While not much has been happening on the practical front of Pakistani cinema due to the Coronavirus pandemic, rather encouraging news has surfaced where Pakistan’s official submission to 2020’s Oscar committee and the yet-to-be-released title ‘Zindagi Tamasha’ has brought a coveted accolade home. The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) is a Los Angeles-based film festival that aims to draw greater recognition to Asia’s filmmakers and strengthening ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries.
“I am overwhelmed by the recognition this film of ours has received internationally,” Hassan said while accepting his award. “I am extremely grateful to our director Sarmad Khoosat whose dedication to the film was unparalleled. It’s about time we start telling stories that are unique to the Asian culture. There are so many stories that remain untold by the mainstream media.”
Arif Hassan was awarded the Snow Leopard Award for best actor during a ceremony earlier this week and was presented by jury member Joanne Goh. The actor was congratulated by well-known Pakistani writer Muhammad Hanif on Twitter with sarcasm on the extremist elements that brought the film’s release to a halt.
“Congratulations to the makers of Zindagi Tamasha. Not tagging them as still scared for them. Not saying FU to those who stopped its release cos still scared of them,” Hanif wrote.
Congratulations to makers of Zindagi Tamasha. Not tagging them as still scared for them. Not saying FU to those who stopped its release cos still scared of them. https://t.co/siPydwRYa6
Khoosat was extremely grateful for the honour too. “Winning two awards at the festival has given me and my team the right kind of morale boost and the emotional boost as well,” the filmmaker shared, upon receiving the prize for Best Film. “It has been a tumultuous journey with this film. Not being able to show it here in my own home country, it got banned. But finding this new audience for the film has made me believe more and more in the power of cinema,” he concluded.
Zindagi Tamasha is directed and co-produced by Sarmad Khoosat along with his sister Kanwal Khoosat and is a realistic dark drama, shot in Lahore. It is written by Nirmal Bano and features actors like Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz, Arif Hasan in crucial roles. The film’s release was halted by protests by extremist elements who claimed that it has blasphemous content, although the film was cleared by all major censor boards and later by a special review by the board. However, it has yet to see the light of the day.
Madiha Imam and Ali Rehman Khan are two of the brightest actors working in our industry. They have many notable dramas to their names, including ‘Diyar e Dil’ and ‘Dushman e Jaan’, respectively. Recently, they made headlines when it was announced that both of them would be sharing the screen for the first time together in a drama. Based on the novel written by Rahat Jabeen and directed by Sheherazade Sheikh, ‘Safar Tamam Hua’ went on air on HUM TV last night, and here’s how it faired.
Plot
Most of our dramas revolve around cousins and love stories but ‘Safar Tamam Hua’ takes it to another level by introducing the audience to a joint family living in the same house. The family consists of siblings Sami and Jamal who live with their mother; their father is dead. Sami’s paternal cousin Anoushey also lives with them with her father who is a musician; her mother is also dead. Sami’s intellectually disabled cousin Rija also lives with them; her mother is dead while her father doesn’t live in the house anymore.
Judging from the conversations in the first episode, Anoushey and Rija’s mothers died years ago and Sami’s mother brought them up as her daughters. Anoushey and Sami share an endearing bond with Rija and she is quite attached to them as well. Jamal, however, is quite harsh towards Rija and doesn’t miss a chance to scold her. Another one of Sami’s maternal cousins, Danish, was introduced in the drama, although he lives in another house with his mother. Danish also treats Rija like his own little sister.
First impressions
‘Safar Tamam Hua’ had a very decent start, as far as the first episodes go. Although the storyline doesn’t seem to have anything new to offer, the execution felt fresh. The writer and director have done a commendable job in etching out the characters. It might take some time for the audience to learn how everyone is related to each other, but the team tried its best to explain the relationships without seeming too convoluted.
Regarding the acting department, Sheherazade Sheikh has lined up a brilliant cast, led by Madiha Imam and Ali Rehman Khan. Both of them performed naturally and shared great chemistry. Sameena Ahmed, Saif e Hassan, Haris Waheed, and Syed Jibran gave convincing supporting performances. The scene-stealer, however, had to be Maha Hassan. After having played two headstrong characters in ‘Ishqiya’ and ‘Nand’, Maha is definitely on a roll. She has entirely transformed herself in Rija’s character, proving her versatility as an actress, which is saying a lot considering she hasn’t appeared in a lot of dramas.
Unlike ‘Phaans’ and ‘Aulaad’ which also feature intellectually disabled characters, ‘Safar Tamam Hua’ seems like a light-hearted family story. The first episode did a great job in laying the foundation of the story and we hope the drama can keep viewers engaged as the story progresses.
Another day, another episode of body-shaming. It seems like with every passing day, people are becoming more and more insensitive towards the subject rather than the opposite. The past month has been full of celebrities promoting an end to shaming and colourism while advocating a filter-free life and accepting/loving ourselves as well as others for who we are, as we are. But it seems like some of our celebrities still feel it’s okay to make fun of others, especially on their body, thinking it’s okay because the person they’re making fun of is their friend. I feel that still doesn’t change the fact that we can’t be insensitive. On Sunday, Vasay Chaudhry, yet again, made it to the news for what I feel are the wrong reasons – this time being body-shaming.
Here’s what happened
As you may (or may not) already know, Vasay Chaudhry hosts a celebrity talk show ‘Ghabrana Mana Hai’ where he holds an informal conversation with his guests, this time being Mehwish Hayat, who has numerous achievements under her belt which include awards, super hit films, along with receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. Not just that, Mehwish has also been recognised for her humanitarian work in various parts of the world.
Mehwish appeared on Vasay’s show, where she was asked about actors who could step into Ertugrul actors’ shoes. The Chhalawa actress named Ahmad Ali Butt which was funny to Vasay, who stopped her just so he could have his moment of “fun” and then began his prattle on Ahmad’s weight.
The conversation started with Vasay questioning Mehwish on one of her tweets regarding the hit Turkish drama Ertugrul where she mentioned that the drama is educational with moral lessons and historic significance.
Vasay asked her who from the Pakistani fraternity would she like to see play the role of Ertugrul’s side guards to which she named actor/comedian, Ahmed Ali Butt as a suitable candidate. Vasay stopped her mid-sentence saying, “Please, now stop over here. Ahmed Ali Butt on a horse? And that horse has to run too?”, as sarcastically as possible (one can tell from the look on his face)
Mehwish justified her comment and said, “Haven’t you seen him now? He’s fit!” Vasay was about to say something when Mehwish stopped him and told him to stop talking to her about body-shaming. “Stop talking to me about any body-shaming. In front of me you can’t.” She also added that if Vasay and Ahmed are friends, then he should be passing such comments in that circle of friends rather than on a platform where others (the public) will pick on it and repeat it. Then who would be responsible? Vasay quickly came to his own defence saying that is what Ahmed is doing and that’s the “joke”.
“I’ll tell you, I think we are taking it wrong. You cannot create humour, you cannot create satire, you have to realise. We are that nation who pinpoints flaws out of Anwar Maqsood and Moin Akhtar sahab’s work.” Addressing the audience, he asked, “You tell us, what should we do for you?” and then steered the topic to nepotism.
Mehwish also posted on her Instagram story, “I hope everyone understands this and follows through – it’s about time we become more aware of our responsibilities and act accordingly..”
Ahmed Ali Butt’s response
Ahmed being Ahmed took no offence to Vasay’s comments. In fact, he put up quite some humourous stories after watching the episode.
We asked Ahmed for a comment on the episode to which he sarcastically said, “Whatever happened was quite an unfortunate event and was really bad. I will file a First Information Report (FIR) against Vasay. This has to stop. This cannot go on. And thank you Mehwish for having my back and I feel much safer and protected knowing that I have a strong woman who has my back.” We couldn’t help but be amused by the comedian’s sense of humour who sarcastically mentioned wanting to file an FIR against his friend Vasay. He later also said that both Mehwish and Vasay are dear friends of his.
With the world turning towards being more sensitive and empathetic, and body-shaming being taken seriously than ever before, it’s time we become mindful of our words and our actions. Cheap humour at the cost of someone’s mental health should really have no room in today’s world, especially if it’s done publicly.
If you’re a TV drama enthusiast like I am, it is almost guaranteed you will watch the exchange of a thapad (slap) every now and then. To me, it is an overwhelmingly chilling thought that this concept of slapping someone in an argument is often celebrated (like in ‘Meray Pass Tum Ho‘). Well, should it even be thought of as a means of retaliation? Whenever I watch an on-screen thapad, I question the need for it. The build-up, most of the time, involves grief, trauma, patience, and revenge. Can the conflict be resolved otherwise? Most times the answer is yes but of course, less sensational. Here’s my attempt to debunk the myth that a thapad is a script demand to conclude a story – and why I feel a thapad (or outrage and violence in general) is never a solution.
Thapad as spiteful revenge
I fail to understand how these acts of violence, these thapads are not a call-for-a-fight, rather they just come out of the blue for no apparent reason. Why does the thapad come at the beginning of a monologue? Who in this world will get a thapad and then stand there to listen to some “logical” reasoning to justify it, “yeh thapad tumhe is liye mara hai…” It’s bizarre to see how the self-righteous and always goody-good lead lessens responsibility through blame, only to give viewers a fallacy of moral righteousness. And then in the most important plot points, the characters do not communicate; they either fail to say what was needed or fail to listen to what the other person had to say. Zero f***s given to reading body language. As a result, the miscommunication snowball rolls and bursts into a thapad which is just wrong on so many levels.
Where the protagonist is given the responsibility for all the success and happiness of everyone around, why isn’t the blame of failing to win over the so-called enemy also shared? No matter how we try to justify outrage, no matter how good it feels to physically assault people, it will always crush us from the inside over time. Physical violence is never a win or a loss, it is always a lose-lose situation. And since we never consciously acknowledge the pleasure associated with outrage, it is even more insidious. It seems with more and more thapads on screens, we are forgetting that wrath is vice even in a form of revenge.
Thapad as a wake-up call
If you, like many of our drama writers, think that a thapad will serve as a wake-up call, I have some bad news for you – you will most likely never hear “tum ne tou meri aankhaien khol dien” in response to such an act of violence and would probably put you in a vicious cycle. And if you have started to believe that your thapads can solve your issues with people, you are learning to become abusive in relationships. As a covert abuser, you may justify your actions by believing yourself to be the victim in the situation, but that still makes you an abuser.
Where the rest of the world is advancing towards restorative justice at the national level, we must start to demonstrate some degree of empathy at least on-screen if not in our justice system. We need to believe that the presence of empathy heals conflicts. And TV-dramas can be the vessel we need as they reach the masses. Why have our writers failed to establish that communication can resolve relationship problems? Shouldn’t we try to put an end to so much hatred in our society? Shouldn’t we start believing that empathy is not a weakness but a strength? If I am wrong and hateful to any person around me, getting a thapad from the person will only make me even more spiteful and I don’t see that ever changing. Like I said earlier, it’s then a vicious cycle that we’re stuck in.
We all have mirror-receptors
Since I had grown up watching the thapad-frenzy on TV, I am guilty of physically attacking my siblings in my formative years and I regret it the most. I can take responsibility for my actions now after years of realisation and awareness, but back then I was naïve and easily influenced by my surroundings – just basics of primary socialisation. When we know our protagonist resorts to outrage, somewhere I had this as an option in my subconscious. Well, I didn’t know any better. That’s where the content we consume can help, isn’t it? To show me how to handle the worst of myself in the craziest of situations. You know how certain advertisement jingles get stuck in our heads and sometimes we unconsciously repeat dialogues? Similarly, we pick up the tone of voice, certain words, and reactions by our favorite characters. If physical assault is being portrayed as a justified behaviour, it’s not unlikely that we start modeling it.
#NoMoreThapad
To all the ustaads hitting their chotus at work, teachers striking students in school, Qari Sahabs hitting their students, random violence towards house-helpers, husbands striking wives, wives returning thapads, siblings exchanging thapads and all the other thapad-o-thapad-ee crazy characters on TV, ENOUGH! This madness needs to stop. Let’s acknowledge that outrage only causes more harm and scars in our lives and it needs to come to an end. It’s time we start normalising sanity and resolving issues with respect and dialogue rather than physical abuse. Maybe that will bring change in our society, maybe that can help reduce the rising trend of rape, abuse, domestic violence, and other societal issues. These dramas are watched by people from all walks of life and every socioeconomic status. Watching how issues can possibly be resolved with love and respect might just influence them to do the same.
A new week has begun and we have compiled yet another list of what we feel have been stupendous performances that we can’t help but appreciate. More often than not, actors are responsible for carrying a whole drama on their shoulders, even when the storylines never support them. From the portrayal of a modern woman to the anguish of one-sided love, there were many other actors who left an impact on the audience with their acting. Here’s a breakdown of our favorite performances from the past week.
Yumna Zaidi as Allah Rakhi in ‘Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi’
Yumna Zaidi, with her soul-touching performance in this week’s episode of ‘Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi‘, proved yet again that she is one of the most talented actresses working in our industry. When the drama serial started, the audience didn’t know what to make of the mysterious character, Sumbal, played by Yumna. However, in the latest episode, Sumbal breaks down in front of Savera and reveals that her real name is Allah Rakhi – a name given to her because she had been declared dead when she was born and just as her father was about to bury her, she came back to life. Her father told her that she came back because she was destined to do great things in her life.
While telling her story to Savera, Allah Rakhi gets up and starts crying and dancing, referring to the fact that she was now a courtesan. It was hard for the audience to hold back their tears during the scene – all because of Yumna’s incredible performance.
Faryal Mehmood as Insha in ‘Raqeeb Se’
Faryal Mehmood has been in the industry for quite a long time now but for some reason, directors never knew how to extract the best out of her. Kashif Nisar, however, has finally given her a role worthy of her acting skills, in ‘Raqeeb Se’. Insha is perhaps the only sane voice in a drama that is filled with characters that are either too naïve, annoying, or extravagant; one may say that Insha is the audience’s voice since she questions everything that doesn’t make sense to her about the soft spot her parents (especially her mother Hajra) have for Sakeena.
Her troubles, however, don’t just end there. She also has to deal with her boyfriend who is suffering from an inferiority complex. But Insha isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade, regardless of whether she is talking to her father, mother, or her boyfriend. It is because of Faryal’s confident performance that the audience cannot help but shower its love on her character, which is saying a lot considering the drama has an A-list cast including Sania Saeed, Noman Ijaz, Iqra Aziz, and Saba Faisal.
Fariya Hassan as Sitara in ‘Raqs-e-Bismil’
Sitara was introduced as a rather “typical” character in ‘Raqs e Bismil’. Her parents had arranged and fixed her marriage with Moosa when they were children which led to Sitara fantasising about Moosa, fall in love with him and then get engaged. However, Moosa fell in love with Zohra and Sitara had to return her engagement ring, though that didn’t stop Sitara from loving him. In fact, she started respecting him even more.
Generally, our dramas have a habit of pitting two women against each other in a love triangle. That was not what happened in the latest episode of ‘Raqs e Bismil’. Both Sitara and Zohra want the best for Moosa, even though Sitara is madly in love with Moosa and Zohra isn’t. Sitara understands that she cannot force Moosa to love her but that doesn’t mean she can’t show her support for him. The conversation she has with Zohra was so well-written and moving. Fariya Hassan performed her scenes brilliantly while perfectly capturing the emotions of a desperate yet helpless woman who wants to help the man she loves, at any cost.
Shehzad Sheikh as Saahil in ‘Phaans’
It is always refreshing to see when actors leave their comfort zone and pick challenging roles regardless of whether they are successful in their experiment or not; the fact that they try to break the mold should be appreciated. The same goes for Shehzad Sheikh. After having performed a myriad of characters that were sometimes quite similar to each other, Shehzad has chosen to play the intellectually disabled character, Saahil, in ‘Phaans’, and has really outdone himself. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Saahil might be the best character he has played so far, keeping in mind how challenging the character is. But Shehzad, with his convincing performance, made it look effortless.
As of the latest episode, it is quite evident that there is more to Saahil’s character than we have seen in the past episodes.
To round off, lead or supporting, our actors were in-charge of their characters in their respective dramas this week. And with the introduction of Zara Sheikh in the next episode of ‘Raqs e Bismil’ and Maqsood asking Sakeena to leave the house in ‘Raqeeb Se’, it would be interesting to see how the dynamics change and what the new introductions have to offer to the audience.
After watching countless Pakistani dramas, studying their plots, and analysing their characters, I, as an avid drama viewer, have developed a recipe for making a drama a super-duper hit. So, come, let’s build a Pakistani drama.
Step 1: Genre
The first thing you have to do is pick a genre. You could create a romantic comedy or a melodrama. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, go for a thriller.
Step 2: Plot
The next step to making a successful drama is picking a good storyline. There’s a wide variety of topics to choose from such as familial problems or harassment. To make your drama truly relatable to the masses, it must revolve around marriage. You could talk about unhappy marriages, forced marriages, broken marriages, infidelity in marriage or multiple marriages. Bonus points if all of the above mentioned problems are incorporated in one story.
You could also make a drama centered on harassment. It could be workplace harassment, harassment at home or if you’re looking for something that’ll really pull ratings; false harassment allegations make for a great story.
Step 3: Lead Actor
Now that we’ve got the plot out of the way, let’s focus on our hero. Your hero has to either be perfection personified or devil incarnate. Keep in mind that if he’s the devil incarnate, he has to receive a redemption arc that allows him to be forgiven at the end.
He could be a rich, handsome, spoiled-rotten business man with a heart made of ice who only listens to his mother. Another option would be the poor, adorable and slightly lafanga, mohallay ka aashiq with the resilience of a mosquito in Pakistani summers. The third option would be a serious, misunderstood middle-class guy who has the emotional range of a teaspoon but is quite reliable and shows zero character development throughout the show.
Step 4: Lead Actress
Next up, our heroine. A good Pakistani drama heroine has to have some basic qualities. She must be effortlessly gorgeous yet unaware of her charms. She must be educated but not too much. She must be an excellent cook and willing to slave away at susral. She must have the strength of character to endure all kinds of injustice in the name of love, servitude and honour. Most importantly, she must have an abundance of forgiveness in her heart for when her male counterpart eventually returns to her after countless transgressions. The “ideal” Pakistani daughter, in short.
While different physical appearances are being encouraged these days, it’s better to go for a fair, thin conventionally beautiful actress with lovely, long tresses and big, brown eyes. If you want to spice things up by adding a plus-sized character, invest in a fat suit or two instead of taking a chance on actual fat girls.
Step 5: Anti-heroes
Moving on to our villains. 9 out of 10 times it has to be a woman. If you want your drama to be an instant success, you need to truly believe that women are the root cause of all evil. Focus on the“aurat he aurat ki dushman hai” narrative to really make things interesting.
You could add a sister or step-sister that is the complete opposite of your heroine and wants to steal all the leads’ happiness for herself. You could also add a khaala/phupo ki beti who has loved the hero since she was 12 and is propelled into an unholy rage when the hero picks the heroine over her. The evil nand and/or saas who just wants to see the world burn is always an excellent choice too.
If you’re really feeling rebellious, your villain could be a guy. All the heroine has to do is reject him and he will be committed to making her life hell on Earth for the afront.
Step 6: Setting
Your show has to have a setting that truly compliments the story and characters. Based on your story, you can either pick a quirky two-storey house in a mohalla. An old-school ‘chatt’ is mandatory to facilitate clandestine meetings and a bit of romance.
If this doesn’t suit your story, we’ve got 3-4 houses in defence that are perfect for the heroine’s maika and susral. And that’s pretty much all you need.
That’s a wrap!
If you keep all of these pointers in mind, you’re on your way to creating a super hit drama serial that will generate great TRPs and give you millions of views on YouTube. All the best!
Lollywood’s diva is back on the hosting seat with her new Islamic show ‘Amad-e-Ramzan’. After a 3-year hiatus from the entertainment industry, Noor Bukhari, the “Hijabi-Superwoman” as some may say, is set to grace our screens with a religious show on PTV Home.
Talking to Galaxy Lollywood, Noor expressed her delight in returning to hosting while hoping that her visibility in her new avatar will help women wearing hijabs be “normal” and not a symbol of oppression. She also aims to bring religious and women-related issues to light in her ‘Amad-e-Ramzan’ show which will air on PTV Home. “It feels good to be back in front of the camera, that too at my home – PTV. PTV Home is my home”, she added while expressing her excitement.
PTV Home is continuing its tradition of bringing Islamic content to our screens in Ramzan with special Sehri and Iftar television programming for the whole month, and now we will be seeing Noor bringing in a new trend of a pre-Ramzan transmission. The Shab-e-Miraj transmission aired last night, but we will be seeing more of her in live transmission before Ramzan starts, which we assume will be a show on how to prepare ourselves for the holy month.
Noor Bukhari on the sets of Shab-e-Miraj transmission on PTV Home
This, however, is not the first time Noor will be hosting a show of her own. She was last seen hosting in October 2017 after which she bid her showbiz life farewell. This decision came out after her parting ways with her then-husband, singer Wali Hamid Khan, after which she chose to dedicate her life to a soul-searching path. “I am a changed woman. My ideals have changed. My hardship brought me closer to Allah and I want to be able to share my transformation and gain knowledge about this path I have taken.” Talking to a news agency, she said, “I truly believe you don’t choose to be close to Allah; He chooses you”. Her fans welcomed her decision and called her an empowering role model for Muslim women.
The former actress is now seen closely with Bushra Bibi who is the wife of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. Speaking in a Q&A session on Instagram with her followers about her relationship with Bushra Bibi, she said, “She’s [Bushra Bibi] more than a mother to me.” In June 2018, Noor had shared a picture of herself and Bushra Bibi in Saudi Arabia, where the two had gone to perform the pilgrimage.
Body shaming has become quite the norm these past few years, especially in our part of the world. We keep hearing about celebrities being shamed for being “too skinny” or “fat” almost every day, not just by their fans or the general public, but also by their co-workers. Models, actors, and other public figures are often subject to the public’s scrutiny and at times, it does get out of hand. Even the general public, like you and I, the common person, is either on the receiving end or the opposite, of body shaming. And what’s disappointing is that we don’t even realise the impact it has on the person being shamed.
Juggun Kazim recently appeared in an interview where she shared that ever since she had her last baby, which was in October 2020, she has been subject to all sorts of comments on her body. Mind you, post-pregnancy weight gain is targeted the most in Pakistani women, where everyone thinks they’re giving you friendly advice to “take care of their body” but what is ignored is that a nursing mother cannot focus on losing weight as it does affect her child’s meals.
In her recent interview with BBC Urdu, Juggun started with all the names she was called when she gained weight, including “moti, gainda” (fat, rhino). “The people who pass these remarks take it as a joke but they are painful for the one who is at the receiving end,” she said.
She broke down while saying, “People pass nasty comments regarding my chest. I know my size has increased and I know that if I wasn’t nursing, I could starve myself to lose weight, but if [right now] I go onto a hardcore Keto diet, ketones will be released in my milk. I can’t feed my child like that.”
Talking about the impact of post-pregnancy body shaming on one’s mental health, Juggun unfolded how she was deeply into postpartum depression. “When I was in postpartum depression and was constantly reminded of how fat l am, I just wanted the Earth to explode and for me to just fall into it and the entire chapter closes.” She also revealed how her body shamers impacted her everyday life. “Even now, when I’m walking, I walk in dropping posture so that no one notices my chest. I don’t want to feel like this and I don’t want any other woman to feel it either.”
Lastly, Juggun addressed her body shamers, asking them to let her be since she just reproduced. She added that if her body weight is to reduce, it will and if it doesn’t then it doesn’t. It is her choice. She concluded by saying, “For God’s sake, there’s a limit. There need’s to be a point to just take a break!”
Back in 2019, the actor and TV host posted a detailed video on her YouTube channel regarding body shaming and how its victims go into depression, feel ashamed, and suffer from anxiety. She also revealed how she had a miscarriage and that resulted in weight gain. Juggun Kazim is a mother of 3, and like many other mothers on our side of the world, is body-shamed for gaining weight after giving birth to not just one, but three children.
The Pakistani entertainment industry is an interesting yet equally unforgiving arena, where dreams are created, superstars are born, and many unforgettable stories are given birth. But not all is hunky-dory in this cut-throat world of glitz and glamor which requires careful treading, for one wrong move can ruin a career in the blink of an eye. Artists have to build and maintain their careers with a combination of the right choices at the right time with the right type of people. One wrong project could sometimes get you down the spiral of a never-ending abyss.
Brandon Fraser, the star of the 90s superhit cinematic franchise “The Mummy” was asked about his unexpected absence from Hollywood screens. The actor responded by saying “There is a moment when the phone stops ringing in your career, and you start asking yourself the reasons… There are many reasons in my case”. Fraser’s case isn’t unique.
The rather petite tinsel town of Pakistan is not short of examples where artists started or developed their careers showing immense future prospects, yet at some point took a wrong turn where their careers seemed to fall off a cliff, but not because of a lack of talent. A wrong choice of teams or projects, a public freak out, being difficult to work with, or just a lack of ample opportunities or choices are many of the countless reasons where a talented artist’s career would have to end in a cul-de-sac or at least appear so.
There are some cases where film stars manage to claw their way back into the limelight from the seemingly impossible positions – for most, retiring from the public eye with whatever acting jobs at hand. A lot of them consider an alternate career path altogether. Here are a few Pakistani celebrities whose careers could have taken a substantially sustainable trajectory. However, some unfortunate choices led to unfavourable outcomes.
Zara Sheikh
An actor who gave hit films in an era when Lollywood was taking its last breaths, Zara started out with photographer Khawar Riaz and became a successful model. Due to her unconventional looks, slender frame, and height, she grabbed everyone’s attention in showbiz. With her successful debut in the year 2000s blockbuster ‘Tere Pyar Mein’, Zara made sure to be part of every major Lollywood project thereafter. All big projects of that era like ‘Chalo Ishq Larraen’, ‘Laaj’, ‘Pehla Pehla Pyar’, ’Kabhi Pyar Na Karna’, ‘Tere Bin Jiya Na Jaye’ and ‘Salakhen’ had Zara’s name in it.
However, other than ‘Salakhein‘, none of the films worked at the box office. The blame obviously couldn’t be placed on the actress as Pakistani cinema itself was in its final moribund phases. Urdu cinema was replaced by extremely subpar Punjabi films in which Zara refused to work.
Imaginably, the situation of her resume could have been different, had she given a shot to some big TV projects at the peak of her cinematic career, just like Reema did with her association with Geo TV. Now, Zara must solidify herself as an adaptable actor in order to get the limelight that she deserves. Currently, she is part of Hum TV’s drama ‘Raqs e Bismil’.
Veena Malik
Zara’s contemporary, Veena, proved to be much bolder and versatile with regard to her career choices. Veena also started as a model albeit on a far smaller scale than Zara and played a supporting role in the movie ‘Tere Pyar Mein’. She played supporting roles in multiple films and was type-casted as a skin-showing “bold” heroine. However, her one Punjabi romantic film ‘Mohabbataan Sachiyan’ gave her an opportunity to ground herself as a serious actor. Despite the film being a musical and box office hit, it was too late for Veena to build a sustainable film career ( just like Zara) because the film industry simply lacked quality opportunities for the actress to build the right reputation for herself.
Veena moved to television where she performed in multiple TV shows and became a proven comedian. Her stints in Bollywood included her ‘Bigg Boss’ participation and some forgettable second-grade Bollywood films which garnered a lot of controversies as well as fame for the actor, so much so that she would be dubbed as the Paris Hilton and Rakhi Sawant of Pakistan.
Veena could have easily banked on her on and off-screen resume in Pakistan, however, she got married and moved to Dubai, which happened quite suddenly. This obviously clouded the spotlight she generated for herself and it is quite unlikely to be created again. But it’s safe to say that at her time, Veena gave us some spectacular performances that further cemented her as a fireball of talent. We would love to see her back with her impeccable skill of parody and comedy, similar to her role in Geo TV’s ‘Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain‘ if nothing else.
Humaima Malick
Humaima is undoubtedly one of the most versatile actors the Pakistani entertainment industry has seen in recent years. She can act, she can dance, looks incredible, and has an unignorable cinematic presence. With dramas like ‘Ishq Junoon Deewangi’, ‘Tanveer Fatima (B.A)’, and ‘Akbari Asghari’ under her belt, along with a debut performance in Shoaib Mansoor’s film ‘Bol’, Humaima had arrived.
But unfortunately, she couldn’t elongate her period of success. A Bollywood film opposite Emran Hashmi ‘Raja Natwarlal’ kept her in the limelight which led to having expected more projects. However, a sudden deterioration in Indo-Pak political relations caused a huge setback to her prospects in Bollywood, like many Pakistani artists at that time. In Pakistan, she lost big projects like ‘Baji’ due to her allegedly “difficult” attitude towards local filmmakers. An unnecessary delay in her big project ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ caused further damage to Humaima’s career.
Humaima was last seen grooving to the songs of Imran Khan as she performed at the PSL opening ceremony. We really do hope that the talented star says yes to more projects and we get to see her back in action.
Sohai Ali Abro
With films like ‘Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (JPNA)’ and ‘Wrong Number’ at the start of her cinematic career and her stints in TV dramas like ‘Pyare Afzal’, Sohai Ali Abro was perhaps the most loved, chirpy leading lady Pakistani cinema has had after the legendary Babra Sharif.
People loved her “patakha” avatar despite being type-casted in many projects. At the peak of her career, Sohai surprisingly rejected many big projects like ‘Punjab Nahi Jaungi’ and lost Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar’s much controversial ‘Kaaf Kangna’, taking the attention of tabloids away from her. Her last cinematic outing, 2018’s biographical film ‘Motorcycle Girl’ garnered praise from critics for her performance which resulted in her achieving a Lux Style Award for Best Film Actress Critic’s Choice. However, her career choices in both cinema and TV didn’t do much service to her progress and the actress was somewhat forgotten for quite some time.
Sohai presently seems to be on a spree to revitalise her career and is being seen in ‘Prem Gali‘ on ARY Digital, as well as various advertisements. Not just that, you can also see her in Vasay Chaudhry’s talk show as a filler-performer, much on the lines of her role in JPNA. We feel she could use a “big offer” both in TV and cinema, to get her career back on track.
Danish Taimoor
Pakistani cinema has had very few promising male actors in its revival phase; even fewer remained consistent with their big-screen offerings. Danish Taimoor remained the “next-big-thing” for a considerable amount of time in Pakistan’s nascent filmdom and was noticed as the hot-headed protagonist in 2015’s action film ‘Jalaibi’ and later in the action-comedy ‘Wrong No.’, after which ‘Mehrunnisa V Lub U’ proved his last notable project. Thereafter, his film career saw an unfortunate downward spiral, starting with Sangeeta’s infamous return to the director’s chair with ‘Tum Hi To Ho’.
Danish, like many of the above-mentioned actors, can’t be fully blamed for his unfortunate career bearings. There are always limited opportunities for actors in a small industry like our entertainment industry, and most importantly, the public relations game has to be really strong to maintain a steady foot in the industry. Perhaps those with their own production houses, like Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa, and even Sheheryar Munawar, are better examples to be followed; they create content that promotes themselves and meets their requirements as an actor when others have limited options to offer.
Currently, Danish is back on television where he was last seen acting in ‘Meherposh’ and hosting various gameshows on Bol TV.
Conclusion
While we believe that these actors took some unfortunate decisions in their careers that steered them away from the spotlight, not all hope is lost. With the rising trend of OTT platforms among other avenues, the named actors have a plethora of opportunities that are still untapped from their end. We see fresh talent left, right, and center in various dramas and films, but what more could the audience happier than to see these established artists strike back with their amplified skillset?
Zara Sheikh coming back to our screens with ‘Raqs e Bismil’, Sohai with all the adverts, ‘Prem Gali‘, Danish’s display of great acting potential in ‘Meherposh’, most of the above-mentioned actors are on their way to getting their career’s back on track and we cannot wait to see what more they have to offer to their fans.
Just over a year ago, Syra Yousuf and her former husband, Shahroze Sabzwari, announced that they’ll be getting a divorce while asking the public to respect their privacy in that difficult period. Shahroze married his current wife, model-turned-actress Sadaf Kanwal, and the internet went crazy. The character assassination of the newly married couple flew about while Syra was praised for her composure in the situation. Now, a year down the road, Syra and Bilal Ashraf posted pictures together on their respective Instagram accounts and netizens are in a frenzy!
Syra posted a selfie with the ‘Superstar’ actor with the caption that reads “Kind people are the best kind of people” and tagged Bilal.
The comment section under her post is showered with love not just by fans, but also celebrities including Mahira Khan, Saboor Aly, Sofia Khan and designer Zara Shahjahan.
Bilal also posted a picture with Syra on his account with the caption “Dataaaaa” to which Syra commented, “Hahah our standard greeting”. The comments below are full of speculations regarding the two actors’ relationship together. From the looks of it, fans are excited to see Syra and Bilal together, on-screen or off-screen.
Syra, however, was also shipped with Sheheryar Munawar after a cozy shoot of the two hit the internet, last year. Sheheryar and Syra instantly came under the spotlight, especially since the shoot came out after Syra’s former husbands’ marriage, and the shoot was just so steamy. Their sizzling chemistry the audience back to the Ho Mann Jahaan days where the two were assumed to be together in the last few minutes after the duo busted killer moves to the famous track Shakar Wandaan. Syra and Sheheryar were later seen in Humayun Saeed starrer Project Ghazi.
Speculations of Bilal Ashraf and Syra Yusuf being in a romantic relationship are already floating the internet but neither of the two actors have brought forward any clarity on the matter. But they both definitely do look cute together.
