Every year the world celebrates Father’s day on the third Sunday of June. This time around despite the pandemic woes, celebrities made sure they empower their fathers with heartfelt social media posts.
Take a look at some of the sweetest wishes on social media by our celebrities:
Instagram is the most popular social media platform amongst Pakistani celebrities who use the app to interact and engage with their fans and followers. Celebrities also do their PR work and online endorsements on social media. Here’s what each one of them is doing right to be amongst the most sought after personalities on social media.
Here is the list of eight most followed Pakistani celebrities:
Ayeza Khan – 9.2 Million
With 9.2 million followers, Ayeza became the most followed celebrity of Pakistan in 2021, the Mere Paas Tum Ho actress often share pictures of her husband Danish Taimoor and her kids. Ayeza’s biggest strategy is that she posts a lot. The more you post the more followers and engagement you get on your profile. Ayeza posts multiple PR content or paid posts in a day.
Aiman Muneeb – 8.5 Million
Aiman is the second most followed celebrity on Instagram with 8.5 million followers. She in one of the most active celebrities on Instagram. Aiman shares a lot of family pictures including her daughter Amal’s. She also does post a lot of PR content which further expands her digital horizon.
Mahira Khan – 7.6 Million
Pakistani superstar Mahira Khan has 7.6 million followers. The Raees actress shares candid moments from her life on social media including pictures with no make-up which very few actresses can. Mahira should post more considering the amount of work she does.
Sajal Ahad Mir – 7.1 Million
Sajal has 7.1 million followers despite staying low-key on Instagram, unlike other married actresses she posts more pictures of herself rather than with her family. Although she makes a point to upload her family pictures from special occasions like Saboor’s engagement with Ali Ansari.
Mawra Hocane – 6.5 Million
Mawara started her social media game much before her contemporaries and has remained the most followed celebrity at one point in time. She has 6.5 million followers. Mawra every other day treats her followers with glimpse from her personal life and work diaries.
Atif Aslam – 5.8 Million
The iconic singer has 5.8 million followers on Instagram and his followers list includes fans from India and Gulf. Atif is a global superstar and is the most followed singer of Pakistan.
Hira Mani- 5.8 Million
Hira Mani who has recently turned into a singer is known for her over-expressive presence on social media, Hira posts family content and her photoshoots. She keeps a fine balance between professional and personal pictures.
Maya Ali- 5.6 Million
The Teefa in Trouble actress has 5.6 million followers on Instagram. Maya always keeps her fans updated by posting her pictures in trendy clothes and fashion shoots. She also shares her health updates which makes her equation with her fans more interactive and personal. She shared her brother’s wedding pictures on her profile which her fans showered with love.
Ali Zafar who recently won “Pride of Performance”, has 4.7 million followers on the picture sharing application, Ali shares pictures ranging from his music sessions and BTS of his films and shoots to his appearances at events.
Ali Zafar – 4.7 Million
Mawra Hocane has sent love to Neetu Kapoor on Rishi Kapoor’s first death anniversary.
Commenting on Neetu’s post in which she remembered her late husband, Mawra Hocane posted three hearts to extend her love and prayers.
“All of last year has been of grief and sadness around the world for us maybe more as we lost him,” wrote Neetu, alongside a black and white picture of her and Rishi.
“Not a day has gone by when we have not discussed or reminisced him as he was an extension of our existence. Sometimes his wise advice, his wisecracks, his anecdotes,” she continued. “We have celebrated him all year with a smile on the lips as he will stay in our hearts forever we have accepted life will never be the same without him.”
Kapoor’s daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni also remembered her late father, saying: “If only I could hear you call me mushk once more.”
Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30, 2020 in Mumbai after a two year long battle with cancer.
Adnan Siddiqui also remembered Kapoor, saying: “The man who remained young at heart till his last moments, who loved life, the most swashbuckling romantic hero Bollywood ever had. #RishiKapoor sahib you may be gone but you live in our hearts forever.”
Meanwhile, our Pakistani celebrities who got a chance to meet with the actor shared pictures of themselves with the romantic hero and remembered him.
“He was the best of the best,” wrote Humayun.
“You shall continue to be the legend that you are. I’ll always remember you fondly,” said the actor.
Though the coronavirus pandemic continues to unleash its wrath, summer’s almost here and we’re craving some excitement in life. And there’s no better way to welcome the summer than with a trip to the hairstylist to refresh our hair. Our favourite celebrities have been doing the same so take some inspiration from them for your summer look.
Mawra decided to go for a completely new look which is making her feel “fresh as a daisy”. The actor kept her long locks but went for a heavy fringe, which is making her look super cute.
Saboor is rocking that bob with such finesse, that it makes us want to chop off all our hair and opt for a hairstyle just like hers. Have to say, it’ll be ideal for the summer.
Mansha also chopped off her long locks opting for shoulder length hair and looking absolutely fabulous in them. This hairstyle is perfect for those who want a bit of change but don’t want to experiment too much.
Neelam opted for rounds layers to make her hair look more voluminous and give them a bounce.
Aamna Ilyas, chopping her long locks went for a flaunting new look. Aamna’s bobs are complimenting her and frames her face in a much more flattering way.
Mawra Hocane and Aiman Khan have hit out at social media pages for creating an issue out of a non-issue.
As per details, controversy erupted after a clip of Aiman, in which she was commenting on Mawra’s weight went viral on social media. The clip in question was from Hina Altaf and Aagha Ali’s The Couple’s Show on which Aiman appeared with husband Muneeb Butt.
During the show, when asked to give advice to Hocane, Khan had remarked that “she [Mawra] should gain some weight as she is very skinny”. Aiman’s comments did not go down well with Mawra’s fans who then attacked the actor for them.
Responding to the controversy, Mawra requested all her fan pages and other social media pages to “be kind” and “give each other some space for improvement.”
In a note shared on social media, the Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 said: “I DO NOT appreciate anyone throwing the other person under the bus in the garb of supporting me.”
“We must know how far we must go and not vilify the other person involved in the process,” she continued. “We are all humans and utter words we don’t entirely understand or mean!”
“Let’s give each other space for improvement and not to do the same or worse by spewing hate,” added Mawra, urging everyone to be “please be kind”.
On the other hand, while asking netizens to keep their opinion to themselves, Khan said: “I don’t understand why people take things personally and spread negativity. My life is not your property, you have no right to say anything to me if I can’t say anything to you.”
Read more – Aiman Khan says her 8 million following is ‘organic’
“My education, my accent is not your problem,” said the actor further. “Would my degree land you a job? No, right? Keep your nose out of my business, thanks. Make life easy and stop this nonsense.”
Khan added: “Games are games and shows are shows – nothing is personal. I think bloggers shouldn’t make everything breaking news.”
“We are already suffering a lot so stop making our lives tough with your stupid comments. Stop making issues out of nothing. Stop this nonsense, stop this hatred,” she asserted.
Later in another post, she shared an announcement on her Story whereby she clarified a number of issues circulating on social media.
She wrote, “This is to clear a number of issues that I’ve been seeing circulating on the social media.”
Aiman stated “Initially, I’m not the form of particular person to disrespect anybody on nationwide tv or by social media.”
“Secondly, social media portals and bloggers shouldn’t mislead a remark simply to create a stir and get eye balls on their platforms. They need to act responsibly and never add gasoline to fireside,” she added.
Aiman Khan went on to say, “Thirdly, my training and my accent in none of anybody’s concern, I’m a public determine sure, however not the general public property that anybody can write something damaging or derogatory about.”
“I’m not a hater nor do I consider in spreading hate. A lot love,” she concluded.
To say that the last year has been a roller coaster would be an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in some way or another.
Mawra Hocane recently opened up on how the pandemic affected her fitness routine and advised all her followers to breathe when in doubt.
Read more – Mawra Hocane says she is no longer embarrassed by her anxiety
Sharing a picture of herself doing yoga, Mawra said: “I was majorly a gym person up until COVID happened.”
“Today marks a year of me training at home all by myself, with little help from friends and YouTube, as much as I feel comfortable and when I feel the need for it,” shared Mawra.
“Let’s all aspire to be our healthier versions, always,” said the actor further, adding: “When in doubt…breathe.”
Last year, Mawra was criticised on social media for being too skinny, when she posted a picture of herself with the caption “Losing all of my weight and all of my mind.” Mawra later deleted that post.
‘Tis the season to make merry and celebrate the end of a terribly challenging year. To commemorate the occasion, several celebrities including Mawra Hocane, Yasir Hussain, Adnan Siddiqui and Bilal Ashraf took to social media to extend warm wishes for Christmas.
Mawra Hocane shared a Boomerang of herself sitting next to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, wishing everyone a “Merry, merry Christmas.”
Adnan Siddiqui also wished everyone a Merry Christmas, saying: “It’s the season to be jolly and spend time with your loved ones. To all my Christian brothers and sisters may this Christmas bring you to cheer, joy and lot of blessings.”
While greeting people on Christmas Humayun Saeed wrote: “Lots of love, prayers and best wishes for everyone celebrating Christmas”
Armeena Khan extended Christmas greetings by sharing a picture of herself holding a unicorn.
“Happy Christmas to everyone everywhere, especially to the Pakistani Christian community,” she wrote.
Yasir Hussain also sent out Christmas greetings and shared a quote by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Saheefa Jabbar Khattak too extended her greetings.
“Merry Christmas you’all. Have a great weekend ahead”, she said.
Juggun Kazim shared a picture of Christmas tree on her Insta Story and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
Bilal Ashraf also extended Christmas wishes.
Amna Ilyas also posted a Christmas wish.
Meanwhile, Zara Noor Abbas shared adorable pictures of herself and husband Asad Siddiqui celebrating Christmas.
Ever since he assumed office, Prime Minister Imran Khan has given us plenty of recommendations on drama serials and books – the most prominent being Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul and Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love. Earlier this week, PM Khan recommended the youth to watch another Turkish show on Sufism Yunus Emre: Aşkin Yolculuğu, which is also being aired on PTV in Urdu.
While we love the fact that the PM takes out time to recommend stuff to the youth, we decided to turn the tables and recommend him a few recent (in the past two years) Pakistani drama serials which are worth watching. Check out our suggestions below:
While Hum TV’s Sabaat in its essence is a family drama exploring familial relations and dynamics, its presentation was very refreshing, in particular Anaya and Hassan’s storyline. The drama highlighted the importance of having a healthy, loving relationship with your children and gave out a strong message on the importance of empowering women and daughters and gave viewers a new heroine after Zindagi Gulzar Hai‘s Kashf. It also showed how ego, money and misunderstandings can ruin relationships and your life. All these themes are the ones which PM Khan has time and time again urged our drama writers to show on television.
Read more – ‘Sabaat’ manages to tie up loose ends in a rushed finale
Starring PM Imran’s BFF Hamza Ali Abbasi and Sajal Aly in the lead, Alif, written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Haseeb Hasan focuses on the spiritual journeys of two individuals Qalb-e-Momin (Hamza) and Momina Sultan (Sajal), who despite coming from completely different backgrounds help each other find peace in righteousness. Alif was a brilliant example of good storytelling and sensitive direction. Moreso, the entire cast of the drama including Hamza, Sajal, Ahsan Khan, Manzar Sehbai and Kubra Khan gave strong and solid performances. It is pertinent to add here that Hamza in several interviews has shared that his life reflects what is shown in the drama.
Perhaps one of the most-loved dramas in the country, Suno Chanda (Season 1) is chaotic, fun and will leave you with a warm feeling. The show which ran through Ramadan and had everyone hooked is about a household in which the children of two brothers get married just before the family’s patriach passes away. Directed by Aehsun Talish and written by Saima Akram Chaudhry, Suno Chanda is a comedy drama done just right. From the performances to the witty dialogues to the direction, everything about this drama was brilliant. The show gave us some memorable characters and there was bound to be one person in the cast you could relate too.
Out of the list, if there is one drama the prime minister should be watching, it should be Suno Chanda. Will also give him some much-needed respite from the day-to-day political tensions.
Yet another multi-starrer drama starring some big dramas of the drama industry, Aangan brought back and romanticised living in joint family systems while at the same time highlighting the issues that come with it. The drama very delicately and tactfully challenged societal norms while keeping viewers engaged and hooked. Aangan is without a doubt one of Faiza Iftikhar’s finest works. I am pretty sure Khan sahab is going to love this one. It is everything he wants to promote through television and dramas.
Perhaps the darkest drama on this list, Mawra Hocane and Adnan Siddiqui’s Sammi sheds light on the custom of vani (or exchange brides) and how women are forced to continuously bear children in the quest for a son. It is gritty and makes you uncomfortable but that is because you know that this is exactly what happens to women in this country. The drama has been sensitively written by Noor ul Huda Shah and directed by Saifee Hassan.
Is there any other drama you would recommend PM Imran to watch? Let us know in the comments below.
Pakistani dramas and their storylines are controversial and at times, phenomenal. Many recent dramas and characters have become so popular that they are the talk of every living room, Facebook and WhatsApp groups, with some viewers saying hai and some saying sahi kia!
Through the years we’ve seen many female villains such as Naveen Waqar’s character in Humsafar as Sara, Ushna Shah as Nigaar in Balaa, Iqra Aziz as Nirma in Jhooti as Nirma and recently Sabeena Farooq as Zoya in Kashf. These characters have made their mark, but today we will be discussing three vamps who have left people speechless and fuming with anger.
ARY’s Nand is all about the one, and the only sister-in-law Gohar, played by Faiza Hassan. Faiza has made a comeback after a long time and to see her play a negative character with such finesse is nothing short of a treat. She is not only convincing as Gohar but has actually made the viewer’s resent her character, which is a win as an actor.
Gohar is a nightmare for anyone and everyone around her. First, she makes her brother Saqib (Shahroz Sabzwari) divorce his wife Rabi (Minal Khan) and later starts creating misunderstandings between her younger brother Hassan (Ayaz Samoo) and his wife Farwa (Maha Hasan). She also leaves her husband Jahangir (Aijaz Aslam) because of his financial status. Ultimately she goes back to him when he becomes rich and starts creating problems for Rabi who is now her husband’s second wife (OUCH)!
It is only because of Faiza’s grip on the character that she has succeeded in showing the ugly side of a narcissistic woman who doesn’t mind ruining people’s lives because of her sadistic persona. She is envious and is probably a victim of her own weaknesses because she fails to see the good in people around her. She is so cruel and heartless to the extent that she manipulates her own son to use him against her husband.
Read more – ‘Nand’: No shades of grey
2. Sarah Khan – Miraal (Sabaat)
Miraal, played by Sarah Khan, is a young arrogant woman belonging to a controlling and egotistical elite family. Her father Seth Fareed (Moazzam Ali Khan) is a wealthy businessman who supports her despite her selfish actions. Miraal’s mother (Laila Zuberi) and grandmother try to make her understand that she is on the wrong track but their advice falls on deaf ears. Miraal dotes on her younger brother Hassan Fareed (Ameer Gillani), who is somehow influenced by her. One fine day, he falls for and marries Anaya Aziz (Mawra Hocane), an ambitious, strong-headed, women’s rights activist studying at the same university as him – but doesn’t have the same financial background.
When Miraal and Hassan’s grandmother dies, Miraal begins to feel disturbed and consults a psychiatrist Dr Haris (Usman Mukhtar). Her fiancé Ali runs away on their wedding day and dumps her leaving her shocked. On the other hand, her brother Hassan and Anaya get married against the wishes of his father and Miraal – Anaya was too poor to be part of the family.
Meanwhile, Seth Fareed makes every effort to make Miraal feel comfortable and happy. Miraal hates Anaya, humiliates her several times and does whatever she could to kick her out of Hassan’s life. She also leaves her husband Dr Haris, who tried to help her before and after marriage. Destroying the lives of all four of them, she is blind to the fact that she is wreaking havoc on her own self as well.
SPOILER ALERT: In the last episode she has an accident and her spinal cord is affected due to which she couldn’t walk. She then seeks forgiveness from those who she hurt and tries to redeem herself.
Sarah has outdone herself with this character and did complete justice to a challenging role, villainous role, and with such class and elegance that she left all the other actors far behind. She turned out to be everyone’s favourite villian (and actor) in the drama.
Read more – ‘Sabaat’ manages to tie up loose ends in a rushed finale
3. Minal Khan – Nisha (Jalan)
Nisha (Minal Khan) and Misha (Areeba Habib) are two sisters who belong to an upper-middle-class household. Nisha is a selfish girl who habitually wants everything that Misha has and Misha, who dotes on her sister, does anything that will make Nisha happy. Nisha gets engaged to her cousin Ahmer (Fahad Sheikh) who loves her intensely but after her engagement, Misha gets married to the super rich and handsome Asfandyar (Emmad Irfani).
Nisha, seeing her sister’s expensive gifts and big house breaks her own engagement with Ahmer, accusing him of physically abusing her and plays the victim in front of Asfandyar to gain his sympathy.
Meanwhile, Misha finds out she is pregnant but totally oblivious to her sister’s evil plans, invites her into her home to stay for a while. Nisha continues to estrange her sister from Asfand, luring him into liking her and finally succeeding. Asfandyar divorces Misha, who goes into premature labour and delivers a baby boy. Nisha, on the other hand, runs away from home and pushes Asfi to marry her asap. When Misha finds out that her sister is marrying her ex-husband, she lights herself on fire and dies. Nisha does not regret any of her actions and tries to secure her husband’s wealth.
There is no way that you don’t hate Nisha but a part of you will admire her as well – the girl definitely gets what she wants and she doesn’t let anything stand in her way – not her fiancé, parents, or sister. She is so insensitive and heartless but utterly determined. Minal has done complete justice to the role, with every dialogue and expression. Can’t wait to see how this one ends.
Sabaat, with its refreshing storyline and empowered female characters, won acclaim over the weeks for being different from other dramas being shown on television. It drew to a close Sunday night with a finale that felt a bit rushed but successfully managed to tie up loose ends.
The final episode of the drama saw Miraal (Sarah Khan) get involved in a car accident and damage her spinal cord which leaves her paralysed from the hip down. That one incident changes everything and gives all major characters in the series a happy ending. When Miraal regains consciousness after her accident, she discovers that her current love interest and ex-fiancé Ali, who was driving the car has run away, while her estranged husband Dr Haris (Usman Mukhtar) is by her side. She realises that she has done wrong to a lot of people and starts redeeming herself – first by telling Hasan (Ameer Gilani) that she was the one who ruined his relationship with Anaya (Mawra Hocane) and then apologising to Anaya personally (That one scene was very well executed). Later, she also seeks forgiveness from her husband, who she was seeking khula from. Everything comes full circle and all characters in the series get a happy ending, including Anaya’s mother (Simi Raheal).
Though in its essence, Sabaat is a family drama with all the usual tropes like a mistrusting husband, nand-bhabhi tensions, etc, its treatment was what set it apart from other dramas. Besides, the drama resonated well with audiences because of its realistic presentation.
Sabaat was beautifully written by Kashif Anwar (Fun fact – Kashif played Yasir Qureshi in the drama), with some impactful dialogues and brilliant story development (I will forgive the makers for stretching the drama in the last few episodes). The performances were solid – it will not be wrong to say that Mawra Hocane delivered her career-best performance as the quiet but headstrong Anaya, while Sarah Khan played the manipulative and spoilt Miraal to perfection. The boys (Ameer and Usman) also gave great performances and Usman, in particular, blew me away. Not only was Dr Haris an incredibly likable character but Usman also did complete justice to it. I will never forget that tear that dropped from his eye when he received the divorce papers. Laila Zuberi and Simi Raheel were wonderful as the supportive and encouraging mothers while Moazzam Ali Khan was brilliant as the arrogant Fareed Sahab.
Another reason why the drama stood out was because of its strong and empowered female characters. Though Anaya was a mild-natured person, she did not resort to being a bechari when things went bad and made the best of her circumstances. Even Hassan and Dr Haris were a rare breed – they were shown as sensitive and caring individuals. It is unusual to come across such characters on Pakistani television these days.
Personally, what I liked best about Sabaat was that nothing about it was over-the-top. Even in her angriest moments, Miraal was restrained and did not resort to screaming (read: screeching) like a mad person.
Read more – ‘Sabaat’ will have you hooked
The OST and background music was lovely and perfectly complemented the drama and storyline. Also a shoutout to the drama’s styling team – Miraal’s wardrobe was amazing. I loved each and every outfit and Sarah carried them all so well.
Sabaat is definitely one for the keeps and is highly recommended. For me, it is going in the same category as Humsafar, Diyaar-e-Dil, Yakeen ka Safar, Ehd-e-Wafa and Zindagi Gulzar Hai.