Tasneem Qureishi

Tasneem Qureishi is a fictional character on the American television series ''Homeland'' on Showtime, created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon. Portrayed by Indian actress Nimrat Kaur in season four (2014) and season eight (2020), Tasneem is an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent in Pakistan, and later the organization's Director-General.

Known for her starring role in the 2013 film ''The Lunchbox'', Kaur was cast as the season four nemesis of American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Carrie Mathison, the character played by series star Claire Danes. The role of Tasneem was Kaur's first time portraying a villain. She was surprised to be asked back for the show's final season, since the story had moved away from Pakistan after season four.

Tasneem is introduced as a devious ISI agent who will do anything to advance the interests of the ISI and her secret Taliban allies, which may conflict with those of the CIA. She is presented as a villain, but showrunner Gansa explained that though Tasneem is ruthless, she has understandable motives and is only serving her country. In the final season, she has risen to leader of the ISI, a position which historically has always been held by a man in the real world. Tasneem comes into direct conflict with Carrie's mentor, US National Security Advisor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), but becomes his reluctant ally as the interests of Pakistan and the US increasingly align.

In season four, Tasneem blackmails the husband of the US ambassador to supply her with secret intelligence. Having already orchestrated the assassination of the CIA chief of station in Pakistan, Tasneem orders Saul's kidnapping by the Taliban, which prevents the new chief of station, Carrie, from capturing or killing Taliban commander Haissam Haqqani (Numan Acar). Learning that Carrie has bipolar disorder, Tasneem tampers with her medication, hoping that Carrie's inevitable mental breakdown will get her out of Islamabad. Later, a convoy transporting Carrie and Saul is attacked, and Tasneem intentionally delays the dispatch of Pakistani military assistance. Meanwhile, Tasneem has passed along to Haqqani her discovery of a hidden tunnel into the US embassy, which he uses to invade the embassy.

In season eight, Tasneem is now Director-General of the ISI, and Saul is the US National Security Advisor. Critical of US foreign policy, Tasneem is not supportive of Saul's efforts to broker peace between Afghanistan and the Taliban. Saul arranges a secret meeting in Pakistan with Haqqani, now leader of the Taliban, but Tasneem learns of it. She attempts to assassinate Haqqani and replace him with his son Jalal (Elham Ehsas), but Haqqani survives. The deaths of the US president and Afghan president in a helicopter crash lead to the arrest of Haqqani, who Saul does not believe is responsible. Tasneem agrees to help Saul stall the trial, but they fail and Haqqani is executed. An empowered Jalal reinvigorates the Taliban and becomes a problem for Tasneem, who has lost the power to control him. Seeking to ease escalating tensions between the US and Pakistan, Tasneem provides Saul with intel to distract the trigger-happy new US president away from a potential invasion of Pakistan.

Tasneem has been repeatedly called the character viewers "love to hate", and Kaur has been praised for her performance.

Appearances

Kaur debuted in the "major recurring role" of Tasneem Qureishi in the season four episode " Iron in the Fire" (October 2014), and appeared in nine episodes that season. She reprised the role as a series regular in the 2020 eighth and final season of ''Homeland''.

Casting and production

Kaur credited her starring role in the 2013 film ''The Lunchbox'' for bringing her to the attention of the producers of ''Homeland''. She said, "It was quite serendipitous; I was in London and they called me for the audition and it just happened." Kaur arrived in London on a Sunday morning and had her audition on the Monday. She was notified two or three days later that she had landed the role. Prior to her audition, Kaur had heard of but never seen ''Homeland'', and she watched the pilot after completing her screen test. She said, "After I got back to India, I binged on previous seasons of ''Homeland'' and I am a convert now. I completely understand why viewers love it so much and I am all the more excited to be a part of it."

Best known at the time for ''The Lunchbox'', Kaur was not used to playing a villain, and later said, "I credit he casting directorsfor imagining that I could take on this role. It was a risk for them". She said of the role, "I really had an incredible time playing a negative part for the first time. That was very exciting and a lot of fun for me." She noted, "I would be behind bars if I did the kind of things I am doing as Tasneem. You can get away with so much on screen. It's exciting to bring legitimacy to a part that you don't exactly agree with on any count". Kaur was told her character would be the mysterious nemesis of Carrie Mathison, the character played by series star Claire Danes, but initially she did not know whether she would perform in scenes with Danes. She said, "Initially I was told I would be part of five episodes. After I landed in Cape Town, they said seven." Kaur would ultimately appear until the end of the season. She believed that "''Homeland'' would be my real introduction to the western audience because it already has a great viewership and fan following. I feel I have a big responsibility to be as true to the story as possible." She confirmed in 2019 that her role in ''Homeland'' had contributed to her being cast in other projects.

In Fall 2018, Gansa asked Kaur if she would reprise the role of Tasneem for season eight. She was surprised, not expecting the character to return, explaining that "it was always a one-season stint. After season four it went into different cities and different chapters and the narrative changed completely." She said, "They wanted my character to return because it did well for them." According to Kaur, for the last season "they wanted to circle back to what they call the longest war of America: Afghanistan". When preparing for season eight, she reread the scripts for season four but did not rewatch her performance, which she thought would "take away from the fun of defining who she is now n season eight. The actress was eager to reprise the role, and said, "The opportunity to play asneemagain and to jump into that universe is exciting." Kaur noted, "I’m a part of the huge finale, which is great, considering it's a farewell to all the fans."

Though Tasneem is Pakistani and Kaur is Indian, Kaur used her own dialect. She said, "I'm playing South Asian, I am South Asian. I'm an Indian girl, and India and Pakistan as we all know, we're pretty much the same." Kaur added some dialogue in the Punjabi language in both seasons four and eight, since many Pakistani Muslims and Sikhs speak it. She explained, "Our origins are all in Pakistan ... they're all kind of integrated: Pakistani, Sikhs, or Muslims who speak in Punjabi. ... so I had based her as somebody from that kind of a . So she would interact with the house help in Punjabi, for instance." Kaur said, "Physically and costume referencing and all that, you have a lot of very interesting Pakistani women who present themselves in a very very interesting way. Their body language is very restrained, and asneem'sbody language in particular had to be very unapproachable, inaccessible, somebody who's just out there doing her job and is very aware of being probably the only woman in an all-man environment." Kaur also collaborated with the costume designer to assure the regional accuracy of what her character wore, which was a challenge to source in Casablanca, Morocco where they were filming.

Kaur started her work on season four in June 2014, filming in Cape Town, South Africa. She filmed season eight in Northern African locations like the Moroccan cities of Casablanca, Marrakesh and Rabat.

Characterization

Season four

Tasneem is introduced in 2014 as a "mysterious woman" who blackmails Dennis Boyd (Mark Moses), and whom Josh Modell of ''The A.V. Club'' called "a sexy Pakistani agent" who may be "ISI or a terrorist or both". She is later revealed to be a high-ranking Pakistani ISI officer who, though her country is an ally of the United States, is plotting against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief of station in Islamabad, Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). Positioned as Carrie's ISI counterpart and nemesis, Tasneem has been categorized as a villain. Mike Guiducci of ''Vogue'' described Tasneem as "a spy as insidious as she is smug", and called the character "one of television's most treacherous new villains." ''Homeland'' executive producer and showrunner Alex Gansa said:

Kaur explained, "She doesn't think she's a villain; she believes she's serving a purpose and whatever she's doing towards getting to that purpose is right. For them, maybe the rest of the world is villainous." She said, "Tasneem is a mysterious and enigmatic girl and the best part is there is so much going on beyond that devious smile of hers. She is a seductress and knows how to get her work done." The actress noted that playing a Pakistani government official was not as much of a challenge as portraying "a woman in a position of power in such a patriarchal society." Kaur said, "That was a very exciting space to explore, as an actor." She added, "For me, she's just a kickass woman. She's an inspiration. I'm a woman first, then comes nationality and the profession. My choices come from places of what I face as a woman.” Noting that Tasneem "is an out and out grey character and I had to train myself to be comfortable playing the part", Kaur said of the character:

Described as "nefarious", "dastardly", "odious", "sinister", "terrifying", "quietly frightening", and "scarily beautiful", Tasneem is established as a Taliban sympathizer, colluding with wanted Taliban commander Haissam Haqqani (Numan Acar). David Crow of ''Den of Geek'' described Tasneem's concern for Haqqani's safety as "disquietingly uncomfortable (and believable)". ''Metro New York'' suggested that the ISI's motivation to help Haqqani is not because they are pro-Taliban, but because "Haqqani was just an ugly means to an end where a new CIA Director allows Pakistan to operate without America breathing down its neck." Ethan Sacks of the '' New York Daily News'' wrote of "Tasneem glaring at her American counterparts, her beautiful head full of duplicity." Gwilym Mumford of ''The Guardian'' noted that "poker-faced Tasneem is as shrewd as they come", and Kat Rosenfield of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that the character "keeps smirking with all the subtlety of a cat that just ate about 500 canaries."

Deeming Tasneem "pretty badass", ''Metro New York'' noted, "She smiles the whole time she speaks with ennis Boydin every exchange, although everything she says to him threatens his very core". Tasneem arranges for Carrie's CIA mentor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) to be abducted and delivered to the Taliban, and ''HuffPost'' called Tasneem a "terrible human being" when she tampers with the medication Carrie takes for her bipolar disorder. Emma Dibdin of '' Digital Spy'' wrote that "having Carrie's reliance on medication exploited as a weakness was a chilling and believable turn that made asneemseem a genuinely formidable threat." When Saul and Carrie are under fire from the Taliban and Tasneem delays military assistance, Mumford wrote of Tasneem, "She's a terrifyingly cool customer. Such a tiny gesture, done so nonchalantly, but the implications are huge." Kaur said that as an actress, "It was exciting to say the three words 'Wait 10 minutes' knowing the massacre it would cause."

Dee Lockett of '' Slate'' described Tasneem as "a sharp, deceptive agent" and "the Pakistani version of Carrie". She is shown to be "as smart and tenacious as Carrie", but also "utterly ruthless". Willa Paskin of ''Slate'' called her "an agent who was, at last, Carrie's equal", though ''Den of Geek'' David Crow wrote that Tasneem and the ISI are "far more functionally competent" than Carrie and the CIA. Joshua Alston of ''The A.V. Club'' explained that Tasneem and her ISI cohorts "look less like stock villains and more like people who make tough decisions because of a patriotism that burns as hot as Carrie's". After learning that Tasneem tampered with her medication, Carrie herself implies that she and Tasneem are not the same. Lockett explained that the characters have "differing opinion about the ethics of war" and notes Tasneem's "seemingly unapologetic ruthlessness", which is "at times, even worse than Carrie's". ''Slate'' noted halfway through the season that "smug" Tasneem has been "one step ahead of Carrie and the CIA since Saul's kidnapping", later calling Tasneem the season's "real threat" and noting that she "emasculates most of her male colleagues". She ultimately benefits from the political turbulence she helped unleash in Islamabad, rising to prominence in the political arena and speaking out against the US's presence in the region. Alston wrote that Tasneem had become "hot shit back in Pakistan", and Sonia Saraiya of '' Salon'' called the character "a bad guy hodouble-crossed everyone and drove Carrie and Saul out of Pakistan." At the conclusion of season four, both ''IGN'' and ''Entertainment Weekly'' considered Tasneem triumphant over Carrie, but noted that neither an expected "big face-off between the two female agents" nor a "comeuppance" for Tasneem came to fruition.

Season eight

In season eight, Tasneem is the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence, a position which historically has always been held by a man in the real world. Kaur said, "She's a woman of power in a very unlikely situation ... You don't expect a woman to be in a position like that." She explained, "At a time when she'd typically been married off and had children, she's the DG of the ISI", adding that "she's obviously somebody who has sacrificed a lot. She has overcome and won over a lot to reach where she is." In the first episode of the season, Saul suggests that Tasneem's stepfather, retired Pakistani general Bunran "Bunny" Latif ( Art Malik), must be proud of her for "getting the job he always wanted", to which she replies, "I think he'd have preferred grandchildren." Sejia Rankin of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that Bunran "has a clear soft spot for the otherwise hardened Tasneem."

''Entertainment Weekly'' and ''TVLine'' predicted that Tasneem would be a "major player" in season eight, and Rankin called her "a villain from the days of yore". Explaining that ''Homeland'' aims to create a "real debate" by presenting both American and non-American points of view, Danes cited Tasneem's role in the first episode of season eight as an example of a " akistanipolitician who's really challenging Saul and making credible, cogent points about the ways that America has failed." Kaur called Tasneem "the face of Pakistan" for season eight, and "a figure of great importance". Showtime described the character as "a member of akistan'spolitical elite hoseinterest in the Afghan peace deal proves pivotal for Saul", though she is again positioned as an antagonist. Initially, Saul needs Tasneem's cooperation "to make the peace negotiations stick." He has not forgotten how the "shady" Tasneem burned him and Carrie in season four, but as the crisis in Afghanistan intensifies, Saul and Tasneem's interests more closely align, and he seeks her out as a true ally. Kaur described the relationship between Tasneem and Saul in season eight as "high-octane", and noted, "95% percent of my work this season was with Mandy." Emma Fraser of ''Collider'' wrote that Tasneem "loves to go toe-to-toe with Saul and Taliban leader Haissam Haqqani." Kaur explained her character's situation:

Understanding that she is a potential threat to his plan to broker peace, Saul deceives "the highly nosy Tasneem" as he plots a secret meeting with Haqqani. She figures out what Saul is doing and, with Bunran's approval, attempts to assassinate Haqqani with an RPG. Tasneem conspires with Haqqani's son Jalal (Elham Ehsas) to make him the new leader of the Taliban, which is "a factor complicated by the inconvenient fact that Haqqani isn't dead." Tasneem and the Afghan vice president, Abdul Qadir G'ulom (Mohammad Bakri

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