I work as a freelance writer with a celebrity stylist. Recently, he went to ARY’s office for a shoot. Once done, he sat with a bunch of producers. Here’s what he told me regarding the casting of Kafeel because he knows how much I love Sanam Saeed.
We already know because Dr. Ejaz Uncle revealed that the role of Zeba was first offered to Saba Qamar, Mahira Khan, and Hiba Bukhari, but they all declined. The reason was that none of them wanted to play the role of a mother of four, as they believed it was too soon in their careers to portray the mother of teenagers.
Fahad also considered doing Jami but didn’t, again, because he didn’t want to play the role of a father of four. Another reason was that the character took a backseat in the final episodes, so he bowed out and personally recommended Emmad Irfani.
Now, the interesting—or rather frustrating—part: Sanam Saeed took some convincing to play Zeba, not because she didn’t want to play a mother, but because she was offered very little money for both Main Manto Nahi Hoon and Kafeel (the producer rather told this with pride). She was told that if she didn’t agree, newer actresses could replace her and that she hadn’t done a drama in years. So indirectly, they suggested that her value had diminished. She ended up slashing her usual fee by half for Kafeel. Since Sanam wanted to return to TV and the script was by Umera Ahmed, she accepted the role.
As happy as I am for Sanam, it’s quite sad how actresses are treated in the industry. She should definitely negotiate for more now for that HUM TV project because Kafeel wouldn't have reached this level of popularity if it weren’t for Sanam. Yes, many factors were involved, but people had high expectations from Sanam Saeed and Umera Ahmed, and both delivered.