Pakistanis are immensely talented and very hardworking; they have proved their mettle not only in their own country but also in foreign lands. While, many of us are well acquainted with the names of those Pakistanis who have worked in Bollywood in some capacity or the other, most of us do not know about those who have been part of the Hollywood ventures. There was a time when Pakistanis were not seen at all in Hollywood movies or serials and most often people belonging to other nationalities (who looked like Muslims) were taken for such roles and there was absolutely no concept of Pakistanis working as directors or producers. Well, gone are those days and there have been many Pakistanis who either have been working in Hollywood for quite some time now or have just started their career. Here is a list of Pakistanis who have managed to make it to Hollywood.
1. Meesha Shafi:
Meesha Shafi entered Hollywood recently by being cast in the movie "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" which is based on a novel written by Mohsin Hameed, who is a British Pakistani. The novel gives the South Asian perspective of the 9/11 incident and has won many awards. It has been directed by an Indian Director Mira Nair. Apart from acting in the movie Meesha has also contributed to the soundtrack as well. The film has a star studded cast with names like Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Shabana Aazmi, Om Puri and many more. The latest news is that Meesha Shafi has been asked to star in another Hollywood movie titled "The Tournament of Shadows".
2. Faran Tahir:
Faran Tahir is a Pakistani American; His father is Naeem Tahir, who was the Director General at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. Faran started his acting career in Hollywood in 1985 and since then he has been part of many Hollywood movies and has also appeared as a guest star in a number of prominent television series like Law and Order, The Practice, Family Law, NYPD Blue and many others. He is certainly someone that we should all be truly proud of; he is the same actor who played the role of Captain Robau in the famous movie "Star Trek". His latest movies include "Torn", "Ashes" and "Jinn".
3. Kamran Pasha:
Kamran Pasha was born in Pakistan but migrated to the US when he was only three years old. He started off as a news reporter but later left his career to study Law and business and got a joint degree in both. But very soon Kamran figured out that he was not meant to be an attorney and moved on to pursue a career in film making. Currently he is a well known screenwriter, director and novelist in Hollywood. Another Pakistani who has done all of us proud.
4. Ajmal Zaheer Ahmed:
Ajmal Zaheer is another Pakistani who acted in a Hollywood movie but his main passion is writing and directing. He has written and directed three Hollywood films titled, "Alliance", "It’s A Mismatch" and "Jinn". He is also the executive producer of the movie "Jinn".
5. Sajjid Hassan and Adnan Siddiqui:
Sajjid Hassan and Adnan Siddiqui both starred in the movie A Mighty Heart, which was about the search and kidnap of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Sajjid Hassan and Adnan Siddiqui played the role of officers who are part of the investigation team that helps Daniel Pearl's wife (Angelina Jolie) in finding her husband.
6. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan earned a great name for his country by being popular not just in the subcontinent but all over the world. So how was it possible that this talented gentleman would not have made it to Hollywood? Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's song Afrin Afrin was featured in the Hollywood movie "2012" and he composed the music for the film “Last Temptation of Christ” and performed a duet with Eddie Vedder for the film "Dead man walking".
7. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan:
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan carried the legacy that his uncle left behind and did complete justice to it. Rahat contributed to the soundtrack of the 1995 Hollywood film, "Dead Man Walking" along with Nurat Fateh Ali. In 2002, he worked on the soundtrack of "The Four Feathers" in collaboration with the American composer of orchestral and film music, James Horner. In 2002, Rahat joined hands with The Derek Trucks Band and they came up with the song "Maki Madni" for Trucks’ album, Joyful Noise. In 2011, his vocals were featured on the soundtrack of Mel Gibson’s "Apocalypto".
8. Mahnoor Baloch:
We will be watching Mahnoor Baloch perform very soon in the Hollywood movie "Torn". The movie has been directed by Jeremiah Birnbaum. Mahnoor Baloch plays the role of Maryam, a mother whose child gets killed. The story is about two mothers who come from two different worlds but meet under such circumstances that the two end up getting very close to each other.
9. Strings:
Strings the band's track "Na jaane kyun", from the album Dhaani, was featured in the “Spider-Man 2″ soundtrack. “When we were approached by Columbia to do this track for Spider-Man 2, it was unreal,” said Strings member Faisal Kapadia when the news came out and Bilal Maqsood thought that this was an amazing opportunity and no doubt it was. Strings also contributed to the title track of the latest Hollywood film “Avengers”.
10: Atif Aslam:
We all know that this gifted singer has carved a name fro himself in Bollywood but back in 1995 three of his songs were featured in an Independent Hollywood movie "Man Push Cart". This movie won eight international awards and was nominated for seven more. Atif Aslam is also lending his vocals for the upcoming movies "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" in which he will sing the Urdu verses of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's "Mori Araj Suno" and "Bol Key Lab Azad Hai Tere" in collaboration with American singer Peter Gabriel and band Genesis.
11. Ali Azmat and Overload:
Ali Azmat and Overload's vocals are also part of the movie "The Reluctant Fundamentalist". Ali Azmat's famous song "Bum Phatta" and Overload's "Dhol Bajay Ga" have been hand picked for the movie. The song "Bum Phatta" is a satirical take on the hardships faced by the common man in Pakistan. The song gained a lot of popularity in Pakistan and it is great to know that it is making its way to Hollywood now.
12. Ahmad Razvi:
Ahmad Razvi was born in Lahore in 1972 but when he was six years old he moved to New York. Ahmad Razvi has acted in five Hollywood films since 2005, which include "Man Push Cart", "Chop Shop", "American Loser", "English 20" and "Rendered". The interesting thing about this gentleman is that all the characters that he has played in these movies have been very significant.
I hope all of you enjoyed going through this list. If any of you know of any Pakistani who has earned a good name for himself in Hollywood but is not on this list please feel free to share.
Author: Fatima Awan.
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