As the war cry for sending Pak exports, like Fawad Khan and Sara Loren, gains traction, here's rounding up our loves from across the border who have entertained, inspired and left us asking for more!
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Poppy Agha Chef
With her roots in Karachi, Khurshid Amina Agha, fondly known as chef Poppy Agha, has risen as a popular celebrity chef in Pakistan over the last decade, courtesy her food show, A Taste Of Fusion on Dawn News TV, where she whipped up innovative fare that challenged Pakistanis’ notion of traditional cuisine. In 2012, Agha crossed the border and showcased exemplary cooking skills on Foodistan, an India-Pakistan cook-off TV show, where she was pitted against Delhi’s blue-eyed chef Manish Mehrotra in the finals and emerged as the first runner-up.
Junoon Band
It all started by the smash hit of the 1990s, when MTV was fresh and young in the Subcontinent. The album, Azadi, rode on a heady wave, and the quartet of Salman Ahmad, Ali Azmat, Brian O’Connell and Nusrat Hussain became household names from SoBo to Southall. Their fusion of Rock music with Qawwals and Sufi sounds resonated across borders and mindsets. Years later, after the band had parted ways, they did a reunion tour that included Mumbai (April 2012).
Fatima Bhutto Author
In the years before Sania Mirza became such a national hero, and had just tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, there was a mean meme that said something to the effect of Take Sania, and give us Fatima Bhutto. That lost sentiment aside, Benazir Bhutto’s niece is a star in her own right, with books like Songs Of Blood And Sword, which deal with her controversial family. She is also pretty easy on the eye and that’s why Indian men will love her to visit the country more. Her best asset: that’s she not scared to speak the truth about her country.
That’s what she said
‘Pakistan continues to deny justice to the victims of its violence. What it loses in return is faith’, she recently tweeted on the death anniversary of her father Murtaza Bhutto, who died on September 20, 1996.
Marina Khan Actress
She became a household name in India in the mid-80s, with Tanhaiyaan. The Pakistani serial is considered a cult classic and her fun-loving character, Sania, who played pranks, was a big draw. She followed it up with Dhoop Kinare in which she played the young intern Zoya, who falls for a much older doctor in the hospital where she worked. Video libraries stocked video cassettes of both hugely popular dramas, with instructions to viewers to return the cassettes immediately after viewing because there was a waiting list.
Umer Shareef Stand-up comic
Decades before Kapil Sharma, stand-up comedian Umer Shareef introduced us to TV shows with oddball family characters on stage. Umer’s name is synonymous with Bakra Qistoon Pay which was a rage during the late ’80s. He had a nagging wife, an eye for PYTs and often broke into a song to get out of a piquant situation. He pioneered this genre and inspired stand-up comics both sides of the border.
Citizen Khan TV show
The Pakistanis laughed. So did the Indians. The TV show, Citizen Khan had viewers LOL at the antics of Adil Ray’s characterization of Mr Khan as the bumbling, self-anointed community leader of East Briminghan. Despite receiving threats and negative publicity for stereotyping the migrant South Asian Muslim diaspora in the UK, the show continues to earn rave reviews and high telly ratings for its brand of slapstick comedy.
Nazia Hassan Singer
Nobody, we repeat, nobody can forget Nazia Hassan singing the sultry Aap Jaisa Koi from 1980’s Qurbani. The Pop Queen of the eighties and her brother, Zoheb, took over the imagination of the Indian pop lover. She worked with music director Biddu on many projects and had other hits that included Disco Deewane and Boom Boom. She is said to have changed the face of the music Indian industry as she was follwed by talents like Alisha Chinai and Lucky Ali.
Rumour Has It
That she refused Biddu’s offer to sing Made in India as it would hurt her country
Somy Ali Actress
She stole the eternal bachelor Salman Khan’s heart. When they were together, there was enough fodder for the gossip mills. Somy did some Bollywood duds in the ’90s like Yaar Gaddar and Andolan. She may have not made her mark as an actress, but till date she is known as Salman’s girlfriend. At that time, she was a teenager, and madly in love with the star who helped her find a toehold in Bollywood. They were together for almost eight years till they parted ways in 2000.
Rumour Has It
That Sallu apparently broke a cola bottle on her head, which is now part of folklore
Mohammed Hanif Author
The Indian Literati loves Hanif for his biting wit and astute observations. His books, including A Case for Exploding Mangoes, left the audience with goosebumps or in a trance. He’s also known for his criticism of the establishment and never minces his words when telling the truth.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Singer
The late singer, considered to have the greatest voice ever, made Sufi music a trend. His high-pitched timbre gave goosebumps and made you go in a trance. He went Aafreen Aafreen in 1996 which had Lisa Ray feature in the music video. More than her smouldering presence, it was his voice that grabbed attention. He rendered Sawre Tore Bina in Bandit Queen (1994), Dulhe Ka Sehra in Dhadkan (200) and Is Shane Karam Ka in Kacche Dhaage (1999).
Zeb and Haniya Singers
A big part of Coke Studio Pakistan’s success goes to sister singers Zeb and Haniya. The two cousins from Kohat combine folk music with blues and alternative music, and their Urdu and Pashto lyrics are just the icing on the cake. Zeb has also sung for AR Rahman, Sooha Saha, for Imtiaz Ali’s Highway.
Did You Know?
The sisters released The Happy Song that aimed at talking of the good in Pak
Huma Nassr, Fashion Designer
In 2015, Huma Nassr, high on the demand for the salwar kameez as made popular by Pakistani TV shows, got to India, Shaan-e-Pakistan, a fashion show aimed at promoting Pakistani fashion designers. She also became the first Pakistani to open her shop, Braahtii, in the capital.
Compiled by Clayton Murzello, Shaheen Parkar, Fiona Fernandes and Aastha Atray Banan
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