There is absolutely no dearth of talent in Pakistan and we all bear witness to that with the immense amount of media we are exposed to, day in and day out. What we sometimes overlook are the faces and actors that don’t always get promoted; who don’t always make it to the posters, and even if they do, they’re just not talked about enough. And that’s a shame. We’ve tried putting a dent into the list of the talented men and women of our industry, who deserve to be appreciated more, have conversations around them, just on the sheer basis of talent that they possess.
1. Bilal Abbas Khan
Bilal is the new kid on the block who has literally taken over our television screens, in the past years. Currently, he’s been reigning on our screens as Qasim in ‘O Rangreza.’ Girls have been in love with his boyish good looks and people have been in love with his acting skills, in general.
2. Yumna Zaidi
With six HUM nominations, so far, Yumna has got to be one of the most underrated actresses in the industry. She dazzled us in Mausam, against Ahsan Khan and Hareem Farooq, and melted our hearts in the recently ended ‘Yeh Raha Dil,’ with Ahmed Ali Akbar.
3. Ahad Raza Mir
Ahad is one of the most sensible actors we have in the industry. With his background in theatre, you’d reckon his expressions would be loud and over-pronounced, but we were happily proven wrong in ‘Sammi’ and ‘Yaqeen Ka Safar.’ Ahad is coming up next in ‘Parwaaz Hay Junoon’ as a fighter pilot and that’s one man we can’t wait to see in uniform. Ahem, and that face…
4. Mansha Pasha
Haye, Mansha. There’s barely anything that Mansha can’t do when it comes to acting. She’s played leads and supporting roles with equal amazingness. And she needs to be appreciated so much more for the sheer talent this absolutely gorgeous woman possesses.
5. Imran Ashraf
Imran Ashraf’s first television appearance was in a series called ‘Wafa Kaisi Kahan Ka Ishq’ and since then he’s only gotten better. He won a Viewers’ Choice Award in 2016 for his role in ‘Dil Lagi.’ And he’s had the whole country hooked onto his character in ‘Alif, Allah Aur Insaan.’
6. Ali Rehman Khan
Ali Rehman is one person whose “underrated-ness” is something that’s beyond our understanding. He’s talented, beyond good-looking, and have you checked out that personality? From playing a 50+-year-old in’ Diyar-e-Dil,’ to playing the boyishly handsome Daniyal in ‘Janaan,’ there’s nothing he can’t do, and with ‘Parchi’ coming out, we can’t wait to see more of Ali Rehman Khan on our screens.
7. Shaz Khan
Ugh what do I say about Shaz Khan? From giving us all the feels in Moor to his spectacular, spectacular role ‘Dobara Phir Se,’ Shaz is now flying planes and dancing in the latest Pakistani film, ‘Parwaaz Hay Junoon.’ With his characters in dramas and his roles in feature films, we can’t wait to see more of him. Also, can we please get a lot more of him?
P.S. Have you seen those eyes?
8. Ahmed Ali Akbar
Yaar ye wala tau mazaak hai. Someone as insanely talented as Ahmed Ali Akbar deserves so much more recognition. From Siyaah to Karachi Se Lahore, from ‘Yeh Raha Dil’ to ‘Mera Yaar Mila De,’ Ahmed has given us so many reasons to love him, indefinitely.
9. Hina Altaf
You’d remember Hina from her powerful performance in ‘Udaari,’ playing the young Zebo, a character that left you re-evaluating your entire life, long after the show ended. Hina is at the top of her game, and it’s high time we give her her due.
10. Hina Bayat
Hina Bayat has been bowling us over with her acting abilities. None of the three roles (among so many) that we just mentioned are even slightly similar to each other, and just that says so much about the insurmountable talent that Hina ji has.
11. Sarmad Sultan Khoosat
We all know how incredible Sarmad Khoosat is as a director, but his role in ‘Manto’ redefined everything we knew about him, before. While he’s a director, screeenwriter par excellence, his acting skills are out of this world, as well.
12. Hina Dilpazeer
Our baby Momo has been winning hearts all over the country with her role in ‘Bulbulay.’ She blew us away with her acting opposite Asif Raza Mir, which went to show that she can fit right into any character she’s given. She’s an actress, a comedian, a television presenter, a director and a singer. And she’s amazing at everything she does.
13. Adeel Hashmi
What can we say about Adeel Hashmi, apart from the fact that he’s so so so underappreciated? He’s been a constant part of our lives and our screens from our bachchpans and he’s been a source of joy throughout. We’ve been smitten by his recitations of Faiz and Iqbal, on stage. And we’ve had our stomachs hurt with laughing after watching him in ‘Teen Batta Teen.’ We need to man up and start appreciating him for the talent that he is.
14. Uzma Hassan
Uzma is a genius. There, we said it. From her insane acting in ‘Dil Lagi,’ to ‘Tum Merey Hi Rehna,’ she’s been dazzling us with her talent, throughout.
15. Imran Aslam
Imran Aslam is one of the most talented actors in the industry. He can play both negative and positive characters with equal zest.
16. Adeel Hussain
Ah, maaaaan. Adeel’s gorgeous, he can act, he can speak like a dream. And he needs to be spoken about more. He’s been in two feature films, so far with Mahira Khan and Shehryar Munawwar, and opposite Hareem Farooq, respectively.
17. Ushna Shah
This woman just has to be talked about more. Her acting skills are at the top of the pyramid, and we fail to understand why she hasn’t taken over the world, as yet. Because she can.
18. Faizan Khawaja
The broody Faizan Khawaja has been a heartthrob for many, many people around the country when he appeared in ‘Ek Nayi Cinderella,’ but we just don’t get to see enough of him, now.
19. Ajab Gul
From his recent appearance in ‘Janaan,’ people were reminded of just how good Ajab Gul, during his prime years. And we just don’t understand why this man isn’t appreciated more.
Cover image via styles.pk