Shaan Shahid, the shining star of the film industry, has dazzled audiences for years with hits upon hits. However, few know that his successful return to the spotlight was sparked by Naumaan Ijaz’s sudden exit from the film Ghoonghat.
Recently renowned director Syed Noor appeared as a guest on the Ambreen Fatima YouTube show. During the podcast, the host asked, “Tell me if you also had any involvement with Shaan Sahib’s comeback, what memories do you have about that?”
Noor responded, “Yes, Shaan was actually a very talented artist. His first film was a hit, and so was his second. When someone hits it big in our film industry, they start casting the same person over and over. Shaan was very young at that time and kept doing films, but they continued to fail. Eventually, people stopped casting him, and he didn’t care much and went to America. I don’t know what he did there. But Madam Neelo [Shaan’s mother] often used to message me, asking to call Shaan. She would say, ‘Call Shaan,’ and then there was Javed Nami, who was Shaan’s PA, who would come and say, ‘Sir, please call Shaan.’”
The Choorian director shared a fascinating story about Shaan Shahid’s journey, saying, “When we were planning the film Sangam and Ghoonghat, Shaan’s role was initially going to be played by Naumaan Ijaz. But he had some issues and had to leave, so I got the chance to cast Shaan. The producer was Shehzad Rafiq, and he was part of a group that made the film.”
Talking about casting Shaan Shahid in the film Ghoognhat Syed Noor said, “When we announced that Shaan would be part of the film, the buyers of the film pulled out. They demanded their money back because they did not want to work with Shaan. The producer told me that I should work with someone else. I said that I would not work without Shaan. Eventually, they also asked me to leave. But I stood firm.”
