Actress Madiha Imam has opened up about the hurtful trolling she experienced online, revealing how it affected her deeply.
Talking on Faysal Quraishi’s podcast, she discussed how she was trolled on social media.
The host asked, “Whose trolling hurt you on social media?”
Madiha replied, “It was during my wedding, I was heavily trolled, and I was genuinely heartbroken because I am usually not trolled much, as I keep to myself. But after my wedding, there was trolling about my husband being from India, about his religion. People linked it to his religion as if there’s only one religion in that country. I didn’t know that people here thought there was only one religion over there, when in fact, there are even more Muslims there than here.”
The Dil -e- Momin actress recalled how people made fun of her Nikkah ceremony, prompting her to share clarifications.
“When they made fun of my Nikkah, I shared pictures to clarify, and even then, I was humiliated. I realized that I shouldn’t have had to clarify, but I did it anyway because I have people who love me, who sometimes end up fighting with each other online. Out of the 1,200 comments, over 1,100 were negative, which was the first time I had experienced something like that in my life. It was ver.y embarrassing, and I thought, what I have done to deserve this,” Imam added.
She expressed her frustration over the personal attack saying, “Some people went as far as making fun of my facial features and belittling the sacred bond of Nikkah. But certain things are just not right. So, eventually, I decided to ignore it all. I thought, why bother clarifying, I tried very hard, but in the end, I was like, ‘To hell with it, man.’ Now, I just turn off my comments because it’s my personal life. You can’t disrespect any country, ethnicity, caste, or anyone’s appearance.”
The Beyhadh actress also discussed about how people are always watching her appearance closely.
Madiha said, “People would even mock my weight, saying, ‘she’s gained weight, maybe she’s pregnant!’ They’d go on about when I’d have a baby, and then they’d criticize that too. There’s no end to it. My mother would laugh and say, ‘Don’t feel the need to clarify. We know, your father knows, your family knows, and your friends know; let that be enough.’ But sometimes I still feel bad about what people say.” Madiha Imam and Moji Basar tied the knot on 4 May 2023.
‘Mera Rab Waris,’ a popular Geo TV drama series, is set to air on the Turkish channel Kanal 7.
Originally released on March 7, 2019, ‘Mera Rab Waris’ was written by Jahanzeb Qamar and produced by 7th Sky Entertainment, with Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi as the producers. The drama stars Danish Taimoor and Madiha Imam in the lead roles.Turkish viewers are eagerly anticipating his latest series.
The drama, replacing ‘Tere Bin’ on Kanal 7, whose final episode aired yesterday, followed by the release of ‘Mera Rab Waris’ teasers in Turkish. The story revolves around a young Muslim girl who practices her faith and marries a modern man, exploring themes of faith and love.
Turkish audiences are excited about the series, appreciating the religious elements in the Pakistani drama. Watch the teasers below and get ready for an engaging story that has captivated viewers in Pakistan.
When someone’s life doesn’t follow the usual path, people start asking questions. Actor Hina Bayat does not have children and when she was on Maliha Rehman’s show, she was asked about why she doesn’t have children. She was very open as always and revealed that “Yes , my husband and I always wanted to have children, but this was not in Allah’s plans. We were always enough for each other, and our life was beautiful and complete.”
She also shared, “I might have more support today if I had kids and there would be less loneliness. But on the other hand, the children would be college age and I would have had added pressures. So, I am thankful to Allah SWT for not putting me under any pressure. She also spoke about Madiha Imam and Osman Khalid Butt who she has a close bond with and said, “they are like my kids.”
Actor Bilal Abbas Khan recently unfollowed his alleged girlfriend Ramsha Khan and her Hum Tum costar Ahad Raza Mir. The duo was reportedly dating since the days of their debut film together, Thora Jee Le.
During the Khel Khel Mein promotions, Bilal also hinted at getting hitched in the near future however the Balaa actor has created a storm on social media by unfollowing his alleged lady love and the ex-husband of his friend Sajal Aly together.
The Dobara star, who is a heartthrob of 2.4 million fans and more, has made his followers curious.
Bilal also unfollowed actor Feroze Khan.
His costar Sajal recently mentioned in an interview that, “Whenever I got time on the sets I have tried to persuade Bilal to get married. I mean if there’s someone he is interested in he should get married. And I think there is someone in his life”.
A star-studded success party of Geo’s telefilm, Ruposh has been celebrated by the whole team and cast. The party was hosted by Geo Television and 7th Sky Entertainment’s producers and actors among other crew members.
A list of celebrities attended the success party including Muneeb Butt, Arez Ahmed and Hiba Bukhari, Affan Waheed and Sidra Niazi.
The lead cast, Kinza Hashmi and Haroon Kadwani were in the limelight of the success party.
Talented senior actor, Faisal Qureshi also came with his wife, Sana Faysal to join with the celebrations of the work done by the young talents in Ruposh.
Actor Faisal Quraishi is currently promoting is latest drama serial, Dil-e-Momin costarring Madiha Imam and Momal Sheikh. The Qaid-e-Tanhai star stated recently that working with married actresses who have children can at times become a challenge.
“Most actresses get married and are investing time in bringing up their children and some actresses working on sets are keeping a check on their kids. It is always difficult for girls because they have other responsibilities.” said Faysal.
The Fitoor star added that Iqra Aziz is very talented but after the birth of their child Kabir, she has stopped working however Yasir is constantly working even after they have welcomed a child. “Until actresses aren’t married, they are normal.
“I was recently working with Sunita Marshall and I always found her worried about her kids on the set. When I was working with Shaista, she also shared that she had a hard time focusing on her job since her kids were always on her mind, ” added the Bashar-e-Momin hero.
Hence he prefers working with single actresses.
He also cited Sunita Marshal’s example that while shooting, she was mentally occupied with her children’s activities.
He also mentioned that his Baba Jani costar Savera Nadeem was also always focusing on her phone to take children’s updates.
In the interview, Faysal also lashed out at actresses for uploading chunks of the dramas on social media platforms, he said that some people are very obsessed with social media. “Some actresses upload almost half the drama on Snapchat”.
He concluded by saying that he can bet that Madiha Imam will also stop working after a child.
Actor Haroon Shahid took to Instagram to reveal that his inbox is flooded with messages by fans, telling him that yet again his character has been dumped by the female protagonist. The fans referred to the latest episode of Mahira Khan starrer Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay.
Soon after the episode aired, the actor’s social media was bombarded with DMs and comments stating, “Again you didn’t get the girl”.
Haroon shared a fan-made video, saying: “Again you didn’t get the girl say mera inbox bhara hua hai. Jiss nay yeah video banaai hai, woh mera gham samajhta hai.”
A loyal fan even went on to make an emotional compilation of scenes from Haroon’s projects and titled it, ‘Justice for Haroon’s characters’.
The netizen listed dramas like Khaas (Sanam Baloch), Do Bol (Hira Mani), Muqaddar (Madiha Imam), Qayamat (Neelum Muneer), Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay (Mahira Khan), in which the character played by Haroon is never chosen by his love interest.
The Do Bol star tweeted that, “Someday I’m going to play such an evil role that I’ll kill everyone in the play (except) for the leading lady. I think that’s my best chance of ending up with the ‘girl’ in a drama!”
When you’re so used to accepting everything that’s happening to you that even when want to write ‘except’ you end up with ‘accept’ Maaro mujhay oh Maaro mujhay https://t.co/ZkyU9kEiX3
Many Pakistani actors went to India for their Bollywood debuts but couldn’t make a strong mark across the border and came back. Although some of these actors are huge stars in Pakistan and are still working on the best projects in their home country.
Take a look at some Bollywood debuts of local superstars which went unnoticed:
Saima Akram Chaudhry, who has penned the wildly successful Chupke Chupke, Ishq Jalebi and Suno Chanda has said that there will be no second or third seasons of these dramas.
“Dear fans, viewers and followers, I know you loved Chupke Chupke, Ishq Jalebi and Suno Chanda. I am grateful to all but it’s not possible for me to take your Instagram calls and talk [to] everyone,” wrote Akram on social media.
“Please accept my apologies and don’t call directly. Trust me it’s too irritating and it is too unethical to call someone at midnight,” she said further.
Chaudhry also said that she cannot help anyone launch their career in the entertainment industry as it’s not her department.
“And channels are not planning for season two or three,” added Chaudhry.
Meanwhile, earlier fans had speculated that a sequel of Chupke Chupke was in the works after Ayeza Khan shared a clip of herself and Osman Khalid Butt dressed up as Meenu and Faazi from the drama.
Furthermore, director Danish Nawaz said that there is a possibility for a sequel if the script and story are good. He said discussions on the topic are ongoing and that he cannot confirm anything as yet.
As someone who has grown up on romcoms, I’ve often yearned for a story that I can relate to. Hollywood and Bollywood romcoms are dreamy but often unrelatable and something that you cannot envision happening in Pakistan, given the cultural differences. But withEik Jhoothi Love Story (EJLS), I feel there is finally a romantic, feel-good and quirky show that I can connect with.
Written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Mehreen Jabbar, EJLS tells the story of Salma (Madiha Imam) and Sohail (Bilal Abbas Khan), who live in the same mohalla in Karachi. Salma is the youngest in four siblings with a very overbearing mother Nusrat Jahan (Beo Zafar) who is only in the pursuit of finding behtar say behtar rishtas for her children. In this quest, she has spent years parading her daughters – Shabana (Kiran Haq) and Shazia (Mariam Saleem) – in front of rishta aunties and prospective in-laws but not finding the ‘ideal’ match.
On the other hand, Sohail (Bilal Abbas Khan) is the only son of his parents. His father passed away when he was very young, leaving him with the responsibility of an entire household. Sohail wanted to study further but because of family obligations, he was unable to so now he runs a computer repair shop. His mother (Hina Khawaja Bayat) dotes on him, while he shares a very loving relationship with his younger sister Sobia (Srha Asghar).
To escape their middle-class existence, Salma and Sohail make fake profiles on Facebook. While Salma impersonates her best friend’s cousin Natalia (Kinza Razzak), Sohail makes a profile using his childhood friend Nofil’s (Ahmad Zeb) name. Nofil and Natalia belong to rich, upper-class households and Nofil is settled in America. Salma and Sohail using their fake profile become friends online and begin interacting with each other. Over the course of their messages, they fall in love. However as fate would have it, real-life Natalia and Nofil also get married. Salma and Sohail are heartbroken with this and agree to their parent’s suggestion of getting married to each other. To find out what happens next, you need to watch the series but be prepared to feel a myriad of emotions from fuzziness and warmth to sadness.
Nofil and Natalia
Umera has done a phenomenal job with the script and Mehreen brought it to life perfectly. While the series in its essence in a love story, it touches upon many themes, highlighting society’s obsession with finding the ‘ideal’ life partner, who by the way is not someone you connect with, but someone who checks all the right boxes. The series also playfully criticises the different customs we’ve made – like the younger sister cannot marry till the older siblings are married or the brother cannot marry till he has fulfilled his responsibility of marrying his sisters or the simple fact that shaadi is not the end goal. Life is more than that. EJLS is a beautiful reflection of society which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I have to add here that there were certain angles about online romance which I did find unconvincing but I let it go considering how very binge-able the series is. You end up watching several episodes in one go because the pace is so good. The initial episodes are fairly short between 25 and 35 minutes, while the later ones are slightly longer – but even then you don’t want them to end. They are so gripping. Really hoping that Mehreen and Umera are considering a season two for the series.
Onto the performances – for me the star of the show was Madiha. She was brilliant as the simple Salma, the Choti of the house who everyone treats as a doormat. Her expressions, body language and dialogue delivery were on-point. Bilal, on the other hand, is a seasoned actor and has given a plethora of mind-blowing performances – with EJLS he just proved how versatile he is.
The rest of the cast was also brilliant. Mehreen, while speaking to The Current, had shared that she had hand-picked the cast according to the characters and her choices couldn’t have been more on-point. My favourite character has to be Shazia – Salma’s fiesty and outgoing elder sister. Shazia had some of the best dialogues in the show and Mariam played her to perfection – absolutely loved her performance.
Shazia
One of the highlights of the show is definitely the OST Meherma. It complements the mood and feel of the show so well and adds to the overall experience. I haven’t come across many Pakistanis shows with such a fitting OST.
The beauty of Eik Jhoothi Love Story lies in its simplicity – from the wardrobe to the sets, everything was so well-suited to the plot and theme of the show.
Apart from being highly-relatable, EJLS is a fun, easy watch and something you can watch with the entire fam. Who knows they might stop pestering you to get married after watching this.
EJLS has 18 episodes and is currently streaming on Zee5.
