Ali Abbas and Ramsha Khan, who are currently sharing the screen opposite each other in Ghissi Piti Mohabbat, are cousins in real-life.
In a recent interview, Ali revealed that Ramsha is his first cousin.
“I don’t think a lot of people know this but Ramsha is my first cousin. She is my aunt’s daughter,” shared Ali. “Since childhood, we hung out – all the cousins – and she used to call me Ali Bhai.”
“Now there we were holding hands and we had to look into each other’s eyes and deliver all these lines [in Ghissi Piti Mohabbat],” he added.
Abbas further shared that he had to tell director Ahmad Bhatti that they had this problem.
“Then the ice broke, we sat down because we were destroying the scenes and we decided to put the cousinship aside and to focus on work,” he said further.
Both the actors are impressing audiences with their acting. In the recent plot development, Ramsha and Ali’s characters in the drama have gotten married.
Not sure if we heard correctly, but looks like Fahad Mustafa just shaded Fawad Afzal Khan and Mahira Khan for going to Bollywood.
In a recent interview, the actor while talking about his stardom said: “Sab chalay gaye India or mein yahan reh gaya. Main superstar ban gaya. Koi tha hee nahi.”
“Ab sab Turkey jayen gay. Main yaheen hoon,” he continued. “Turkey eik din visa band karay ga sab kay. Uss kay baad hum reh jayen gay.”
“Believe in your audience. Believe in your people,” he added. “Apnay logon ko banao gay toh acha bhi lagay ga.”
Defending Nand and Jalan, Fahad said: “People are watching Nand and Jalan. If they weren’t watching the dramas then they won’t be talking about it.”
“I am proud of Balaa, Cheekh, Nand and Jalan. We can’t educate people with every drama but we do what we can. I try to attract people with unique titles of my dramas. That’s why my dramas have such titles. If Nand had another name, people might not watch it.”
He continued: “This is the age of social media and people are watching ‘pocket films’. To keep the audiences engaged for 26 to 30 episodes, we try to make content that creates curiosity and keep viewers hooked.”
Fahad then went on to say that people and critics should wait for a drama to end before passing their judgements and remarks.
“People are talking and criticising them [Jalan, Nand] because they are recent dramas. Being the producer of these two dramas, I own and like both of the dramas. Poor or rich, everyone is talking about them,” stated Fahad.
Concluding his remarks, the actor said: “I think this drama does not have any unethical content. If anyone didn’t like it, then they have mental issues.”
With several Pakistani dramas coming to an end soon, TV channels have started dropping teasers and promos of their upcoming releases. Four new dramas with brilliant casts and directors are expected to hit our screens in the coming weeks and we are looking forward to them.
Starring Bilal Abbas Khan, Sana Javed and Naumaan Ejaz in the lead, Dunk is about sexual harassment in universities and colleges. The first promo of the drama dropped to a mixed response but we’re going to hold our thoughts and opinions till we watch the first few episodes.
Pehli Si Mohabbat
The drama will mark Maya Ali and Sheheryar Munawar’s return to the small screen after a long break. From the BTS and first looks, the drama promises to be an intense love story and I am definitely looking forward to this. It has been written by Faiza Iftikhar and directed by Anjum Shehzad of Khaani fame.
Maya, in a recent interview, revealed that the drama will not have “typical saas-bahu fights and affairs in it”.
“You will feel that you have heard or seen this story, because there’s a love story as evident from the title Pehli Si Muhabbat, and everyone has experienced their first love story. Some people find their first love and some people live with keeping it in their hearts,” she shared.
Raqs-e-Bismil will see Sarah Khan and Imran Ashraf share the screen together for the first time. A fresh pairing is always intriguing and given that both are brilliant actors, I am sure this drama will be a treat. From the teasers, the drama appears to be intense and uncomfortable. According to the makers, the drama “follows the soulful story of a conservative and conformist family who adhere to strict family values”. Raqs-e-Bismil will also see Hadiqa Kiani make her television debut.
It is expected to air on Hum TV by the end of the month.
A multi-starrer drama, Amanat will feature Imran Abbas, Urwa Hocane, Saboor Aly, Haroon Shahid, Saba Hamid, Sheheryar Zaidi, Babar Ali, Asad Siddiqui and Gohar Rasheed.
According to Imran, Amanat is a “circumstances-based love story”, while producer Sana Shahnawaz says it is “a family drama with love, romance and all other elements audiences wish to see in our dramas.”
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.
I strongly recommend the serial Yunus Emre being shown on PTV for all those who are interested in Sufism (Marayfat).
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:
Sabaat
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.
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.
Suno Chanda Season 1
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.
Aangan
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.
Sammi
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.
“I’ve been getting tagged in this a bit today, surely the actor needs a fresh haircut,” said the cricketer while sharing the poster of Bilal on his Instagram story.
In response to Ben’s comment, Bilal joked: “I agree! I’m sure you can understand how difficult it is to maintain long hair.”
“Love you man. Big fan,” he added.
Dunk is an upcoming drama on ARY Digital, featuring Bilal and Sana Javed in lead roles. Other cast members include Yasra Rizvi, Shahood Alvi, Fahad Sheikh, Laila Wasti, Saifi Hassan, Salma Hassan, Kanwal Khan, Noman Ejaz, and Azekah Daniel.
While details about the drama are being kept tightly under wraps, Bilal in an interview had shared that the drama is a murder mystery. Dunk is being produced under the banner of Fahad Mustafa’s BigBang Entertainment.
Mahira Khan, who was recently listed in BBC’s ‘100 women of 2020′ for being outspoken about social issues, in a recent interview said that the media, including actors, filmmakers and drama makers, need to take responsibility to change the narrative.
In a recent interview, the actor said: “Something happens, there is a lot of noise about it. Everybody gets on the streets, everybody talks about it on the media, and then what? And then it dies out. Another news comes out, another story comes out or another rape happens! Then that is just another name or another hashtag attached to it. The problem is that we are not ready to educate our public, create programs that educate children, we are not ready to talk about it openly and I think we need to change that narrative.”
She continued: “I also take responsibility for it. I am a big part of the media of this country. I feel that our films, our television serials, we have to change the narrative.”
“We can’t just show a woman being assaulted (by a man) and then falling in love with him and show him to be the hero. A hero cannot be someone who is abusive. So, I think somewhere even we have to take that initiative.”
Mahira also talked about her stance on fairness creams and why she refuses to endorse them.
“I’ve been approached from the beginning of my career, not just as an actor – even when I was a VJ – I was approached to do a lot of fairness cream products, skin whitening products,” shared the actor. “It doesn’t make sense to me, it never made sense to me. So, I am endorsing the idea that a darker girl, a man is not as attractive as someone with a fairer complexion? It just didn’t make sense to me.”
Mahira also took a moment to recall her first award as an actor. In the interview, she said that though she has received many awards over the years, the award – Lux Style Award for Best Actress – she received for Humsafar is her most special.
“This is my first award as an actor, for a drama that really launched me, in the year that I was launched,” said Mahira. “I won many awards after that but this remains very, very special.”
The first look of Sheheryar Munawar and Maya Ali’s upcoming drama Pehli Si Mohabbat has finally been revealed courtesy producer Jerjees Seja, who posted a BTS from the sets of the drama.
Seja, who is also the CEO of ARY Digital shared a picture with the cast of upcoming drama serial. Looks like Sheheryar will be going clean shaven for this one.
Meanwhile, social media is abuzz and the video went viral in minutes.
According to the details, the drama is produced by Abdullah Seja under the banner of IDream Productions, the serial will be aired on ARY Digital with Maya and Sheheryar in lead roles.
Maya, Shehryar, Rabia Butt and Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY) have already announced that they will be part of this serial by sharing the picture of the script on their social media accounts.
Naseer Turabi is a poet who wrote Woh Humsafar Tha in 1971 to express his sadness on East Pakistan’s separation.
Naseer Turabi
He was born in Hyderabad, Hyderabad State which was then, Deccan.
Naseer came to Pakistan after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. He did his M.A. in Mass Communications from University of Karachi in 1968. The poet now lives in Karachi.
He began writing poetry in 1962. His first collection of Poetry Aks-e-Faryadi was published in 2000.
After the East Pakistan Separation, he wrote a Ghazal Woh Humsafar Tha expressing the sadness at the great tragedy of separation of East Pakistan.
The same Ghazal was later used as a theme song for the Humsafar drama series. He also wrote lyrics for the theme song Dil Ka Jo Mol Chukatay Honge of Mol and Zindagi Gulzar Hai drama series. He has also written the lyrics of Dil Aitebaar for Khwab Saraye and for Yaqeen Ka Safar OST.
The ghazal is top-notch, Abida Parveen has also sung it. But for the newer generation, the Quratulain Baloch version of the song for Pakistani drama Hamsafar on modern instruments and rhythm is more engaging.
Our very own Chanda from Suno Chanda, Iqra Aziz is one of the most versatile actresses among the new generation. She has worked on numerous drama projects until now and almost all of them have been super hits. She knows how to own the character and play it the way it should be.
She has been nominated for several awards and has already won seven. She is currently nominated in the Best Actress category at the Lux Style Awards 2020 for Ranjha Ranjha Kardi.
If you are a die-hard Iqra fan, or just like her for who she is, here are some less known facts about her that make her all the more appealing.
Iqra’s Debut Performance
Iqra started her career with modeling and commercials. She still does commercials but her priority is dramas.
Iqra made her debut in 2014 in a drama serial Kissay Apna Kahein in a supporting role alongside Arij Fatyma and Danish Taimoor. The surprising thing is that Iqra was only 17 years old when she played this role.
She was later cast in a leading role in drama serial Muqaddas opposite Noor Hassan. It was written by Adeel Razzak, directed by Ali Masud Saeed and produced by MD Productions. The drama aired on Hum Tv. It proved to be her “breakthrough” drama and she received Hum Award for Best Television Sensation Female.
Iqra’s mother was Karachi’s first female Careem driver
Iqra was born on November 24, 1997 and belongs to a Sindhi family. Her family includes her mother and sister Sidra Aziz, and herself. Her mother raised the two girls as a single parent. Iqra’s mother is one of the best examples of women empowerment in Pakistan as she struggled hard for her children and was the first female Careem driver in Karachi.
Iqra and her mother
Iqra once revealed in an interview that they went through a financial crisis but her mother made it through by struggling for her family with dignity and pride. She also shared in another interview that her mother wanted a son and was disappointed at her birth.
Iqra didn’t meet her father until she was three
Iqra didn’t have a clue who her father was until she was three. Her father worked in Saudi Arabia and came back home when she was three years old. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack when Iqra was only twelve. She frequently talks about the time spent with her dad and misses the nine years they spent together.
She couldn’t complete her studies
Iqra couldn’t complete her graduation and holds an unfinished Bachelors of Commerce Degree from the University of Karachi. She is, however, looking to complete her education as soon as possible, when she gets a break from acting and modeling.
Her Engagement with Yasir Hussain
For those who don’t know, Iqra and Yasir had a very public engagement at the 18th Lux Style Awards. Hussain went down on one knee at the event and proposed to her. Some say that the proposal was planned and Iqra knew that he was going to propose. The couple formally tied the knot on December 28, 2019.
Iqra has a YouTube Channel
Iqra has a YouTube Channel. Her initial two videos introducing the channel — titled ‘I AM NOT BORING!!‘, comprised of a montage of photographs with a cutie named Mogambo, and “You Me and Youtube”.
2020’s super hit drama serial Meray Paas Tum Ho, which broke viewership records in the country, has been nominated in five categories in the 19th edition of the Lux Style Awards (LSAs).
Thanking Lux for the nominations, Humayun, who has also been nominated in the Best Actor category, said that the project was a very special one.
“This project is very close to all our hearts not only because it broke all viewership records in the history of Pakistani television but because it was able to truly entertain audiences across the world,” said Humayun in the caption.
He also gave a big shout-out to all those who were part of the project including his production house Six Sigma Plus, ARY Digital as well as the entire cast and crew of the drama.
“It always feels great to be recognised so the biggest thank you to all of you, the viewers, for all your love and continuous support,” concluded the actor.
Starring Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Hira Mani in the lead Meray Paas Tum Ho went onto becoming television’s highest-rated dramas of all time. The final episode of the drama was also aired in cinemas where it broke box-office records. At the same time, the drama also drew the irk of some viewers who criticised it for promoting misogyny and sexism.
