After a phenomenal performance in Hindi Medium with the late Irrfan Khan in 2017, Saba Qamar won million hearts. At the time, Bollywood superstar Vidya Balan also messaged Qamar after seeing her performance.
Balan took out sometime to catch the film. And after watching it, she sent a long text to Saba.
In her message, Vidya wrote: “Hi Saba… This is Vidya Balan. Watched Hindi Medium today and took your number from Zeenat… Just wanted to tell you that you were amazing in the film. It’s a character that one could dislike easily for being so pushy but you humanized her and made her believable and likable… Really wow!! Congrats on your performance and on huge success of the film. All the best VB.”
Of course, Saba was touched by Vidya’s gesture. She instantly took to Twitter to post a sweet message. Saba tweeted: “Being praised by one of the best actresses of bollywood is a huge deal. I’m overwhelmed!”
Saba also posted a picture of Vidya’s message with caption, “I still can’t believe that I spoke to THE Vidya Balan. Being praised by one of the best actresses of Bollywood is a huge deal for me. I’m truly touched and honoured.”
She went on to say, “Such a sweet gesture by her to take out the time to appreciate my work. It’s the best feeling ever when someone you admire so much, praises and appreciates your work. You’re beautiful inside out. Thank you! Loads of love!”
Saba’s launch film in Bollywood, Hindi Medium is a lighthearted romantic film about a young couple in Chandni Chowk, who want their daughter to get the best possible education.
American sitcom Friends is amongst the most viewed television shows of all time. Being a blockbuster series, it lasted for ten seasons and enjoyed worldwide viewership with multiple re-telecasts. The series is currently available on Netflix and has a significant viewership in Pakistan. It revolves around the bonding and regular life routines of six friends in their thirties.
If a local producer decides to buy its copy rights and remake it with a Pakistani cast, Here’s the ideal leading cast:
Rachel Green – Mahira Khan
Rachel is a beautiful fashion enthusiast with an inconsistent love life, she became a rage in pop culture for her dressing sense and hairstyles. Mahira has it in her to essay a role like this going by her great sense of fashion and her impeccable looks making her the right choice for the role.
Ross Geller – Fawad Khan
Ross is a suave paleontologist with three failed marriages and an interest in philosophical conversations which his friends don’t find intriguing. Ross is Monica’s elder brother and Rachel’s on and off love interest.
Joey Tribbiani – Sheheryar Munawar
Joey is a struggling actor and a foodie with flirtatious traits, Sheheryar has played similar roles in his films like Ho Mann Jahan. The Parey Hut Love actor has the charm to pull of this iconic character.
Phoebe Buffay – Saba Qamar
Phoebe is the funniest of the lot with a heart of gold and a failed music career. Saba displayed her comic histrionics on Hum sub umeed se hain and Miss Fire, giving us assurance about a promising comic timing on celluloid.
Monica Geller- Mehwish Hayat
Monica had elements of a bossy, competitive, and obsessive-compulsive nature who wants things to be perfect but still manages to choose the wrong men for herself except for Chandler. Monica is stylish and has the ability of binding the group together.
Chandler – Fahad Mustafa
Chandler is the guy who can make you laugh and can effortlessly confuse you with his sarcasm. Fahad Mustafa is an apt choice for this role going by his performances in Na Maloom Afrad series and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 which showcased his convincing witty performances.
Sharing about her experience the Lahore Se Agay actress said that she was offered the project as a telefilm but the makers later cheated her and released it as a feature film after the news of her signing a Bollywood film surfaced.
8969 is a 2016 Pakistani thriller film directed by Azeem Sajjad. The film stars Qamar, and other actors namely Hussain Tiwana, Sadaf Hamid, Anam Goher and Ali Jabran Khan in significant roles. It was released on 2nd December 2016 under the production banner of A J Media Productions.
The actress was regretful of working in the project and candidly revealed that she reached out to the makers to stop the film’s release and even asked them to take the film’s production cost by her in return. “I told them, you invested 5 lacs on the shoot, take 10 lacs from me but don’t release it as a film”.
The film however went unnoticed and couldn’t damage Saba’s star-power.
Mehar Bano shared in her interview with Something Haute that actress Saba Qamar rescued her when she was harassed at a drama set. Saba and Mehar Bano have collaborated on multiple projects such as Bunty I Love You and Miss Fire.
“One of my first cases when i had to experience harassment, Saba Qamar actually came to my rescue”.
She continued: “Aik mic wala tha, you can get harassed at anytime by anyone, especially when you don’t know what’s going on and you are just a child.”
She had to involve a senior actor as she was new in this field, “I told her because I did not know what was going on, she just went on set and got him kicked out. I think it is the only time I remember a woman taking such a strong stance for me.”
This incident did make Mehar Bano more aware about the fact that how unpredictable work place harassments can be, “It made me realize that I should be more aware that what happens to me and what happens to other girls so that I can also stand up for them.”
On the work front, Saba Qamar Zaman is all set to make a comeback on television with the upcoming drama serial,Tumhare Husn K Naam. Besides Saba, the drama will also feature Imran Abbas, Salman Shahid, Nayyer Ijaz and Asad Siddiqui. Meharbano is currently being seen on Geo Entertainment’s Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3.
The local drama industry is going through major content crises due to the repetition of themes and lack of experimentation. This was the reason that kept megastars like Mahira Khan and Saba Qamar away from the small screen platform for the last few years. However, the scenario seems to be getting better as some key upcoming projects are based on unique stories and trailblazing screenplays with fresh star-cast. We present to you the six most exciting dramas to look forward to in the second half of the year.
Ishq-e-Laa
Riding high on the success of his last venture, Dushman E Jaan, Director Amin Iqbal has managed to pull off a casting coup by getting on-board a stellar cast in his upcoming biggie. Powerhouse performers Sajal Aly and Yumna Zaidi are the leading ladies of this ambitious project, penned by the veteran writer, Qaisera Hayat of Alif Allah Aur Insaan fame. It features debutant Azaan Sami Khan as the leading hero, along with Adnan Samad Khan of Ehd-e-Wafa fame.
Superstar Mahira Khan is making a comeback to the medium of television after 5 years in this Farooq Rind directorial, co-starring Kubra Khan and Usman Mukhtar. Based on Umera Ahmed’s novel of the same title, this drama is apparently based around a dysfunctional family and sheds light on the impact of flawed parenting on children.
Actress Zainab Qayoom plays a pivotal role in the drama and also shared her excitement for the shooting spell.
Amidst a barrage of melodramatic scripts and emotionally turbulent screenplays, this drama promises to be in the light-hearted space. Produced by Momina Duraid, Laa Pata boasts of a stellar star-cast headlined by Ayeza Khan, Sarah Khan, Ali Rehman Khan and Gohar Rasheed.
Gohar shared an interesting BTS from the sets of this Khizer Idrees directorial on Instagram. Ayeza plays the character of a TikToker, “Geeti Princess” and asked fans to follow her character’s account on video sharing app.
Imran Abbas and Saba Qamar are collaborating for the first time in this Saqib Khan directorial. After giving stellar performances in Baaghi and Cheekh, Saba Qamar took a break from television and shot for two feature films which will release post the pandemic woes. Written by Sara Qayyum, it also features Chupke Chupke fame, Sidra Niazi and Asad Siddiqui in significant roles. In his latest interview with Dawn, Imran said, “The subject is very nice and unusual, different from what is happening these days.”
Fahad Mustafa has roped in Danish Taimoor and Minal Khan for his upcoming production venture. The serial is touted to be a love story with some major plot twists. It is being directed by Jalan fame Abiz Raza. The project has been on floors since March 2021 and is expected to release towards the end of this month. Ishq Hai‘s team shared its multiple posters today on social media platforms, giving their fans a solid tease.
Urwa Hocane and Imran Abbas put their fans into frenzy when they announced their next drama for ARY Digital, Amanat. This dynamic on-screen pair has been having great fun on their sets and even shared some moments with their fans, including a video in which they are singing together. It boasts of an ensemble star-studded cast with names like, Saboor Ali, Haroon Shahid, Gohar Rasheed, Salman Saeed, Saba Pervaiz, Babar Ali, and Sheheryar Zaidi among others.
Music composer, Naveed Nashad has worked on its OST after delivering a chartbuster with Do Bol.
Saba Qamar Zaman is all set to make a comeback on television with upcoming drama serial, Tumhare Husn K Naam. Besides Saba, the drama will also feature Imran Abbas, Salman Shahid, Nayyer Ijaz and Asad Siddiqui.
Directed by Saqib Khan, Tumhare Husn K Naam has been written by Sara Qayyum, while Umera Ahmed is the screenwriter.
The actor, in a recent social media post, raised a question which many Pakistanis had been asking over the past month: “Why is Sexify trending at number one on Netflix Pakistan during the Holy month of Ramzan?”
“Awam toh humari bohut shareef hai phir yeh trending mein No 1 peh kyun hai?” questioned Saba.
Sexify, an eight-episode Polish series, is about budding software developer Natalia who knows a lot about programming and very little about sex. With her friends Monika and Paulina, she embarks on a quest to better understand the mysteries of the female orgasm and build an app that will win an inter-university competition and maybe, just maybe, serve the needs of her peers.
To celebrate one year of her YouTube channel and her birthday, Saba Qamar has released a new songChingariyan in collaboration with Mustafa Zahid and Emmad Irfani.
“Celebrating the first year anniversary of my YouTube channel and my birthday with the release of an episode very close to my heart,” said Saba, while sharing a clip from the song.
“I’ve put my sweat, blood, heart and soul into this project, I really hope that this story connects with you all exactly like I felt it while doing this because ‘Life goes on’,” she said further.
The actor also thanked her “two favorite people for making my dream project come to life”.
“This was not possible without Mustafa Zahid and Emmad Irfani,” said Saba.
Chingariyan, which has mostly been shot underwater, features Saba and Emaad. It has been composed by Saad Sultan and Zahid, while the lyrics have been penned by Shakeel Sohail, Mustafa Zahid, Ali Aftab and Saad Sultan.
Saba launched her YouTube channel last year during the COVID-19 lockdown with an episode on isolation. Titled Isolation, the episode followed the actor as she embraced her loneliness. She narrated her feelings as she walked around the house and raised some thought-provoking questions.
Meanwhile, Saba recently also called it off with Azeem Khan due to “personal reasons,” just a week after announcing that she is getting married to him.
Saba Qamar has ended up on the moral brigade’s radar after pictures from her birthday celebrations went viral on social media. Saba, who wore a blue off-shoulder dress to her party, has irked some social media users who then harshly criticised the actor for her choice of outfit.
While Saba did not bother with the trolls, Zoya Nasir, who is very vocal about her opinions, shut them down, saying: “These are the same men (and women) who, if run into Saba Qamar, would shamelessly beg for a selfie with her and would take pride in showing to their peers that they had the honour of meeting her.”
Zoya, who is often at the receiving end of criticism for her outfit and life choices, earlier also defended a bride after former actor Noor Bukhari criticised her outfit on her wedding day.
Saba Qamar celebrated her birthday Sunday night in Lahore with her closest friends and family in an intimate birthday bash. Celebrities spotted at the event included Bilal Saeed and Ali Azmat and model Aimal Khan.
Check out pictures from the event below:
The birthday girl looked lovely in a fitted blue dress with a pink pout.
Saba, who has a string of releases lined up for the coming year, last week announcedthat she has called it off with Azeem Khan due to “personal reasons,” just a week after she had shared that she was getting married soon.
