Tag: Humsafar

  • What did Mahira Khan wear on her wedding?

    What did Mahira Khan wear on her wedding?

    Last night social media was ablaze when short clips released by superstar Mahira Khan’s manager Anushay Talha, and brother Hissan Khan, showed the actress getting married in a dreamy ceremony to her long time beau, Salim Karim. The seven second video was moving enough to make social media tear up as their favourite actress found her happily ever after. Most importantly, it was her gorgeous wedding dress that mesmerised everyone.

    The ‘Verna’ actress embodied every bit of the happy bride. She looked stunning in an ivory lengha choli silver ensemble, taking the pastel bride route that many Bollywood actresses like Parineeti Chopra, Kiara Advani and Alia Bhatt had embraced as well on their wedding days. To top her look, Pakistan’s sweetheart chose to go for a simple makeup look with her hair pulled back in a bun. As for jewelry, she picked an elegant diamond jewelry set which consisted of a choker necklace, jhumkas and a mang tikka, and a sheer veil donned over in a graceful manner as she walked down the aisle to her betrothed.

    Mahira wanted to include only close friends and family to take part on her big day as well as her wedding dress. Her wedding dress was exclusively designed by longtime friend and fashion collaborator Faraz Manan, who confirmed this by sharing the post Mahira’s manager had uploaded.

    Faraz Manan is one of the most sought out Pakistani fashion designers who has also worked with Bollywood stars like Aliya Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone.

    In June, Faraz Manan was selected to dress ace footballer Christiano Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodriguez for Harper Bazar’s Arabia cover.

    Mahira Khan sparked rumors about her new-found romance in 2020 during an interview with Samina Peerzada, where she simply confirmed that she’s in love with someone now. In a live session with fashion designer HSY, the actress opened up about her romance with Salim, and said she was very happy in her relationship:

    “There’s a line in Humsafar, which I thought was beautiful, where Ashar says to Khirad, ‘Pata nahi tum mujhe kis naiki kay badlay main milli ho. I think the same about him. I must have done something good in my life.”

    READ MORE: VIDEO: HSY accidentally reveals the name of Mahira Khan’s mystery man

  • ‘World stop’: Fawad, Mahira’s photoshoot for Fawad’s wife’s brand mesmerises Twitter

    Aur kitni baar Mahira aur Fawad humara dil jeetain gay? The duo, who can make a simple seven second video exude more chemistry than all the high budget Bollywood love stories put together, has once more joined hands to win hearts again. Their recent photoshoot for the brand Sadaf Fawad Khan has won X (formerly Twitter) over.

    A few days ago, Mahira shared a seven-second video of her walking towards Fawad. The clip spread like wildfire across social media. Clearly the two know how much power they hold over the generation that loved Khirad and Ashar.

    The duo look exquisite posing for the campaign ‘Phir Milenge’, with Mahira wearing a red blouse and matching lengha adorned with silver patterns, pairing it with silver jewelry. Her hair is pulled back in a bun. Fawad wears a grey kurta with matching pajamas.

    Since the photoshoot was released on social media, Twitter users are going wild. Fawad and Mahira continue to hold a place in our hearts and will do so for a long time ahead.

    They’ll forever be THAT couple.

  • Mahira Khan, Nina Kashif buy rights to ‘This House of Clay and Water’

    Mahira Khan, Nina Kashif buy rights to ‘This House of Clay and Water’

    Actress Mahira Khan is about to attempt changing the Pakistani entertainment industry for good by bringing forward an array of unique projects. Yesterday, author Faiqa Mansab announced on her Instagram page that the actress, along with producer Nina Kashif had brought the rights to her novel ‘This House Of Clay And Water’ under the banner of Soul Fry Films. Mahira is grounded yet a true superstar, the novelist wrote, adding that her book is in good hands:

    “I am so happy to have Mahira and Nina at the helm for this project because they really get the essence of this story. I was immediately won over by Mahira, who is grounded and yet a true superstar. In a few words she showed me how deeply she understood my novel. Few people have shown such insight. My novel is in extremely good hands. I look forward to seeing it on screen. Thank you to all who believe in my stories!”

    In a statement released to Book Brunch, Mahira and Nina called the novel “one of the most poetic pieces of writing”:

    ‘This book is one of the most poetic pieces of writing that we have come across from our part of the world. Each character stays with you, you feel invested in all of them. A story that is so different and yet so rooted. It would be an honor for us to adapt it for our screen audience. We are so grateful to Faiqa for putting her trust in us with what we feel is a piece of her heart, and now ours.”

    ‘The House Of Clay And Water’ was released in May 2017 and explores the lives of two women, Nida and Sasha and how they navigate a world that makes them feel alienated.

  • 41 years later, ‘Ankahi’ is still more progressive than current drama serials

    41 years later, ‘Ankahi’ is still more progressive than current drama serials

    If we were to tell you that a drama is on air on Pakistani screens, showcasing a feisty, independent woman who stands up against forced marriages, is living with her single mother and uncle but never laments about not being married or plots 24/7 to entrap a man? You would say petrol is mulk mein sasta hojaye ga, but Pakistani dramas kabhi itnay achay nahi thay.

    We’re sorry to tell you that there was a time when Pakistani dramas were progressive and revolved around empowered women who never waited for a man, but were powerful and independent. Despite airing decades ago, more and more Pakistani women are watching classical dramas from PTV, and expressing their shock at the kind of empowering, witty women in these shows who never tolerated abuse, or the horrifying kind of things Pakistani dramas today think that all women want.

    Take ‘Ankahi’ penned by the brilliant Haseena Moin in 1982, decades ago and yet appealing to a mass audience with its main lead, Sana (played by Shehnaz Sheikh) who dreams of being rich, is clumsy yet endearing, outspoken about standing up for her rights, takes on the task to become financially independent and starts working despite the opposition she faces from her relatives.

    Did we imagine that what would pave the way after the women of Haseena Moin like Sana, Sunia, and the countless women from her drama’s- would be Umera Ahmed’s Khirad? A woman who set romantic standards that despite being neglected, kicked out of her home while pregnant, you forgive the man and every thing is good in the end.

    There is certain charm in the way PTV classical dramas from the minds of writers like Syed Mohammad Ahmed, Moin and Anwar Maqsood still appeal to audiences. They wrote over a variety of topics, covering a variety of issues like domestic violence (Sitara Aur Mehru Nisa), family planning (Aahat) and even light hearted rom-coms about women trying to pursue the men they love (Tum Se Kehna Tha). These dramas were upfront about bringing stories about women, and the issues they face to the spotlight, regardless of how absurd it may seem. Aahat discussed how women in Pakistan are pressurised to give birth to sons, are taunted when they have families full of girl children, and even didn’t shy away from depicting what post partum depression looks like, when the mother (played by Sania Saeed) is quickly returning home after giving birth, despite being forbidden by her doctor, and how she is made to endure the separation from her daughter because of the pressure her family puts on her. And as Moin put it herself, more rebellious women challenging the patriarchy was the onus:

    “I created the bold woman character as a counterpoint to all male writers who were showing women as a miserable victim, crushed by the system, eternally self-sacrificing, nurturing, serving her husband even though he visited prostitutes. Oh, it was so degrading! I like writing rebellious characters, and I keep repeating them so that there is an impact. The only thing is, my mode is comic and my words are never harsh. During many interviews, I have been asked why I show strong women characters. It annoys me. Do they ask male writers, why they show strong male characters?”

    Fast forward to the year 2023, censorship is at an all time high, and it was the implication of consensual sex that set PEMRA after ‘Tere Bin’ after a string of scenes depicted domestic violence, stalking, slapping, attempted suicide- too long of a list to get into.

    A few days ago, during an appearance at Mazaak Raat, Syed Mohammad Ahmed spoke about how writer’s today are more munshi than writers. They lack the creative freedom they had in the past to write about topics of their choice, and how the fixed formulae of creating a hit drama involved women being battered and abused, rather than rebelling against the patriarchy.

    Listening to this and watching as one of the currently hit dramas in Pakistan revolves around two cousins getting married, and the woman being demonised because she wanted to marry rich, there’s no way to stop the despair from hitting in. The hole left by Haseena Moin will be difficult to fill, as the entertainment industry keeps its head buried in the sand.

  • From dream boy to bad boy: Twitter shares why certain Pakistani dramas have aged badly

    If you’re a citizen of Pakistani Twitter, then you would be familiar with cult dramas like ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’, ‘Humsafar’ and ‘Tere Bin’, that have dominated social media with swoon worthy romances as well as dreamboats like Fawad Khan and Wahaj Ali. We’ll admit it, we have been obsessed too.

    But it might turn out that all that is old is not gold? And sadly, our fav heroes might not actually be the shehzada of our dreams but actually toxic men who needs to be re examined again.

    A Twitter user shared a tweet of the main leads from the most popular Pakistani dramas: ‘Tere Bin’, ‘Zindagi Gulzaar Hai’, ‘Humsafar’ and ‘Mere Humsafar’, and in the caption she shared that arranged marriage might not be such a bad idea if it were with men like them.

    But in today’s climate when more women are asking for better representation on television screens, a man like Ashar or Zarrun won’t sit well with audiences, regardless of how good looking Fawad Khan is. With that, more twitter users began sharing the ways audiences had overlooked how regressive and sexist these male leads actually were, and should not have been projected as the standard kind of man women should look for.

    Users shared that in ‘Humsafar’, Khan’s character Ashar, kicks his wife Khirad (played by Mahira Khan) out of the house while she was pregnant because he suspects her to be cheating on him with her friend, Khizar.

    Twitter users shared how toxic Murtasim was in ‘Tere Bin’ because he slapped Meerab in episode 5, and in the most recent episode he asks her to jump to prove she wasn’t having an affair behind his back.

    We hope that the entertainment industry takes a note of this and works on improving their scripts to stop romanticizing toxic men, who can only offer the bare minimum to the women in their lives.

  • Some of our favourite OSTs from Pakistani dramas

    It’s an undisputed fact that Pakistani dramas will never stop one-upping each other on who can make the most cringe worthy, mediocre version of the good-girl-saves-bad-boy-by-becoming-his-punch-bag trope. But another important element of Pakistani dramas remain unchallenged as being the best: the title songs. If a drama disappears from public attention because of churning out the same old stale storylines, their title songs will still remain evergreen and loved by the social media users.
    After a lot of careful searching, here are some of our favourite title songs from Pakistani dramas!

    1 Humsafar by Quratulain Baloch

    No one can start an article about this topic without mentioning the song that kickstarted it all. Humsafar will remain a prominent element of pop culture discourse for creating the kind of chemistry between the main leads that no television show has been able to match to this day, but one can’t talk about the drama without acknowledging the grip this song had over the entire country. Even today, this song is considered as Baloch’s finest hit.

    2 Ranjha Ranjha Kardi by the Justin Bibi’s and Rahma Ali

    Fans of ‘Peechay Hutt’ should give this iconic song some justice and credit the prodigious sisters for making something that will forever remain among the best title songs for Pakistani dramas.

    3 Mein Na Munh Kholi by Azad Asim and Shehroze Butt

    This gorgeous, moving song was the title track for the drama ‘Habs’ and had captured the hearts of fans on Twitter as soon as it released. It reflects the anguish of a couple who are unable to express their true feelings to each other, despite being married.

    4 Mujhay Apnay Jeenay Ka Haq Chahiye by Tahira Syed and Roshaneh Zafar Ft. Shabana Azmi 

    Written for the drama ‘Akhri Station’ and penned by legendary Urdu poet and writer Amjad Islam Amjad, the powerful melody is an anthem for every woman out there struggling to find her own voice, and reflects the anguish of the main characters and their difficult backgrounds.

    5 Dil Moom Ka Diya by Soch the band ft Sanam Marvi

    Fans are obsessed with the band’s Coke Studio song ‘Neray Neray Vas’, but please do give this song the acclaim this deserves, as it is rarely mentioned as one of the best written title songs for Pakistani dramas.

    6 Dobara by Sehar Gul Khan and Shuja Haider

    Hadiqa Kiani’s powerful drama ‘Dobara’ about a woman who reclaims her life after the death of her controlling husband deserves an equally gripping song that captures the anguish and nervousness of the main characters and the stigma society has towards aging women, and this song does an excellent job at it.

    7 Asamanon Se by Sohail Haider

    Only real fans who stick with us till the end will be happy to see a timeless classic included in this list. The gorgeous period piece features stunning performances from actors like Fawad Khan, Sanam Baloch, Saba Qamar and is still regarded as one of the best dramas produced in Pakistan.

  • Saturday Flashback: Why was ‘Woh Humsafar Tha’ written?

    Saturday Flashback: Why was ‘Woh Humsafar Tha’ written?

    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.

  • Mahira Khan reveals why Khirad is her ‘most special’ character

    Mahira Khan reveals why Khirad is her ‘most special’ character

    To say that Humsafar was a game-changer in the Pakistani drama scene would be an understatement. The Mahira Khan-Fawad Khan starrer truly revolutionized the Pakistani drama industry and had everyone hooked.

    Humsafar is currently celebrating its ninth anniversary and to commemorate the occasion, Mahira shared a few clips from the drama and talked about why the drama is close to her heart.

    “What is there left to say that hasn’t already been said?” wrote the actor on Instagram. “Maybe that’s the thing about Humsafar, there is always more to say.”

    She continued: “Khirad is by far my most special character. She loved fiercely, she gave wholeheartedly and when it came to her self-respect she held that closest to her heart. What a woman.”

    “Humsafar is beyond all of us who made it,” wrote Mahira further. “It’s all of yours. This safar, this journey is nothing without all of you.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFh-XwchQ1m/

    Earlier, in an interview with The Current, Mahira had said: “I believe Khirad was one of my strongest characters…And I do not associate crying with being weak.”

    When asked if there can be another couple like Khirad and Ashar on Pakistani television, Mahira said: “Yes. Ashar and Khirad have their own chemistry. And they should be left alone there. But I believe and I think, there have been so many other couples that people have loved and liked.”

    Directed by Sarmad Khoosat and written by Farhat Ishtiaq, Humsafar also featured Naveen Waqar, Atiqa Odho, and Hina Khawaja Bayat.

    Read more – Can you guess which film is Mahira Khan’s ‘most special’?

    Mahira was last seen in Superstar opposite Bilal Ashraf. Her next film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad was scheduled to release on Eid ul Azha 2020 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that, Mahira will also be seen in The Legend of Maula Jatt and Neelofar, both of which also star Fawad Khan.