your co-actors and crew has also become extremely hard."

"After watching films like 'Mr & Mrs Iyer' and 'Monsoon Wedding', I was very open to offers from the parallel cinema, which provides a wider creative margin. I signed two films there, but unfortunately I couldn't complete either of the two films."

"The first was an English film that kept getting delayed due to financial problems. Then the cast, which initially comprised Tabu, Rahul Bose and myself in the lead roles, changed. My character was very powerful and part of a love triangle, but when Tabu backed out and uncertainty continued to hang over the project, my confidence was shaken.

Koel Puri was taken as a replacement for Tabu. When we met for a script-reading, I discovered that the script had also undergone major changes with the result that my character was now more like a sexy vamp. I just felt like not taking such a risk in the first film of my career and without having complete faith in the director and character," she elaborated.

However, she continued with theatre and did a project for Channel [V] as a dancer. Then she was offered a Hindi movie called "Khajoor" with Amir Bashir as a hero. It was a light-hearted romantic film set around a non-stereotypical, educated Muslim family in Lucknow.

Supriya Pathak was cast as her mother, Raghuveer Yadav as grandfather and Daya Shankar Pandey as a faithful house servant. Though the film had a fine cast and script, Arjumand could not complete the project as her visa limit expired.

Now that she is back home, Arjumand has started working for television. She feels it is the right time to invest and devote her full time to her profession.

"With the boom in media and demand for better quality software it just made sense to jump into the fray instead of sitting on the fence and being at the mercy of people one complains about. Currently, what is giving me hope is that channels are rejecting B-grade, shoddy software despite their need for projects to air and fill the time slots.

A sense of quality consciousness has crept in which suits people like me just fine who choose to be in this field so that we can express ourselves through our creative talent. Like I keep saying, there'll always be a market for truth."

So what is the philosophy behind Art Republik? "Being a secular person, I am keen to see my generation living out Jinnah's dream of Pakistan being a tolerant secular country where there are opportunities and rights for everybody as long as they are committed and sincere.

Religion and diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds shouldn't hamper development as a thinking and contributing member of society."