I walked out from under my father's shadow and found my voice on stage

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How do you find your own voice when you're in the shadow of a legend? I did it by moving to Canada.

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate my family or where I came from. My childhood was great. It was full of love, care and support. My parents encouraged me to see the world through my own lens.

My father, Syed Mohsin Ali, was one of the great South Asian television directors and producers. He created a number of popular television dramas over the years, including Taabeer, Kiran Kahani, Shahzori and Jinnah Se Quaid. 

He also received the President's Pride of Performance award and the PTV Lifetime Achievement Award. He died in 2003.

When I lived in Pakistan, there were no university degrees for performing arts or theatre. This encouraged me to look internationally. I applied to the University of Regina, and was accepted to its theatre program through the media, arts and performance department.

I stood on stage for the very first time and saw my own shadow under the lights. That's when I knew this was my place in the world. This is where I would find my own voice.

After graduating, I started my own multilingual and multicultural theatre company called Lexeme. It specializes in telling stories from all cultures, in a variety of languages. I started out slowly and produced one play a year. 

A lot of my family and friends asked me why I went into theatre instead of television like my father. I tell them I chose theatre because it's a blank slate. It starts with nothing.

I came to Saskatchewan with no job, no connections and no money. I started working at a big box store to pay the bills, and started saving money to start my own theatre company. Thankfully, I had food and shelter because of my family, but no one knew who I was. I was not the daughter of a legend here, and that's exactly what I needed.

I never watched any Pakistani television dramas after my father passed away. I was afraid seeing them would cause sadness. But going through his work for this Creator Network documentary project helped me realize that my grief has been replaced by love.

I am grateful to the Pakistani Television Corporation for allowing me to use my dad's work in my video, and especially grateful for my dear uncle, Muhammad Kamil, for helping in the process.

My father earned two master's degrees, one in political science and one in English literature. I asked him once why he chose two very different majors.

He told me that his father, my grandfather, wanted him to study political science and follow his footsteps by joining the civil service.

But my father wanted to direct television dramas. So even though he got a degree in political science like his father wanted, he eventually followed his own dreams.

Whenever I think of my father, I am reminded of his personal journey. He found his own voice, just like I am finding mine.