Meesha Shafi () is a Pakistani-born Canadian singer, actress and model.Meesha Shafi becomes certified yoga instructor
Daily Pakistan (newspaper), Published 14 June 2021, Retrieved 14 June 2021 She made her film debut with a supporting role in the 2013

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company is Mirabai Films. Among her films are '' Mississippi Masala'', '' The Namesake'', the Golden Lion–winning '' Monsoon Wedding'', ...

's film, ''

The Reluctant Fundamentalist ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' is a "metafictional"Madiou, Mohamed Salah Eddine. "Mohsin Hamid Engages the World in The Reluctant Fundamentalist: 'An Island on an Island,’ Worlds in Miniature and 'Fiction' in the Making". Arab Studies Quart ...

''. She achieved further critical success for her role as Laxmi, an Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing's operative, in Bilal Lashari's action thriller film ''

Waar ''Waar'' (Urdu: ; , ) is a 2013 Pakistani action-thriller film directed by Bilal Lashari (in his feature directorial debut), written by Hassan Rana, and produced by Syed Mujtaba Tirmizi. The film stars Shaan Shahid as Major Mujtaba Rizvi, a r ...

'', which ranks among the highest-grossing Pakistani films of all time in Pakistan.

Early life

Shafi was born in

Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of Pakistan ...

1981 to actress

Saba Hameed Saba Hameed () is a Pakistani actress and director. She is one of the most popular actresses of Pakistan. She was one of the most successful actress of 1980s and 1990s. She got early recognition with her role of Sumbul in sitcom '' Family Fro ...

and Syed Pervaiz Shafi. She did her

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

from

Lahore Grammar School Lahore Grammar School (LGS), established in 1980, is a private preparatory school in Pakistan affiliated with the Cambridge Assessment International Education, Cambridge Board of International Examinations, with several branches throughout the c ...

and graduated with a degree in fine arts from the

National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview The National College of Arts – Federally Chartered Institute, is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second ...

in 2007. In 2016, Shafi became a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

citizen.

Career

Modelling

Shafi entered the modelling industry at the age of 17, when she starred opposite Jawad Ahmed in the music video for the song "Bin Teray Kya Hai Jeena". In 2009 Shafi became the

brand ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person paid by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the ...

for L'Oreal Paris Pakistan. She has featured in many Pakistani magazines and in international publications such as ''

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' (; stylised in all caps), full name ''L'Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris'' ("The Official ublicationof Paris Couture and Fashion"), is a French bimonthly fashion magazine. It has been published in Paris since 1921 a ...

'' and ''

Vogue India ''Vogue India'' is the Indian edition of the monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine '' Vogue''. It is the 17th international edition of ''Vogue'' and the first edition in South Asia. ''Vogue India'' is published by Condé Nast India Pvt. Ltd., ...

''.

Acting

Shafi made her screen debut with the 2006 serial ''Muhabbat Khawab Ki Soorat'' on

Hum TV Hum TV HD is a 24-hour Urdu general entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Net ...

. She then appeared in

Geo TV Jang Media Group (), also known as Geo Group, is a Pakistani media conglomerate and a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. It has headquarters in Printing House, Karachi. It is the publisher of the Urdu language new ...

serial ''Ye Zindagi To Woh Nahi'' in 2007. She made her film debut with

's 2012 Hollywood film, ''

'' (based on

Mohsin Hamid Mohsin Hamid (; born 23 July 1971) is a British Pakistani novelist, writer and brand consultant. His novels are '' Moth Smoke'' (2000), ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' (2007), '' How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia'' (2013), '' Exit West'' ( ...

's novel of the same name), alongside

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Born to singer Bill Hudson (singer), Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn, Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting ...

and

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; born ) is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award with nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was name ...

. The film describes the bad impact of

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

toward

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Shafi had a minor role and appeared in only two scenes in the film, in the role of the male lead's sister. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and failed to break even at the box office.Crossing Dangerous Borders (in the movie 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist')
''The New York Times'', Published 19 April 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2021 She then acted in Bilal Lashari's Pakistani film ''

'', alongside

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP (; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid () or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, screewriter and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading actors of Pak ...

. Her portrayal of Laxmi, an Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing's operative was critically praised by the Pakistani media. The movie won her the 'Best Supporting Actress' award at the ARY Film Awards in 2014. In 2016, Shafi had a lead role in the TV costume drama '' Mor Mahal'' which is set in the mid-19th century. In 2023, Shafi appeared in the film

Mustache A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Itali ...

, which premiered at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

film festival.

Music career

Shafi started her singing career with the band Overload with her husband, but left in 2011. Shafi sang along with the internationally acclaimed folk singer

Arif Lohar Arif Lohar (; born 18 April 1966) is a Pakistani singer who is associated with Punjabi folk music and an occasional actor. The son of the renowned folk singer Alam Lohar, Arif Lohar became popular in Pakistan and India after his famous song " ...

on ''

Coke Studio Pakistan ''Coke Studio Pakistan'' () is a Pakistani television programme and a part of the international music franchise, Coke Studio, which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annua ...

Season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

'', with the song " Alif Allah (Jugni)". The single, originally composed and performed by Lohar, gathered over 20 million+ views on YouTube, was the most-viewed Coke Studio song ever, until it was overtaken by "Tajdaar-e-Haram", and was used in several films like ''

Cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

'', '' Diary of a Butterfly'' and ''

Jugni Jugni is an age-old narrative device used in Punjabi folk music. It is the traditional music of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Jugni is sung at Punjabi weddings in India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Australia and UK. In folk music, ...

''. She sang a rendition of the folk song "Chori Chori", which received mixed reviews. She returned to Coke Studio (Season 5) in 2012 when she sang "Ishq Aap Bhi Awalla" with the Chakwalees and sang a

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

, "Dasht-e-Tanhai". In 2014, Meesha Shafi returned to the Coke Studio floor for a third time to perform "Sun Ve Balori" with the composer and tabla guru Ustad Tafu and producers Strings. In 2015, Meesha Shafi lent her vocals to two OSTs. One being 'EVA' that was produced by Strings is featured on the soundtrack of the film '' Moor'', released in August 2015, and directed by director Jami. In August 2015, she released 'Mehram Dilaan De Mahi' for the OST of the biopic (directed and portrayed on screen by Sarmad Khoosat), based on the life and works of prose writer, ''Manto''. The track is produced by True Brew Records and the lyrics are by Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi. 'Manto' was released on 11 September 2015.

TV appearance

In April 2013, Shafi joined Strings,

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Pacha (born 20 April 1966) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career later followed by a career as an act ...

, Shahzad Hasan and Alamgir as a judge and mentor on the singing talent show ''Cornetto Music Icons'', aired on

ARY Digital ''ARY Digital HD'' () is a Pakistani television network available in Pakistan. ARY Digital was founded by a Dubai-based holding company Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob and Salman Iqbal (ARY). The network is focused towards on Pak ...

. In July 2017, Meesha Shafi joined Fawad Khan and Farooq Ahmed in the audition round as judge while Khan, Shafi, Atif Aslam and Shahi Hasan were the judges in the knockout round of Pepsi Battle of the Bands Season 2. Ayesha Omer is the host of the season. 2 Shafi also went on to judge Season 3 and 4 of Pepsi Battle of the Bands!

Personal life

Shafi's maternal grandfather, Hameed Akhtar, was a novelist and newspaper columnist, president of the Progressive Writers' Movement, and editor of Urdu daily newspapers including ''Imroz'' and ''Nawa-e-Waqt''. In 2008, she married musician Mahmood Rahman. The couple have two children, a daughter named Janevi, and a son named Kazimir.

Ali Zafar Incident

In 2018, Meesha Shafi accused actor

Ali Zafar Ali Zafar (; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and h ...

of sexual harassment. She filed a case with the Punjab Ombudsperson (who is supposed to adjudicate cases of harassment of women in the workplace), who declined to hear the case because she "did not have an employer-employee relationship" with Zafar. An appeal she filed with the governor was dismissed, again on "technical grounds". Lahore High Court rejected her case on the basis that there was no employer-employee relationship between Ali and Meesha. Meesha's case helped in spotting out loophole in Pakistani justice system according to which a woman cannot make harassment allegations against someone unless she's employed by the accused party. On 17 September 2019, Meesha Shafi filed a civil defamation case against Zafar for statements he made in April 2019 on Hum News, which alleged that she was lying about the sexual harassment allegations against him in order to obtain fame and Canadian immigration. Shafi denied these accusations, arguing that she was already a celebrity as well as a Canadian citizen at the time of the original complaint. On 29 September 2020, Ali Zafar won petition to have Shafi's civil defamation case against him stopped while he launched a FIR against Meesha Shafi and eight others for posting defamatory content against him on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Shafi won an appeal against Lahore High Court's decision to stop her defamation case in favor of Zafar's on 19 January 2022.

Acting career

Filmography

TV

Discography

Coke Studio songs

Lollywood

Pepsi Battle of the Bands ''Pepsi Battle of the Bands'' is a Pakistani television series, originally based on the concept of Battle of the Bands, first aired in 2002 on PTV Home. The show was revived in 2017. Season 1 ''Pepsi Battle of the Bands: Season 1'' aired in J ...

Velo Sound Station Songs

Miscellaneous Songs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shafi, Meesha 1981 births Living people Actresses from Lahore Models from Lahore Singers from Lahore Pakistani film actresses Pakistani television actresses Pakistani female models National College of Arts alumni Pakistani emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian female models Lahore Grammar School alumni Actresses in Urdu cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Pakistani expatriate actresses in India 21st-century Pakistani actresses 21st-century Pakistani women singers 21st-century Pakistani singers 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian women singers People from Lahore