Yashma Gill has recently opened up about the difficult start to her acting career, revealing that her father stopped speaking to her for an entire year after she decided to join the entertainment industry.
Speaking on Shan-e-Sahoor, the actor shared that she was not always part of showbiz. Before appearing on television, Gill studied psychology in Sydney, Australia after her parents sent her abroad for higher education.
After completing her studies, she returned to Karachi and began working at a hospital as a psychologist. However, the job paid very little. Gill recalled a moment that changed her perspective when she came home after a late shift and saw her elderly father leaving the house early in the morning for work.
Seeing him continue to work so hard made her realize she wanted to help support him financially. That realization pushed her toward acting, even though she knew her father would not approve.
“I told my mother, ‘Mama, even if Baba gets angry, God knows my intent, I am doing this to help him,'” she recalled.
While her mother supported her decision, Gill said her father struggled to accept her career choice because of the stigma often associated with the entertainment industry. As a result, he stopped speaking to her for nearly a year.
The situation eventually began to change during the holy month of Ramadan. Gill recalled greeting her father one day when he entered the room and reminding him that returning greetings is a religious obligation in Islam. That moment helped break the ice between them.
Yashma Gill further added that their relationship fully improved later when she took her father for Umrah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. During the trip, fans recognised her and showered her with admiration and gifts, which helped her father see the respect she had earned through her work.