Shehnaz Sheikh
| Shehnaz Sheikh | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Shehnaz Sheikh Kalaw, Myanmar (now) Burma |
| Residence | Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Alma mater | National College of Arts |
| Occupation | Actress, Director |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse(s) | Seerat Hazir (From 1980's–Present) |
| Children | 2 |
Shehnaz Sheikh is a Pakistani television actress, host, and theatre director. She has appeared in the drama serials Tanhaiyaan and Ankahi, as well as the show Uncle Sargam. After her successful television career, she left the industry in the mid-1990s and has since been retired.
Sheikh was born in Kalaw, Burma, and later migrated to Pakistan in 1965 as a UN refugee and settled in Lahore, Pakistan with her family, including her aunt, classical musician Saffia Beyg. She attended the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore, and later attended the National College of Arts where she was graduated with a degree in Fine Arts.
Talking about start of her acting career, Sheikh said that "I wasn’t really ‘discovered’ as most actors and actresses are. Someone had actually referred me to Haseena Moin for Ajnabi. She and Shoaib Mansoor invited me to try out for one of the roles." Sheikh made her debut in 1980 with drama serial Balila which was written by Shoaib Hashmi. The show aired only few episodes and it got cancelled later but Sheikh already got noticed by that time and signed in drama serial Ankahi written by Haseena Moin and directed by Syed Mohsin Ali and Shoaib Mansoor. She played the role of Sana Murad an ambitious and level headed girl from middle-class family.
Her next drama Maray Thay Jin K Liye was a critical success. Her performance as a modern, independent woman who is still conservative at heart was praised.
After the success of Ankahi, Sheikh again collaborate with Hassena Moin in her next drama serial Tanhaiyaan directed by Shahzad Kalil. The show got massive critical and commercial success and now considered cult classic.
Raj Kapoor was looking for a Pakistani actress for his film Henna. Kapoor wanted to cast Sheikh but she refused to work in the movie. So after her refusal Haseena Moin recommended Zeba Bakhtiar, thus Zeba was cast in the title role of Henna. When the film released in 1991 it was a success and was also chosen as India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
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