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Khaleej Times
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Meet the woman behind Pakistan's top-rated TV shows
Momina Duraid had no plans to become one of the most coveted storytellers in Pakistan and the diaspora today. Luck and circumstance turned her life around when she ended up at the forefront of Hum TV Network and began a journey she now believes is all heart. A professional banker, she married Duraid Siddiqui, the son of Sultana Siddiqui, a veteran TV producer. At the time, Sultana Siddiqui made private productions, and Momina was on a year-long break from her banking career. "I was always interested in social entrepreneurship, and my mother-in-law was working on a project that was along the same lines," she says in a chat with City Times. " Fair and Lovely Qismat Ke Sitaray was a project focused on stories of real women's lives, and Mummy (Sultana Siddiqui) asked me to pitch the project. My pitch got approved, and I was heavily involved in the production. I was pretty young, so I didn't have many inhibitions either. I remember having comments and pointers about it for Noor ul Huda Shah's script without realising what an established writer she was. After our meeting, Noor Aapa (sister) said to Mummy about me, 'Keep her involved with you; she will help you.'" As Duraid Siddiqui was involved in the business and commercial side of establishing Hum TV, Sultana Siddiqui tackled the marketing forefront as well as research. When it came to programming, Momina stepped in. "I kept telling them I'm only doing this for a short while," Momina Duraid remembers fondly. "But then Dastaan changed everything for me." A series based on Razia Butt's novel Bano, Dastaan became a raging phenomenon, especially in the diaspora. It starred Fawad Khan and Sanam Baloch and was based on the story of partition. Momina Duraid looked back at how she would sit with Samira Fazal (the writer who adapted the novel for screen) and talk for hours. "Script development to me is very intimate. Different people may have different processes, but to me, that's how the best stories come forward. I also remember sitting in The Lighthouse (a market in Karachi) looking for the perfect fabrics and laces for costumes in Dastaan. That's how much I like to be involved in my projects and it shows how much love and sweat and work goes into what we do." Momina recalls the various emails she got from all over the world after Dastaan. "I realised the true power of storytelling then." Hum TV tells very female-centric stories and Momina explains how that works. "The man running the show, Duraid," she states, "is someone who naturally empowers women. He gave us the space that we needed. We have also been fortunate enough in that we have never had to sell our projects to anyone, so we have never stepped into the commercialism gambit. We made what we wanted, what struck our hearts. We've never gone through a formula." Hum TV produces over 700 hours of programming per year, and while Momina has set up a very professional editorial team that oversees content, she is also personally involved in various projects. "I have been a lot less involved in the past two years, but what I try to do, at least once a year, is have a project that I can tell my grandchildren about." Momina has also made sure that she imbibes the same values to her team as she got from her mother-in-law, who has produced classics like Umar Maarvi and Zindagi Gulzar Hai. " Parizaad went to a lot of channels who rejected it, and my script department brought it to me," Momina says, referring to a blockbuster hit drama that told the story of a man who was rejected by society due to his dark skin. "My team knew it would click with me." Tan Man Neel o Neel, the recently-ended critically acclaimed show starring Sehar Khan and Shuja Asad, is part of a trilogy produced by Sultana Siddiqui. The trilogy tackles yet another subject most producers wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole: mob violence. Momina executive produced Tan Man Neel o Neel, and the thought process was entirely Sultana Siddiqui's, she revealed. She believes it is the responsibility of the more prominent and successful writers and producers when it comes to telling daring stories. "Don't find a shortcut," she adds. "It's very easy to make formulaic shows. It's more difficult to make a message-oriented, something that is socially responsible. Very few people can handle such a project as well. We have very few Farhats, Mustafas and Hashim Nadeems who will take time on it and will keep improving it," Momina says, appreciating Farhat Ishtiaq (Humsafar), Mustafa Afridi (Sang e Mar Mar) and Hashim Nadeem (Parizaad). Momina also referred to Jafaa and how it tackled domestic violence. The show became a huge talking point when it came to how educated women also faced violence at home and were gaslighted constantly. "We were mindful that we didn't show the slaps or the hits. And that's not easy; these provocative images can get ratings on television, and those ratings are directly related to financial gain. It is tough to say, 'no I'm not going to do that, let me find another way to say this.' It was also easy to turn Mohib's character into a stereotypical character. But making his character people understood was difficult, and it took time and effort to build such a story." The producer says there is a balance you have to strike when it comes to eyeballs. 'There's a fixed point chart you need to create; you build traffic and then you talk about what you really need to. There's such a concept called 'transmedia' where you embed important messages in a wholly entertaining package. At Hum TV, what we try to do is that even in entertaining shows we try to give it as much honesty and conscientiousness as possible. Yes mistakes also happen but we try our best.' Netflix approached Momina Duraid around five years ago for producing a show and Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo, a novel written by Farhat Ishtiaq, was approved. "It is our very own drama on a platter to the world," Momina said.. "I wanted it to be a true picture of who we are and what we do best." When would the audience be able to see it? "The camera has closed on it," she answers, "and it's in the post process."
Khaleej Times
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
How Momina Duraid became a leading storyteller in Pakistani television
Momina Duraid had no plans to become one of the most coveted storytellers in Pakistan. Luck and circumstance turned her life around when she ended up at the forefront of Hum TV Network and began a journey she now believes is all heart. A professional banker, she married Duraid Siddiqui, the son of Sultana Siddiqui, a veteran TV producer. At the time, Sultana made private productions, and Momina was on a year-long break from her banking career. "I was always interested in social entrepreneurship, and my mother-in-law was working on a project that was along the same lines. Fair and Lovely Qismat Ke Sitaray was a project focused on stories of real women's lives, and Mummy (Sultana) asked me to pitch the project. My pitch got approved, and I was heavily involved in the production. I was pretty young, so I didn't have many inhibitions either. I remember having comments and pointers about it for Noor ul Huda Shah's script without realising what an established writer she was. After our meeting, Noor Aapa said to Mummy about me, 'Keep her involved with you; she will help you.'" As Duraid was involved in the business and commercial side of establishing Hum TV, Sultana tackled the marketing forefront as well as research. When it came to programming, Momina stepped in. "I kept telling them I'm only doing this for a short while," she remembers fondly. "But then Dastaan changed everything for me." A series based on Razia Butt's novel Bano, Dastaan became a raging phenomenon. It starred Fawad Khan and Sanam Baloch and was based on the story of partition. Momina looked back at how she would sit with Samira Fazal (the writer who adapted the novel for screen) and talk for hours. "Script development to me is very intimate. Different people may have different processes, but to me, that's how the best stories come forward. I also remember sitting in The Lighthouse (a market in Karachi) looking for the perfect fabrics and laces for costumes in Dastaan. That's how much I like to be involved in my projects and it shows how much love and sweat and work goes into what we do," she says. Momina recalls the various emails she got from all over the world after Dastaan. "I realised the true power of storytelling then." Hum TV tells very female-centric stories and Momina explains how that works. "The man running the show, Duraid," she says, "is someone who naturally empowers women. He gave us the space that we needed. We have also been fortunate enough in that we have never had to sell our projects to anyone, so we have never stepped into the commercialism gambit. We made what we wanted, what struck our hearts. We've never gone through a formula." Hum TV produces over 700 hours of programming per year, and while Momina has set up a very professional editorial team that oversees content, she is also personally involved in various projects. "I have been a lot less involved in the past two years, but what I try to do, at least once a year, is have a project that I can tell my grandchildren about." Momina has also made sure that she imbibes the same values to her team as she got from her mother-in-law, who has produced classics like Umar Maarvi and Zindagi Gulzar Hai." Parizaad went to a lot of channels who rejected it, and my script department brought it to me," Momina says, referring to a blockbuster that told the story of a man who was rejected by society due to his dark skin. "My team knew it would click with me." Tan Man Neel o Neel, currently a show starring Sehar Khan and Shuja Asad, is part of a trilogy produced by Sultana. The trilogy tackles yet another subject most producers wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole: mob violence. Momina executive produced the show, and the thought process was entirely Sultana's, Momina tells Khaleej Times. Momina believes it is the responsibility of the more prominent and more successful writers and producers when it comes to telling daring stories. "Don't find a shortcut," she adds. "It's very easy to make formulaic shows. It's more difficult to make a message-oriented, something that is socially responsible. Very few people can handle such a project as well. We have very few Farhats and Mustafas and Hashim Nadeems who will take time on it and will keep improving it," Momina says, appreciating Farhat Ishtiaq (Humsafar), Mustafa Afridi (Sang e Mar Mar) and Hashim Nadeem (Parizaad). Momina also referred to Jafaa and how it tackled domestic violence. The show became a huge talking point when it came to how educated women also face violence at home and are often gaslighted. "We were mindful that we didn't show the slaps or the hits. And that's not easy; these provocative images can get ratings on television, and those ratings are directly related to financial gain. It is tough to say, 'no I'm not going to do that, let me find another way to say this.' It was also easy to turn Mohib's character into a stereotypical character. But making his character one that people could understand was difficult, and it took time and effort to build such a story." Momina says there is a balance you have to strike when it comes to eyeballs. 'There's a fixed point chart you need to create; you build traffic and then you talk about what you really need to. There's such a concept called 'transmedia' where you embed important messages in a wholly entertaining package. At Hum TV, what we try to do is that even in entertaining shows we try to give it as much honesty and conscientiousness as possible. Yes mistakes also happen, but we try our best.' Netflix approached Momina around five years ago to produce a show and Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo, a novel written by Farhat Ishtiaq, was approved. "It is our very own drama on a platter to the world," Momina says. "I wanted it to be a true picture of who we are and what we do best." When would the audience be able to see it? "The camera has closed on it," she answers, "and it's in the post process."
Khaleej Times
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Actor-composer Azaan Sami Khan on why he returns to Dubai over and over again
Azaan Sami Khan is no stranger to criticism. In an industry where aesthetics are key, his credentials as an actor were challenged because of who his parents were: actor and musician Adnan Sami Khan is Azaan's father and noted Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar is his mother. Azaan began writing and composing music at a very young age; his first official project was for the action film 021. He also provided music for Hamza Ali Abbasi and Hania Aamir's film Parwaaz Hai Junoon and later, Mahira Khan's Superstar. His musical projects also included Sheheryar Munawar and Maya Ali's hit film Parey Hut Love. His next foray was into acting; he appeared opposite Sajal Ali and Yumna Zaidi in Hum TV Network's show Ishq e Laa. City Times sat down with Azaan to talk about his upcoming ventures and how he learnt to take criticism on the chin and used it to help him improve. 'There's two sides to this,' he says with clarity, 'I've created a separation between Azaan Sami Khan and Azaan. You don't criticise me because you don't know me. You criticise the person on the screen. I don't take it personally. People who know me, people who are friends with me, or if you and I become friends tomorrow, you can tell me, 'hey this is wrong with you', and that's a different story. The criticism allows me to grow. I think my critics (not the ones who simply dismiss me over something trivial) are my well-wishers. I've worked on myself over two years and I've improved and it has benefited me in the long run.' Weighty issues Azaan delves deep into his initial experiences on television and what it was like to try and make a mark in an industry that heavily relies on how you appear to be. 'I was an overweight child. I was overweight until I was 21,' he explains frankly. 'I wasn't happy with who I was. I know people who are under-weight or overweight, but are happy with the way they are. I wasn't. It [showbiz] is a profession that is very aesthetic. When I did my first show, I was 115kg and all I could think of was how overweight I was. It was very traumatic, because all I wanted to do was act but the entire focus became on finding angles where I could look thinner. I had imposter syndrome and I promised myself that I won't do any other gig until I have sorted this out. I was too busy being in that headspace of shame. Everyone was nice to me, but it was just the reality of the job that kept hitting me. But what was very interesting was that when I lost the weight, I still got criticism that I'm too thin,' he says, adding that it made him decide to not allow others to pass judgement on his weight. 'I told myself I can't get sucked into this because I feel good, I'm healthy for my family and my loved ones, and that's what matters.' He took the nepotism debate head on and spoke about a different side of what it was like to be the son of two prominent personalities in the industry. 'Everybody equates nepotism with opportunity,' says the Meri Tanhai actor. 'And I think that's the absolute surface. When you've seen cycle after cycle since you were born, people and their careers rising and falling...I've seen my parents and my friends see the highest of highest and the lows of lows. People forget that I started working when I was very, very young. And that has inoculated me to failure and success and their cycles. People say I'm humble and I say, 'no, I'm not I've just seen these stories'. And I can sift through genuine feedback and not-so-genuine feedback.' Azaan was working on three shows at one point last year. He was in Bee Gul's Hum Dono opposite Kinza Hashmi; in Ae Dil with Komal Meer; and in Meri Tanhai, opposite Kubra Khan, which was shot in London. 'What is over-exposure?' However, over-exposure isn't something that worries him at all. 'Is Timothee Chalamet over-exposed?' he laughs. 'Shah Rukh Khan had three films come out within a span of a year. If you make good work, that's what matters. Over-exposure is irrelevant if you're doing good work. I want to keep working and if I get good projects, I'm going to do them. I learnt this from music: you learn by doing. I have Ghalat Fehmi or Ik Lamha in my catalogue, but there are 50 other songs you probably haven't even heard. And it is because of those songs that you have heard the hits. 'Ed Sheeran is one of my ultimate icons and he said, 'writing songs is like opening a tap, you get dirty water first and then you get the clean, clear water'. I wanted to be on set day in and day out, to get the basic hesitation out of the system and get into my comfort zone, by doing the work. I have been born in this world, I love it so much. Even when I'm on holiday I miss my work. By the third day, I'm like okay the sea is very pretty, but that's enough, I'd like to go back to work!' Azaan is in the UAE a lot but his recent trip brought him to the country for something special. 'Dubai is a great place for connecting. There are different ventures that we're collaborating on in the UAE,' he says. 'There is a certain project that is very close to my heart. It's a sentimental project and we're working on the script in the UAE and we're hoping for a 2026 release. It's a heavily musical and nostalgic project. 'I lived a lot of my life in India and it's the perfect hub for everyone to meet. I love how easy and hassle-free Dubai is. From the moment you land at the airport, it's all so smooth. They have designed it to be easy and free of red-tape. I do think I would want to partially live here at some point in my life.'
