Ayesha Omer

Ayesha Omer is a Pakistani actress, model, singer and painter. She is known for her role as Khoobsurat in Bulbulay, Natasha in Ladies Park, Sara in Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Arzoo in Tanhai and Aleena in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai. She has established herself as one of the most popular actresses of Pakistan. She is among the highest-paid actresses of Pakistani television and often considered as a Style Icon in Pakistan. In 2019, she was awarded the Tamgha-e-Fakhr-e-Pakistan (Pride of Pakistan) by the Warsi International Organisation.

In 2012, she released her first single "Chalte Chalte" and "Khamoshi" which, although a commercial success in Pakistan, was met with a mixed reaction from critics. Omer went on to win Lux Style Award for Best Album. She made her film debut in the lead role with successful romantic-comedy Karachi Se Lahore in 2015, followed by a supporting character in war film Yalghaar.

Early life

Omer was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She was one year old when her father died and her mother raised Omer and her brother as a single parent. She described her childhood as ''tough'' and ''independent''. She attended Lahore Grammar School, and went to National College of Arts for bachelors and masters. While in school and college, she participated in co-curricular activities and learnt dance through theatre plays.

Career

Modeling

Omer started her career as a model. She has done many commercials such as Kurkure, Harpic, Capri, Pantene and Zong. Omer first hosted the show Meray Bachpan Kay Din on PTV at the age of eight. She then hosted Morning show Yeh Waqt Hai Mera on CNBC Pakistan, Rhythm on Prime TV and Hot chocolate on ARY Zauq. In 2018, she participated in New York Fashion Week as Pakistan's Spokesperson for beauty brand Maybelline.

Acting

Omer made her acting debut with serial College Jeans which aired on PTV, after which she appeared in Geo TV's drama serial Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat alongside veteran actors like Bushra Ansari, Saba Hameed and Jawed Sheikh. Since 2009, she appears on popular sitcom Bulbulay as Khoobsurat, opposite actor Nabeel. Bulbulay become the most watched sitcom of Pakistan. Following the success of Bulbulay, Omer received strong media coverage and became a household name.

Omer then appeared in PTV serial Dil Ko Manana Aya Nahi opposite Amanat Ali, and Geo TV's drama serial Ladies Park alongside Humayun Saeed, Azfar Rehman, Hina Dilpazeer and Mahnoor Baloch.

In 2012, she was seen in Hum TV's highly successful romantic-drama serial Zindagi Gulzar Hai. She portrayed Sara, a girl with grey shades. In the serial, she played the role of on-screen sister of Fawad Khan. In an interview with The News International, she commented: ''Fawad I’ve known since I was in college. We were part of the same underground music scene in Lahore – he was with EP and I was with my college band. We’ve spent some great times and practically grown up together. He was always very cute and very talented. But no, I can never think of him ‘that’ way and I didn’t mind playing his sister at all.''

In 2013, she played the main antagonist called Arzoo in Tanhai on Hum TV. The show was a success.

She was also seen in Geo Kahani's serial Soha or Savera and Hum TV's serial Woh Chaar. Apart from television, she also performed item songs in Pakistani films Love Mein Ghum and Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, both of which were commercially successful.

After becoming a established actress of Pakistani television, Omer stepped into film industry in lead role with Wajahat Rauf's road drama film Karachi Se Lahore, in which she was paired opposite Shehzad Sheikh. Upon release, the film received generally mixed reviews from critics. The Express Tribune criticized Omer's appearance in the movie and wrote: ''There was barely anything for Ayesha Omer in the script, which is why her performance doesn't get noticed more than a girl wearing a revealing top, in a jeep flooded by guys. Even her item number Tutti Fruity was a touch jittery and certainly not worth the hype.'' Although Karachi Se Lahore was not critically well-received, it surprisingly came out as a major box office success, with a total earning of 10 Crore (US$1.0 million) worldwide.

Omer continued to act in television plays after signing few films, and made episodic appearances on Mr. Shamim and Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain 2.

Her next film release was Yalghaar in 2017, in which she played the intense character of Zarmina. Dawn.com describes her character as, ''Even more elusive is Ayesha Omer's purpose on the set. She plays a bride who is kidnapped from her wedding ceremony by Tor Jan (Humayun Saeed) and his terrorists. Her role, if any, is to grieve constantly and have Tor Jan whisper philosophical sayings into her ear. Yalghaar is among the most expensive Pakistani films ever made and the cost of waterproof makeup on Ayesha Omar's ashen face coupled with an endless cascade of fake tears, have surely contributed their share.'' Despite having an ensemble cast including Shaan, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui among others, the film failed to garner a high score at box office, and collected around a total income of 20 Crore (US$1.9 million), which was called disappointing as compared to its big budget.

In 2018, Omer made a special appearance in film Saat Din Mohabbat In opposite Sheheryar Munawar, which was released in June 2018. Speaking about the film in a press statement, Omer commented: ''I said yes to the movie as soon as I read the script. I absolutely loved the concept of the movie as it is a complete entertainer with a pinch of both comedy and romance.'' The film was a box office success.

As of 2019, she will share screen along with Ahsan Khan in television director Amin Iqbal's debut film Rehbra, which is said to be a romantic-comedy. Additionally, she will also portray a supporting character in film Kaaf Kangana, which will be directed by Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar. She is also committed to feature in Karachi Se Lahore 3 opposite Yasir Hussain.

Music

Omer first sang the song "Man Chala Hai" for her commercial Capri. Then she sang the song "Bhooli Yaadon Mein", title song of her serial Ladies Park and "Manjali" title song of Geo TV serial Manjali. She also sang the songs "Aoa" and "Tu Hi Hai".

In 2012, Omer released two albums "Chalte Chalte" and "Khamoshi" for which she won Lux Style Awards for Best Album, and in 2013 she released her third album "Gimme Gimme". In 2013, she gave her voice for an old classical song named "Laage Re Nain" and another fusion song "Miyan Ki Malhar" for Coke Studio Pakistan (Season 6).

Painting

A Fine Arts graduate from NCA, she said that, even before acting and modelling, painting and singing were her first passions and career choices.

Personal life

In December 2015, Omer and her co-star Azfar Rehman met with a road accident. The actors were reportedly travelling from Karachi to Hyderabad when the accident occurred. According to a source, another vehicle collided into their car, causing the car to swerve off the road and fall into a ditch. After recovering from injury, Omer told media:

''My entire life flashed in front of my eyes as I held onto my seat waiting to be hit by a truck.''

Filmography

Key
Template:Yes-no	Denotes film/drama that has not released yet

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2011	Love Mein Ghum	Herself	Special appearance in song "Love Mein Ghum"
2013	Main Hoon Shahid Afridi		Special appearance in song "Beautiful Night"
2015	Karachi Se Lahore	Maryam	Also playback singer for "Tutti Fruiti"
2017	Yalghaar	Zarmina
2018	Saat Din Mohabbat In	Tipu's unnamed partner	Special appearance
2019	video	TBA	Filming
TBA	video	TBA	Filming (Directed by Amin Iqbal)
TBA	video	Maryam	Delayed
TBA	video	TBA	Filming

Television

Year	Serial	Role	Notes
2000	Kollege Jeans || Sabahat ||
	Kaun (Psycho Thriller)	Sania	Appeared in Episode 2 & 6
2006	Kuch Lamhe Zindagi Kay	Mishi
2006	Muthi Bhar Aasman
2009–2017, 2018	Bulbulay	Khoobsurat	ARY Digital then on BOL Entertainment
2009	Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan	Herself	Special appearance
2010	Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat	Sila
2011	Ladies Park	Natasha
2012	Dil Ko Manana Aya Nahi	Noor
2012	Woh Chaar	Meher
2012–2013	Zindagi Gulzar Hai	Sara
2013	Tanhai	Arzoo
2014	Soha Aur Savera	Soha
2014	Meri Guriya	Qurat-ul-Ain	Telefilm
2015	Mr. Shamim	Sidra Niazi
2015	Miss You Kabhi Kabhi	Noor Hassan
2016	Mera Dard Bayzuba	Soha
2016	Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain 2	Sara	Episode 2
2019	Phir Bulbulay	Khoobsurat
2019	Bulbulay (season 2)	Khoobsurat
2019	Choti Choti Batain	TBA	Episodic appearance

Reality shows

Year	Serial	Role	Network
2002–2003	Meray Bachpan Kay Din	Host	PTV
2005–2006	Rhythm		Prime TV
2010–2011	Yeh Waqt Hai Mera		CNBC Pakistan
2012–2012	Hot Chocolate		ARY Zauq
2016	Battle of the Bands		Various

Discography

Year	Song	Notes
2010	"Man Chala Hai"	Song for commercial Capri
	"Aoa"	Music Video
	"Tu Hi Hai"
2011	"Bhooli Yaadon Mein"	Theme song of serial Ladies Park
	"Manjali"	Theme song of serial Manjali
	"Ye Kya Hua"	Theme song of serial Uraan
2012	"Chalte Chalte"	Music Video
	"Khamoshi"	Video Album Lux Style Award for Best Album
2013	"Gimme Gimme"	Music Video
	"Laage Re Nain"	Sung at Coke Studio Pakistan (Season 6)
	"Miyan Ki Malhaar"
2015	"Tutti Fruiti"	Sung for the film Karachi se Lahore

Awards and nominations

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! Ref |- ! style="background:#bfd7ff" colspan="5"|Lux Style Awards |- |2013 |Khamoshi |Best Video Album

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| |- ! style="background:#bfd7ff" colspan="5"|ARY Film Awards |- |rowspan="2"|2016 |rowspan="2"|Karachi Se Lahore |ARY Film Award for Best Actress

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|rowspan="2"| |- |ARY Film Award for Best Star Debut Female

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|- ! style="background:#bfd7ff" colspan="5"|International Pakistan Prestige Awards |- |2017 |colspan="2"|Style Icon of the Year Female

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See also

• List of Pakistani actresses

References

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External links

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