From Ahad Raza Mir to Humayun Saeed, Pakistani stars are not coming slow and are paving their way towards making the nation proud!
Behold Pakistanis! We assure you this is going to make your hearts swell with pride & joy! Contrary to popular opinion, over the years many Pakistani stars have been associated with international projects and the world of Hollywood. Ms. Marvel has been a recent addition to this list where we saw not only an objective script that represented Pakistanis and Muslims in a positive light but we also had the joy of seeing many of our own stars being part of that project including Mehwish Hayat, Fawad Khan, Samina Ahmed, and Nimra Bucha. In addition to this, our locally produced songs were also part of the soundtrack and our very own Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directed two episodes of the miniseries.
That’s not all folks! Adnan Siddiqui and Sajid Hassan starred in the 2007 film, ‘ A Mighty Heart’ alongside Angelina Jolie. Atif Aslam also has three songs on the soundtrack of an American indie movie ‘Man Push Cart’. ‘Najane Kyun’ sung by the iconic Strings band was the soundtrack of the film ‘Spiderman 2’. Moreover, Laraib Atta, who is a VFX creator from Pakistan, has been a part of several renowned projects including ‘10,000 BC’, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, ‘Prince of Persia’, ‘Godzilla,’ and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ among others. And the list goes on!
Presently, many Pakistani actors are working on international projects and some of them are soon to be released! We bring you a list of five projects that our stars have been cast in. Read below to get the details!
1. ‘Resident Evil’ Starring Ahad Raza Mir:
‘Resident Evil’ is a Netflix series based on a Japanese horror survival video game and film franchise developed by Capcom franchise by Capcom. In its first year of release, it sold 2.75 million copies on the Original Play Station. After several successful films in the franchise, ‘Resident Evil’ has made its way to Netflix and was released on July 14th. ‘Fourteen years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker fights for survival in a world overrun by infected creatures while being haunted by her past, her father, and what happened to her sister, Billie.’ reads its description on Google.
The series marks Ahad Raza Mir’s Netflix debut and we couldn’t be prouder! The actor shared several posts related to the series on his Instagram including his look as Arjun Batra.
2. World On Fire (Season 2) Starring Ahad Raza Mir
The period drama based on incidents of WWII will be starring Ahad Raza Mir as Rajib!
‘World On Fire’ is a series set in October 1940, around the events of World War II and the show is based on real stories from the war. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the makers of World On Fire are ready to produce the second season of the series and, as per reports, it is currently being filmed in Northern Ireland.
Written by Peter Bowker, the first season aired in 2019 in the UK and in 2020 in the US, on PBS. The second season has been commissioned by the BBC and will star Lesley Manville as Robina, Jonah Hauer-King as Harry, Julia Brown as Lois, and Zofia Wichlacz as Kasia, with Blake Harrison as Stan, Eugénie Derouand as Henriette, Eryk Biedunkiewicz as Jan, and Cel Spellman as Joe.
Ahad Raza Mir has been roped in to play the role of Rajib! Details about his characters are still under wraps, nevertheless, we are excited! “The series follows the hidden lives of ordinary people from Britain, Poland, France, Germany, and the United States during World War II. The drama switches its scenes between various locations in France, Britain, Germany, and Poland. It features repeated visits to Paris, Warsaw, Manchester, Berlin, and Dunkirk.” according to Wikipedia.
Watch Season 1’s Trailer Here:
3. ‘The Crown’ (Season 5) Starring Humayun Saeed
The Netflix Original show, ‘The Crown’ will be starring another Pakistani star, Humayun Saeed as Dr. Hasnat Khan!
‘The Crown’ chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to the present day. Each season unfolds the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the politics, drama, and romance that surrounded her. The first season began with the 25-year-old princess, ascending the throne of Great Britain. The series has been running strong and at present it is rumored that season 5 will continue to highlight the life of Diana and the period of time where she met the Pakistani surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, reportedly to be played by Humayun Saeed.
Dr. Hasnat Khan is a British-Pakistani heart surgeon who practiced at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital. Diana and Dr. Hasnat met in 1995 and their romance continued for two years. Diana called him ‘Mr. Wonderful’ and even visited his family in Lahore. Eventually, they broke up in 1997. We are excited to see Humayun Saeed make his debut in a Netflix Original and how he intertwines into the storyline! Season 5 will be streamed in November on Netflix.
4. ‘Gangs Of London’ Casting Asif Raza Mir
The Mirs are not coming slow and the evergreen actor, Asif Raza Mir is part of the British show ‘Gangs Of London’!
‘Gangs Of London’ is an adaptation of a video game released in 2006, with the same title. The series has bagged several BAFTA TV Awards nominations and it became the biggest UK original drama launch on Sky Original. According to IMDb, ‘Gangs Of London’ “tells the story of London being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of its international gangs and the sudden power vacuum that’s created when the head of London’s most powerful crime family is assassinated.”
The series is directed and created by Gareth Evans and the cast members include Paapa Essiedu, Lucian Msamati, Michelle Fairley, Orli Shuka, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Brian Vernel, Narges Rashidi, Asif, and Valene Kane alongside Dìrísù. The new season will also be bringing in some new faces — Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central) as Koba, French rapper Jasmine Armando in her first TV role as Saba, Fady El-Sayed as Faz, Salem Kali as Basem, and Aymen Hamdouchi as Hakim.
Asif Raza Mir will be playing the role of Asif Afridi, who is a Pakistani gang leader engaged in the fight to run the city.
His wife Samra Asif shared a BTS picture
5. ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ Starring Sajal Aly
Sajal Aly will be starring in ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ though her role in the movie still remains disclosed.
Starring the nation’s heartthrob, Sajal Aly along with Lily James, Shazad Latif, and Emma Thompson, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ is all set to release on January 27, 2023. The film is directed by the Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and penned by Jemima Goldsmith who has allegedly taken inspiration for this movie from her own cross-cultural marriage with the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.
‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ is a rom-com based in Lahore and London which will dive deep into the concept of love and marriage and will center around the concept of cross-cultural couples. The film follows the story of Zoe played by Lily James who has had her fair share of bad dates much to her mother, Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. Zoe decides to document her childhood friend and neighbor, Kazim’s (Shahzad Latif) journey from London to Lahore as he decides to follow his parents’ footsteps and opt for an arranged marriage with a girl from Pakistan (our guess is that the girl is going to be played by Sajal Aly but nothing is official yet!)
Here is Sajal’s look from the movie
This brings us to the end of our list! Which show are you most excited to watch? Do let us know!
