Meet Pakistani cinema's stars of tomorrow

Last year, there were some definitive trends set for the entertainment industry in Pakistan. Where there was a surge in production, an influx of talent was witnessed. As the first quarter of the year comes to a close in a few weeks, Gulf News tabloid takes the occasion to look at some of the most dynamic new entrants in the fields of acting and modelling. They are young, educated and self-assured individuals who are game for challenges and have no care for stereotypes, just as the millennials are expected to be. No wonder they are the industry’s best bets for the new decade. In no particular order…

Eman Suleman, model & actor: Model turned actor Eman Suleman exudes an old-world charm and at the same time has the disposition of a progressive, 21st century feminist. Perhaps, that’s what attracted acclaimed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Mira Nair to her when she was casting for BBC 1’s period play, ‘A Suitable Boy’, based on Vikram Seth’s novel of the same name. Suleman had to opt out because the project required her to shoot in Agra, India. At her much-talked-about wedding recently, she made the most unconventional — albeit gorgeous — Pakistani bride, for she refused to be a passive participant in the proceedings, as is the common practice. And when she went for a buzz-cut, it turned many a head. Her choices in work are no less atypical: she would rather act in film students’ thesis projects than in some mindless mainstream biggie which isn’t up her alley. This year she will make an appearance in Asim Abbasi’s web series, ‘Churails’, besides an English-language indie production. She is also due in the offbeat feature, ‘Zindagi Tamasha’, which is her second project with Sarmad Khoosat after 2018’s ‘Aakhri Station’. The film won the coveted Kim Jiseok Award at Busan last year, but back home it has hit a major roadblock with the censor board.

Ali Kureshi, model & actor: Ali Kureshi’s defined jawline and lean, muscular physique have top menswear brands in Pakistan beating a path to his door — at Hum Bridal Couture Week ‘19, he walked the ramp for 10 different couturiers. At 6’ 2’, Kureshi stands taller than most male models in the industry. Though, he wouldn’t claim credit for anything except his body transformation, having slogged his way up from being a chubbier version of himself in his mid-twenties, to a fitness and Yoga fanatic (he even calls himself a “Yogi”). Kureshi recently gave a shot at acting in writer-director Sarmad Khoosat’s hotly-anticipated feature, ‘Zindagi Tamasha’. He doesn’t believe in comparing one’s journey with anyone else’s, because “that’s when you start to lose faith in yourself.” He is also secure enough to say, “I am NOT perfect!”

Amar Khan, actor & screenwriter: It takes a young, pretty woman real guts to play the witch in her debut TV show. But Amar Khan is a bit of an anomaly. A film graduate from BNU, Lahore, Khan took up the eponymous ‘Belapur Ki Dayan’ (2018) most fearlessly, following it up with the period drama ‘Ghughi’, where she played a Hindu girl, and Dil-e-Gumshuda, as the antagonist. Her brilliant repertoire of work may be attributed to her training in theatre which had also led her to India where she attended masterclasses with film greats such as Shyam Benegal and Naseeruddin Shah. Her mother, Fareeha Jabeen, a noted TV actress, has been an influence too. This year, Khan will be seen in a movie, ‘Dum Mastam’, which is also scripted by her. Though, she studied to be a filmmaker, direction isn’t on the cards for now — “not in the next five or six years,” she says.

Momin Saqib, actor, activist & Instagram blogger: UK-based Momin Saqib, 26, admits to having “multiple personalities.” His much-loved “online family” (as he fondly addresses them in his Snapchat/Instagram stories) of nearly 200,000 followers looks up to him as their friend, philosopher and guide; while for some he’s a high-energy entertainer whose videos luckily broke the internet (remember the one where he’s ranting about Pakistani cricketers overindulging themselves ahead of a World Cup match that affected their performance?). The party circles of London see him as more of a socialite, while those who’ve attended his TED talks, perceive him as a motivational speaker. And if that’s not enough, people in the media are already rooting for his ability to act. So far Saqib has only signed on noted actor-director Ehteshamuddin’s feature film, ‘Dum Mastam’, shooting for which is currently underway in Karachi. He is also considering joining news anchor Waseem Badami’s popular show on ARY, ‘Har Lamha Pur Josh’.

Mushk Kaleem, model: Smart and elegant, Mushk Kaleem is redefining standards of beauty in an industry obsessed with fair skin. Over the past two years since she began to model, she’s already been adjudged the Best Emerging Model at the LUX Style Awards and Rising Star at the Hum Style Awards. Make-up artists, fashion designers and photographers vouch for her amazing range and malleable looks. A glance at her portfolio on Instagram reveals how there isn’t an outfit or a style that she can’t pull off. But for 25-year-old Kaleem, a business graduate from IBA, Karachi, fashion modelling was more of a side hustle until, compelled by the financial situation at home, she quit her day job at a corporate firm. Her reason: “It pays better money.” Today, she has opened and stopped shows at bridal couture weeks, besides walking the runway at the Milan Fashion Week ‘19 for Italian designer Stella Jean. More recently, she shot a solo campaign of Elan, as the brand’s new face, in Kenya. This year she is looking forward to doing “more fashion weeks and brand endorsements.” She makes it clear that she “would never promote fairness products!”

Hamza Khawaja, actor & fitness trainer: There’s a lot more to fitness trainer cum model and actor Hamza Khawaja than meets the eye. A graduate in Anthropology from LUMS, Khawaja says he’s “been an artist all my life — I paint and sketch.” Acting is another hobby he’s pursued since school. Later, he worked in a few short films. A chance audition for Sarmad Khoosat’s feature, Kamli, won him the lead part opposite an acting stalwart like Saba Qamar. A fan of method acting, Khawaja deep-dived into his role which “is completely unrelated to what I do or who I am.” He was duly helped by the intensive reading sessions and rehearsals that had gone before the shoot. The film is slated for an Eid Al Fitr release. Meanwhile, Khawaja is gearing up for an international bodybuilding competition. He’s already competed as Mr Islamabad. He also founded an online fitness start-up, called ‘Reconstruct.’

Rehmat Ajmal, model, actor & entrepreneur: Actor, fashion designer and model Rehmat Ajmal is one of Pakistan’s brightest showbiz hyphenates from the newer lot. In 2018, a modelling gig for top couturier Zara Shahjahan, while Ajmal was studying Textile Design at NCA, Lahore, “got the ball rolling” (in her own words). After graduation, she launched her online store, ‘Rehstore,’ where she puts out hand-painted and digitally printed saris. She calls it her “baby project.” Her first acting assignment — that is, if you discount her cameo as Fawad Khan’s fan-girl in ‘Jawani Phir Nai Ani 2’ (2018) — in the recently concluded mega (controversial) TV show, ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho,’ got noticed big-time. It wasn’t a meaty role, but Ajmal breathed life into what would otherwise have gone down as another one-dimensional supporting character we are used to seeing on prime-time television.

Raza Talish, actor: Last year, Raza Talish’s ‘child-man’ act as Mithu, the kohl-eyed, dhoti-kurta-wearing mama’s boy from a small town, with a funny Urdu accent and a pronounced romantic bone, in the sequel to the Ramadan special play ‘Suno Chanda’, scored big with the audiences. So much so that people took it to be his maiden venture, even though he had earlier appeared in a TV serial, ‘Tabeer’, albeit briefly. Offers of acting began to pour in, but this wunderkind had the wisdom to wait for the right roles where he wouldn’t be guilty of repeating himself. Today, there are a host of projects where he’s getting top billing. Up first are two web series for Zee5 — ‘Dhoop Ki Deewar’ and ‘Abdullahpur Ka Devdas’. In Dhoop…, he plays a Pakistani “fauji jawaan” posted along the Line of Control, who is up against Ahad Raza Mir’s Indian soldier; and in ‘Abdullahpur’…, he slips into the skin of a heart-broken, melancholy-prone lover. MD Productions’s ‘Dil Dukhta Hai’ will see him play a family man, whereas ‘Mushk’, which is directed by his father, Aehsun Talish, gets “a little dark.”

Parisheh James, model & actor: Parisheh James is decidedly Pakistan’s youngest fashion model. Currently pursuing her degree in Media and Communications at a university in Canada, James began modelling at age five. Her first ramp walk happened in 2003. She also appeared in a few TV commercials before she left for her studies, only to return years later as top couturier Deepak Perwani’s show opener. The proud daughter of former model turned entrepreneur Frieha Altaf, James recently cameo-ed in 2019’s blockbuster movie ‘Parey Hut Love’. What with her spontaneity and a fresh charm, she was likened to Bollywood’s youth icon Alia Bhatt. This year, she is “looking forward to getting more involved in acting and dipping my feet into the radio world” with her own podcast.

Ameer Gilani, actor: Ameer Gilani often gets dubbed as the younger version of Bollywood heart-throb Varun Dhawan. Though, it’s a comparison this 24-year-old Islamabad-based actor, with just one soap serial (Loag Kya Kahenge; 2018) and a few commercials to his credit, does not know is flattering. “Because I don’t watch a lot of local or Indian stuff,” he explains. His role model is his grandfather, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, a former law minister in Benazir Bhutto’s government who “built an empire of his own!” Ameer also studied Law before he faced the camera. But today, he’s bitten by the acting bug. In his next TV play, Sabaat, he has a stellar role opposite Mawra Hocane. He even calls it “my relaunch!”

Agha Talal, actor: In 2018, Agha Talal, the romantic lead in Hum TV’s ongoing soap, ‘Soya Mera Naseeb’, came close to doing a project that would have changed his fortunes overnight. It was a big-budget movie, helmed by Nadeem Baig, one of Pakistan’s most successful directors, and was supposed to star Bollywood’s ‘Sultan’ Salman Khan in a special appearance. According to sources, Khan had given the nod, and his part was to be shot in Dubai, but the volatile relations between India and Pakistan badly hit the project, and it was shelved. Talal turned to television. While Soya… has earned him a fan base, and Geo TV’s ‘Munafiq’ is minting TRPs, the handsome actor has already begun work on a short film, tentatively titled ‘Seema Aur Saiqa’.

Zainab Shabbir, actor: Where most of her fellow actresses would put on greasepaint to look the ‘fairest of them all,’ Zainab Shabbir gladly coloured her skin a few tones darker for the 180-episode soap, ‘Sanwari’, her first major assignment on TV. A Commerce graduate, she says she could’ve picked a glamorous part instead but she didn’t feel compelled to do so: “I am not insecure on that front. I believe that good work will take you places anyway.” Indeed, Sanwari proved to be a milestone in her career. The emotional trajectory of her character in the drama serial, as well as her appearance as a plain-clothed, middle-class girl who does not step out of the house without a shawl and headscarf, are reminiscent of Sanam Saeed’s Kashaf in the iconic play, ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’ (2012). Fortunately, ‘Sanwari’ pretty much did for Shabbir what ‘Zindagi…’ had done for Saeed: it fetched her important acting roles such as LTN’s ‘Emaan’ where she played the titular character. Next, she is due on Geo TV’s ‘Meharposh’, alongside top stars Ayeza Khan and Danish Taimoor.

Mahmed Ali, model: In his photoshoots where he’s sporting a stubble and medium-short hair, Mahmed Ali strikes you as a George Michael doppelganger, particularly from the legendary British pop singer’s early Wham! days. Though, this isn’t precisely why the 22-year-old fair-skinned Kashmiri is making noise as one of Pakistan’s hottest — not to forget, youngest — male models today. Ali has headlined major fashion campaigns within no time, and shared credits with supermodels like Emaad Irfani, Aimal Khan, and Shahzad Noor. 2020 has already begun on a promising note for him — he recently wrapped up shoot for a coveted textile brand where he was pitched next to senior actor and producer Humayun Saeed. Judging from the few behind-the-scene images that got leaked on social media, the two looked complete royalty, with Ali’s youthful freshness and bright disposition complementing Saeed’s maturity. Ali isn’t hung up on acting. But his mentor — fashion photographer Azeem Sani — believes he is “a complete film material!”

Usama Khan, actor: It wasn’t plain luck that Usama Khan lifted the Best Actor (Soap) trophy for his debut show, ‘Sanwari’, at the Hum Awards last year. A charming young man from Lahore, who studied ACCA, Khan had won over the voting public as well as jury members alike for his spirited performance in what remains Hum TV’s longest running soap. With ‘Bay Zuban’, where he played a negative character, and ‘Ghalti’, opposite Hira Mani, he cemented his position in the industry. This year, he has a slew of high-profile shows coming out. Topping them is ‘Tamanna’ on Geo TV, with Haroon Shahid (of ‘Verna’) and Nausheen Ahmad; which will be followed by ‘Urraan’, with Aijaz Aslam and Kinza Hashmi. Besides, Khan recently began shooting for ‘Chhalawa’, a 33-episode horror play, directed by Shamoon Abbasi. He is humble enough to say, “I’ve a long way to go!”