Are these celebrities multi-talented or are they using TV simply as a means of stardom?

Read time: approx 5-10 mins

Many Pakistani TV actors are multi-talented and have beautiful vocals....sometimes it feels like they've chosen the wrong path to stardom...let's unfold some celebrities' secret talents and decide whether acting was the best way to go for them...

Atif Aslam

Atif Aslam singer turned actor?👀

Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer and now recently made his acting debut in the Pakistani TV drama serial Sang e mah. Without a doubt, I know a lot of people (including myself) are following this serial after seeing teasers with Atif Aslam making his TV debut. Wait does that mean his singing career time is nearly up...? 

Atif Aslam is best known for his hit songs in both the Pakistani and Indian film industries. His music is so timeless that he has made a mark for himself in both nations as one of the top playback singers of all time. However, did you know growing up music was almost never a career he thought of pursuing? It was not until his college days that he began to actively take part in musical competitions and his friends encouraged him to establish himself in the music industry. Atif has mentioned the works of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as being one of his very first musical inspirations. 

Atif began his musical career in 2003 when he joined the Jal band and released the song Aadat. He then quit due to "musical differences" with the band's founding member Goher Mumtaz. In July 2004 he then released his first album Jal Pari which had 11 tracks and became an instant hit. The album also won the 4th LUX Style Awards in 2005 for Best Album. Three of his songs from his first album were used in the Hollywood film Man Push Cart. In 2005, he got his first breakthrough in Bollywood with his song Woh Lamhe in the movie Zeher. In April 2012 he became the first Pakistani to perform in London's O2 Arena where he performed for 4 hours. 

Atif is known for his vocal belting technique-I'm about to tell you how true this is for his live performances. It was only a few weeks ago I heard Atif Aslam live when he recently did a UK tour. Unpopular opinion= he isn't a 10/10 singing live. Critically speaking, his band seemed to be unusually a lot louder than his voice with his drummer really going all-out making the overall performance seem wow to an audience. It seemed to me that his voice was being drowned out by a loud band... is the louder than usual drumming a tactic to support his stage voice? There seems to be more passion and depth in Atif's recorded songs we know from Youtube- but such range seemed lacking from him live. Has Atif Aslam officially peaked as a singer now and turned to acting?

Atif Aslam has recently made his television debut in Momina Duraid's drama serial Sang e mah. The way he has stepped into the role of Hilmand and showcases a stellar performance is really impressive for a singer's TV debut. Atif has been in the spotlight of the drama with how well his dialogue delivery is projected in new episodes. The script made it easy for him to slip into the role, he says "when I write lyrics and vocalise them into songs, they're very poetic by nature. Hilmand's manner of speaking is also very poetic. There is a rhythmic tone to it". Whilst on the sets of Sang e mah Nauman Ijaz also praised his acting. I'm absolutely loving watching his dialogue delivery and the mystery that comes with the character of Hilmand. I'm also quite curious to see whether we will now regularly be seeing Atif Aslam on TV👀

(This has been my favourite scene in the whole drama so far)

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan is said to be a leading actor in the industry...but I think otherwise...

His performances in Ishq Tamasha, Kamzarf, Yaariyan, and Khuda aur Mohabbat 3 have consistently shown to be quite dry. In Yaariyan his performance was the worst to the point that every expression looked the same to me and his character in Khuda aur Mohabbat 3 seemed so pointless. Personally, I don't think Junaid Khan's acting is all that great and most of the time his character really does not add anything to the story.

Before Junaid Khan stepped into acting, he was actually an established singer-songwriter from the early 2000s. He made his entry into music during his graduation. After his education, he collaborated with the Call band, and soon after they released their first track Nishaan in 2003 which went viral. The band then released their first music video Pukaar. The group began performing live on different occasions throughout Pakistan and globally. Junaid released another song Badal Do Zamana with Pepsi for the T20 World Cup in 2010. In 2011 he released his first solo track which he composed himself and shot a video with American singer Jennifer Jandris in Washington DC. At the end of 2012, Junaid left the Call band to pursue a solo career in music. 

I've seen Junaid singing as an opening to ARY Celebrity League- his voice is actually really nice. Junaid has also admitted that music will always be his priority, he stated, "Music is my passion. I have been acting more than singing so I understand how everyone thinks the former is my priority. However, I would love to have more singing projects than more dramas".

Junaid also plays cricket very well as seen on ARY Celebrity League 2021 and on his Instagram. He regularly shares cricket-related posts on his Instagram and his passion for the sport is shown in how well he plays. I watched the ARY Celebrity cricket league last year and saw Junaid in action playing cricket and he's quite a good fast bowler. 

I then followed him on Instagram and his fashion sense was, to my surprise, quite impressive. He has also been nominated for his fashion sense in the LUX Style awards and HUM Style awards multiple times. He's one of the most stylish actors his age and knows exactly how to effortlessly create a seamless look for any occasion.

I think Junaid has been overhyped as an actor but I think he's well aware that his passion is singing and it's best he stick to that. Do you think Junaid Khan chose the wrong path to stardom?

Farhan Saeed

Farhan Saeed is a singer-songwriter, actor, music video director and entrepreneur...and he seems to be managing it all well...

Farhan Saeed joined the pop-rock band Jal in 2003 replacing the lead vocalist Atif Aslam. However, in 2011 he left the band to pursue a solo career in music despite Goher Mumtaz (Jal founding member) offering him to continue a solo career whilst still being part of Jal. In 2015 he received recognition for his song Roiyaan at the 14th LUX Style awards and 3rd HUM awards as best music single of the year. Farhan has sung a lot of Pakistani drama TV OSTs and also sung popular Bollywood song Thodi Der alongside Shreya Goshal. Personally, I think Farhan Saeed's musical career has definitely skyrocketed recently as he is seen to sing more OSTs and perform in live concerts.

 

Farhan Saeed made his acting debut in 2014 but he is most known for his role in Udaari (2016) and in Suno Chanda (2018). He is currently seen on TV in Badshah Begum with an ensemble cast and recently just made his much-awaited entry in Mere Humsafar opposite Hania Amir. His acting career is going up on a steady graph with more work opportunities with bigger names opening up for him.

Omer Shahzad

Omer Shahzad is one of the top Pakistani models who we now see more of on TV as an actor but I think he should've pursued a singing career...

Omer Shahzad started his modelling career in 2011 when he was selected as 1 of the 8 models amongst 200 auditionees for Bridal Couture Week. He then went on to work with very well known designers including HSY, Deepak Parwani, Sania Maskatiya, Zainab Chottani which has earned him widespread recognition in the modelling industry. In May 2019 I actually saw Omer Shahzad in the flesh walk the ramp at the Riwayat Lifestyle Pakistan Fashion Week in London. It was only a few months back I was watching his drama Beyreham on TV! I must say he looks so much better in person (and actually smiley not scary) and you can really see the sharp facial features that give him that enhanced model face. He is definitely so much better at modelling- he does the walk so effortlessly like it comes naturally to him and keeps his posture straight and upright the whole time. 

Omer always wanted to become an actor after watching Faysal Qureshi and Nauman Ijaz's work on TV but modelling just so happened to have come his way first. I think naturally, even if acting came to him as an opportunity first he would still be pushed from there into modelling because of his looks. Also, because of his looks, I think he's naturally steered towards negative roles- many actors that play negative roles have a prominent jawline and dark hair (Feroze Khan in Khaani) or a square-shaped face and a dark beard (Syed Jibran in Chup Raho). I strongly believe looks do play a part in an actor's work to help them physically mould into the stereotype viewer's would associate with a dark character.

In 2018 Omer played a psycho and abusive husband in Beyreham opposite Sumaiyya Bukhsh- I also quite liked this on-screen pairing. The following year he was seen opposite Saboor Aly in Gul o Gulzar but I found his acting dry here (except in one scene where he was head-on screaming at Saboor👀). Omer is currently on screen in Mere Humsafar but his character seems quite similar as previously seen in Gul o Gulzar. To be very honest I don't think we're going to be seeing him very long as an actor- he seems a bit stale with the characters he chooses to play and his overall acting in general.

Omer is also not afraid to drop singing covers on his Instagram-and rightfully so his singing is beautiful! At first, I was actually really surprised by this and didn't think his soft singing voice matched his sharp facial structure. But I really really do think he has potential as a playback singer and to be noticed in Bollywood and gain recognition. Together, with his modelling and singing, I think would be perfect for him and, well, I'm sorry to say but I don't see potential in his acting to stretch any further really...

Have these multi-talented celebrities chosen the wrong path to stardom? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below👀