Young, versatile and bubbly actor Sanam Baloch

The young, versatile and bubbly actor Sanam Baloch has all that makes her the first choice for every big project. With her performance in dramas like Noor Pur Ki Rani, Mannchalay, Daam, Dastaan etc, she proved her significance in the industry. However, her girl-next-door persona in Durr-e-Shahwar won everyone’s heart. She made people cry with every tear she shed, and convinced directors that she is a true star.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2012.     

Nominations for LUX Style Awards 2012

Best TV show

Nominations are “Mera Naseeb” by Momina Duraid (Hum TV), “Mera Saeen” by A & B Productions (ARY), “Kis Din Mera Viyah Hovega” by A & B Productions (Geo), “Paani Jaisa Pyaar” by Momina Duraid (Hum TV) and “Taakay Ki Ayegi Baraat” Evernew Entertainment (Geo).

Private TV channels have produced some of the best dramas this year. The fight is really between “Mera Naseeb” by Hum TV and “Mera Saeen” by ARY as both captivated the masses.

Best actor (male)

Nominees are  Ali Safina for “Taakay Ki Ayegi Baraat” (Geo), Fahad Mustafa for “Mastana Mahi” (Hum TV) and “Mein Abdul Qadir Hoon” (Hum TV), Faisal Qureshi for “Mastana Mahi” (Hum TV) and Noman Ejaz for “Mera Saaen” (ARY).

For best male actor, there is a tie between Faisal Qureshi in “Roag”, where he played the role of a person who was accused of being involved in a rape case who later chooses a more pious path, and Noman Ejaz for his brilliantly played role of a feudal lord in “Mera Saeen”. Anyone could bag the award.

Best actor (female)

Nominees are Aaminah Sheikh for “Umm-e-Kulsoom” (ARY), Savera Nadeem for “Qaid-e-Tanhai” (Hum TV), Beenish Chouhan for “Mera Saaen” (ARY), Hina Dilpazir for “Tum Ho Ke Chup” (Geo) and Saba Qamar for “Paani Jaisa Pyaar” (Hum TV).

For best female actor, the award should either go to Aaminah Sheikh for “Umme Kulsoom”, who played a character who completely transforms herself in the show, or to Savera Nadeem for “Quid-e-Tanhai” for her dialogue delivery and exceptional body language.

Best TV director

Nominees are: Yasir Nawaz for “Uraan” (Geo), Adnan Ahmed for “Mera Naseeb” (Hum TV), Babar Javed for “Mera Saaen” (ARY), Kanwal Khoosat for “Aao Kahani Buntay Hain” (PTV) and Sarmad Khoosat for “Paani Jaisa Pyaar” (Hum TV).

The best TV director award should be given too Yasir Nawaz for the drama “Uraan” for showing the audience that even with small budgets, one can easily make one of the best dramas on TV.

Best TV writer

Nominees are Umera Ahmed for “Uraan” (Geo), Anwar Sajjad for “Dil Behkay Ga” (PTV), Sarwat Nazeer for “Qaid-e-Tanhai” (Hum TV), Sameera Fazal for “Mera Saaen” (ARY) and “Mera Naseeb” (Hum TV).

For best TV writer, the title should undoubtedly be given to Umera Ahmed for the same drama for writing a thrilling story about a psychopath’s life and his impact on the women around him who ultimately had to fight for justice.

Best PTV plays

Nominations are “Aao Kahani Buntay Hain”, “Kachra Kundi”, “Dil Behkay Ga”, Jeena Tou Hai” and “Tera Pyar Nahi Bhoolay.” The best story line and most deserving play is “Aao Kahani Buntay Hain” whereas “Kachra Kundi” has also done well in terms of best content generation and production.

Best actor (male)

Nominees are Mehmood Aslam, Noman Ejaz, Moamar Rana, Ahsan Khan and Junaid Khan. The award should either go to Mehmood Aslam or Noman Ejaz for the play “Aankh Salamat Andhay Log.” Actors Junaid Khan and Moamar Rana (who sticks to his filmi style) still have a long way to go. Ahsan Khan needs to find more diverse roles if he wants to move forward in this industry.

Best actor (female)

Nominees are Sania Saeed, Sanam Baloch, Saba Qamar, Maira Khan and Mahjabeen Sumbul. Sania Saeed will probably win the award for her brilliant acting followed by Sanam Baloch. The remaining actors hold less of a chance to beat the two ladies.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2012

Nadamat

‘Nadamat’ is the story of practically every household in our society.  The plot reflects the callous attitude of people and the destruction that it causes. The protagonist of the story is Dr Tania whose life turns into a living hell owing to her father, Nawab Shuja ud Din’s one mistake.

As she leaves her father’s house and goes to live with her husband, Sohail, she is confronted by even more hurdles. Her dark past follows her like a shadow in her present for her husband treats her with suspicion and scorn all the time. Other important characters of the story are the husband and wife duo Nasir and Kiran, and Nasir’s brother, Taifor. What chaos will Taifor, who has lived abroad, bring into his brother and sister-in-law’s lives? What kind of hardships will Tania’s past create for her? How does she tackle her present? To find out, watch ‘Nadamat’.

Up Coming only on Hum Tv

MAW holds wish fulfilling ceremony for ailing children

Television host Sanam Baloch and Naat Khuwan Aamir Liaquat were specially invited to spend some time with terminally ill children

 Make-A-Wish (MAW) Foundation Pakistan has managed to fulfill the desires of eight terminally ill children in connection with Eid-ul-Fitr.

Wishes were granted in a ceremony held here at the MAW office, Sunday evening.

Six-year-old Sumera Hassan, suffering from heart complications, wished for a dinner comprising dishes, she likes most. Similarly Zohaib 10, a kidney patient and baby Vilayat 10, a thalassaemia major patient wished for a special dinner.

Saeeda, 12, a heart patient, and another thalassaemia patient Fiza, 08, wished to have a meeting with renowned actress and television host Sanam Baloch, while seven-year-old Nida, who is also a thalassaemia patient, wished to meet renowned host of religious programmes and Naat Khuwan Aamir Liaquat.

To fulfill the children’s wishes both personalities were specially invited in a ceremony, where children spent some time with them.

Speaking on the occasion, Nida said that she tried her best to contact Aamir Liaquat but in vain. She thanked the MAW Foundation for fulfilling her desire. Nida further said that she wanted to request Aamir Liaquat to pray for her.

Muhammad Akram 17, thalassaemia patient and Sumera 12, suffering from blood cancer were provided with their wishes to have new dresses and accessories.

On the occasion, distinguished guests distributed ‘Eidi’ among the affected children.

MAW’s founding president in Pakistan Ishtiaq Baig hailed the role of volunteers, who were serving the terminally ill children and working to provide them with some moments of joys. He stressed the need of fulfilling the wishes of terminally ill children terming it the moral duty of society.

Several industrialists, including Ikhtiar Baig, along with other distinguished guests and volunteers were also present on the occasion. (Daily Times)

Sanam Baloch's interview on call

Second Pakistan Media Awards held in vivid ceremony: Sanam baloch dedicates her award to her mother

By Asad Farooq

KARACHI: The second Pakistan Media Awards were bestowed late Saturday night amid a graceful ceremony held at a local hotel. The ceremony was dedicated to the departed legendry actor Moeen Akhter.

Several prominent figures of silver and large screens, including Mustafa Qureshi, Urooj Asif, Ahsen, Aijaz and Faisal Qureshi, hosted the several segments of ceremony.

To start the ceremony, a minute of silence was observed and Fateha was recited for the departed soul of Moeen Akhtar.

Renowned actor Mustafa Qureshi said, “Through this event we want to deliver a message to the western world that Pakistani nation is not afraid of anyone”, adding that we boost our culture and talent, while remaining in the sphere of our traditional values.

A large number of celebrities, politicians and art lovers including Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro, renowned textile tycoon Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, famous film stars Nadeem Baig, Zeba Muhammad Ali, Moammar Rana and prominent film directors Syed Noor, Sangeeta Bajlani and others attended the event.

During the awards distribution ceremony, awards for the year 2010 were distributed in several categories. Best Radio Jockey Award for the male went to Dr Ajaz Waris from FM 92 and for female to Noveen Waqar from FM 91. Best Newscaster Award for male was granted to Salman Hasan from Samaa TV and for female to Kiran from Aaj TV. Best male and female Anchorperson Award went to Kashif Abbasi and Aasma Chaudhry respectively whereas Best Fashion Journalist Award went to Faisal Qureshi. Aamer Adnan bagged the award for Best Fashion Designer. Best Model Award for female went to Nadia Hassan and for male to Hareeb. Saba Ansari bagged the awards in hairstyle and makeup category. Syed Noor was awarded with Best Film Director Award. Best Theatre Awards went to the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) Group. Channa Sachi Muchi was declared the Best Film of the Year 2010. Best actor and actress awards went to Shan and Saima respectively. ‘Muskurati Morning’ was declared the best morning show. Faisal Qureshi and his better half Aysha were awarded the best host award. Best Soap Award went to the series ‘Samdhan’ whereas Best Female Singer Award went to Fareeha Pervez. Best Drama Award went to Hum TV’s ‘Dastan’, while Haissam Hussain was awarded Best Drama Director. Best Supporting Actor Award for male and female went to Ahsan Khan and Sanam Baloch respectively. Fawad Khan was declared best TV actor of the year 2010. A special award was granted to the legendry musician and vocal person Mehdi Hassan. Lifetime achievement award went to senior star Lehri. Besides, a special award was bestowed on the desire of Nadeem Baig entitled ‘Moeen Akhter Award,’ under the category of Best Entertainer of the year, which went to Omer Sharif.

Sanam Baloch and several other award winners dedicated their awards to their mothers, marking the World Mother’s Day.

Little Master Rohan Abbas mesmerised the audience with his songs. Sangeta Bajlani, Syed Noor, and Mehdi Hassan wished him luck and appreciated his performance. He said in tears that singing in front of Mehdi Hassan was his largest wish of life.

Renowned Choreographer Pappu Samraat arranged a special dance, which was dedicated to his favourite actor Sanam Baloch.

Spectators enjoyed the privilege of watching renowned actor Muammar Rana’s live performance. His wife and daughter were also present on this occasion. Rana while receiving the Best Actor Award on Shan’s behalf, said that now he has received an award Shan’s behalf, people would not say that there lies a conflict between the two starts adding “Shan is my senior and he has taught a lot to me”.

Senior Artist Shakeel entertained people through his dance performance on Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s song ‘Dil To Bacha He Gee.’

Speaking on the occasion, Speaker Sindh Assembly Khuhro said that there was no deficiency of talent in Pakistan. He praised the organisers and congratulated them. He was of the view that supporting such types of events was the need of the hour.

Syed Noor said that he was very glad to be there as he attended such an event after a long time. He said that he had launched a film academy and said that he was confident that the academy would play significant role in developing the Pakistani film industry.

Nadeem Baig while urging the local media to support Pakistani film industry said that such events should be held to support the declining film industry of Pakistan. He further said that money is not the real reward for an artist, but appreciation is.

Omer Sharif also entertained the spectators on this occasion and bagged applause from the audience.

He requested Syed Noor to direct a film and cast all senior stars including Nadeem Baig, Zeba Ali and others as the local film industry was on a steep decline after the retirement of these artists. He offered that he would write the script of the proposed film without charging a single penny. In an immediate response, Noor came on the stage and informed the audience that he already had signed an agreement for a film with Zeba Muhammad Ali on the same day and promised to fulfill Sharif’s request.

Later while talking to Daily Times Sangeeta and Zeba said that they both came from Lahore to participate in the ceremony. The congratulated the organisers Mr. and Mrs Arshed Siddiqui of Triple E and hoped that with the support of such awards and events Pakistani film industry will bloom again.

Organiser Arshad Siddiqui said that the purpose behind the event was to re-live the Pakistani film industry. He said though he and other private sector were trying to play their level best the cold behavior of government was quite illogical.

He thanked all participants and said that the government would have to step ahead to safeguard the industry, instead of only providing lip service. He said that he is going to launch his own film in the coming month of November. The nightlong event left several promises, memories and hopes behind. Only time can prove the sincerity of celebrities but the government’s role for the betterment of the industry is yet to be defined.(Daily Times)

Sanam Baloch and Sami Khan: Good performance in Telenor advertisement