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Mahira brings home an ME Award

By Sadiq Saleem
Sat, 05, 16

The release of her film Raees may have been delayed by a year but that has not stopped Mahira Khan from being in the news for all the right reasons. Whether it’s her ad campaigns, lawn shoots or her red carpet fashion statement(s), Mahira Khan remains charming as ever and this past week has been no different as the actress picked up a trophy at the Femina ME Women Awards, 2016.

 Going places: Mahira Khan, an actor who is growing in both skill and popularity in Pakistan and beyond, strikes a pose with her trophy, which was presented to her by former Femina Miss India, Celina Jaitley.

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The popular actress brings home the Femina ME (Middle East) Women Award - 2016 for being the Unstoppable Emerging Talent from Pakistan.

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The release of her film Raees may have been delayed by a year but that has not stopped Mahira Khan from being in the news for all the right reasons. Whether it’s her ad campaigns, lawn shoots or her red carpet fashion statement(s), Mahira Khan remains charming as ever and this past week has been no different as the actress picked up a trophy at the Femina ME Women Awards, 2016.

If social media is anything to go by, her red carpet choice for the award ceremony created quite a stir on Instagram; Mahira looked striking as ever in a Studio S outfit. And she was one of the special guests of the night. In addition, the event saw attendance from an esteemed panel of industry experts including Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Matar, Lebanese actress Lamita Frangieh and former Femina Miss India, Celina Jaitley.

Since its inception in 2015, the prestigious Femina Middle East has vividly raised awareness and appreciation amongst women of the region. It recognises and felicitates women who are unstoppable and have made a positive difference in their respective fields such as arts, education, business and so on. Mahira Khan, an actor who is growing in both skill and popularity in Pakistan and beyond, won the Femina ME Women Award 2016 for being the Unstoppable Emerging Talent from Pakistan. The award was presented to her by Celina Jaitely.

Speaking to Instep on this occasion, Ms. Madhu Arora, Managing Director & Publisher, Saffron Media noted, “Mahira Khan has bridged the gap between India and Pakistan. She has been a known figure in Pakistan and now in Indian cinema, too. She is a mother as well and all these roles make her unstoppable.”

On the sideline of the event, Instep caught up with Mahira Khan herself (albeit briefly) and spoke about what to expect from her in the days ahead.

Addressing her much-talked about Bollywood debut, the actress noted, “I had not signed anything in India after Raees but now that it has been delayed, I will take a call on my next project very soon.”

Madhu Arora, Publisher & MD, Saffron Media Works, Mahira Khan and Vikram Arora, CEO Saffron Media Works.
Madhu Arora, Publisher & MD, Saffron Media Works, Mahira Khan and Vikram Arora, CEO Saffron Media Works.

Having starred in several Pakistani films since the revival took off in 2013, Mahira maintains that she will continue to work in Pakistani films and will explore all her options as India too has a lot to offer.

“I am extremely excited about the work that is being done in Pakistan these days and it’s an exciting time for cinema,” she added. “But working in India has its own benefits, too. It gives you growth as an artist and your reach gets wider. After all, we’re talking about 1500 screens versus 50 screens.”

Revealing her future plans for the immediate future, Mahira told Instep, “I am going to be in Karachi for a while and will be looking forward to some scripts and the Lux Style Awards (that are scheduled after Eid).”

The star of films like Bin Roye and Ho Mann Jahaan, Khan, who is starring opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Raees, also spoke about the latter’s performance in the recent film, Fan. “I just watched Fan and loved the effort he had put in the character of Gaurav,” said Mahira.

As fans we are disappointed that Raees’s release has been shifted to January 2017. With Sultan (Salman Khan-Anushka Sharma), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Fawad Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Ranbir Kapoor) and Dangal (Aamir Khan) slated to release in the coming months, one hopes Raees does make its release date of January 26 (Republic Day). In the meantime, knowing Mahira’s unstoppable nature, she will continue to stay in the limelight.

– Sadiq Saleem is a Dubai based entertainment journalist. He is also an
Instep correspondent and can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.