Hareem Farooq, a successful film and television actress, film producer, celebrity judge, and host is changing the rules of the show-business in an unprecedented manner. From a relatively less groomed yet seasoned theater actress to now the reigning queen of Lollywood, Hareem has become a household name and there are more reasons than one which make Hareem the trailblazer that she is.

In today’s times, the new crop of young actors come into the industry with a certain level of grooming and self-awareness. They are already in sync with the peripheries of the fraternity. Their social media accounts are already established before their acting careers. They start their careers with a PR team and a talent management company paving the way for them. However, Hareem’s journey is completely different and that’s what makes her stand-out.

Hareem’s illustrious body of work

Theater

Hareem began her career in the year 2012 in theatre playing the leading role of Fatima Jinnah in Pawnay 14 August. She also enthralled the audiences as with her character, Kiran in Aangan Terha.

Debut film

The following year, she made her big screen debut with a leading role in the 2013 horror-thriller film Siyaah. The film couldn’t meet up the audience’s expectations but Hareem didn’t go unnoticed. Moreover, Lollywood as an industry also was not as established or revived as it is today. The dramas were ruling the entertainment roost back then in 2013.

Television Career

Hareem made her television debut with Mausam alongside Ahsan Khan and Yumna Zaidi in 2014 on Hum TV. The drama serial became a success and Hareem found acclaim as a naive, girl next door.

Hareem eventually became a part of some of the blockbusters dramas which have been churned out in recent years. She has given many popular dramas to the showbiz industry like Doosri Biwi, Mere Humdum Mere Dost and Diyar-e-Dil in 2015. She was also part of the television drama Sanam starring Osman Khalid Butt, Maya Ali, and Hareem in the leading roles. Her last television outing was the intense, HUM TV drama, Main Khayal Hoon Kisi Aur Ka.

She also became a pioneer judge at the biggest reality show of Pakistan, Miss Veet Pakistan (2017-2018).

Film Career

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhMHXeewXN4

In the same year, she played the lead role in the film Dobara Phir Se which was an ensemble cast-film yet Hareem managed to steal the show. She appeared in her home-production, Janaan in a scintillating cameo. The actress then did her first comedy flick Parchi as the lead role in which she played the character of a female gangster, with co-stars Ali Rehman Khan, Ahmed Ali Akbar and Usman Mukhtar in lead roles.

Reasons that make Hareem the trailblazer that she is:

Production endeavors

In addition to a successful and growing acting career, in 2015, Farooq took over an additional hat of becoming a pioneer female actor-producer, amongst her generation of actresses, by joining her childhood best friend and producer of her debut film, Imran Raza Kazmi as a partner in IRK Films and went on to produce Janaan with him, followed by her 2018 blockbuster Parchi.

In the year 2018, she also went into forming a global entertainment company, IHA Entertainment with Arif Lakhani and Imran Raza Kazmi, which soon entered into an agreement with top entertainment in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as the first distribution firm.

Unusual roles

From a female gangster in Parchi to an overseas Pakistani in Dobara Phir Se to a runaway bride in Heer Maan Ja, Hareem is as versatile as an actress can be in a business full of cliches and stereotypes.

Brave & Beautiful

Hareem is one of the first mainstream Pakistani celebrities to come out in public and discuss her experiences with depression and anxiety. She has also shared about her battling with body shaming and weight issues.

Hareem lost the ‘weight’ and added that to her body of work which is on its way to being iconic.