Adnan Sarwar | |
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Born | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2002–present |
Known for | Shah , Motorcycle Girl |
Adnan Sarwar is a Pakistani actor, director, musician, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, doctor and racing driver. He made his film debut in the biopic Shah , in which he also played the leading role.
From 2002 onwards Adnan started his music career as a session guitar player for various Pakistani musicians such as The Trip, Mekaal Hasan Band and Ali Zafar, before forming the duo Club Caramel with singer Kiran Chaudhry in 2006. He has also composed the soundtrack of his debut film Shah.
Adnan made his film debut in the 2015 Pakistani sports biopic Shah , based on the life of Olympian boxer Hussain Shah. Adnan also wrote the screenplay and directed the film as well as composed the original musical score. Adnan trained for the role of the homeless boxer by undergoing a six-month long boxing training regime and lost 10 kilos of body weight. Despite being produced on a shoestring budget by a team of five people, Shah was hailed as "not only an achievement for Adnan Sarwar but for the whole Pakistani film industry" and Sarwar was praised by critics for his portrayal of the Lyari born Pakistani boxing legend.
In April 2017, it was announced that Adnan was working on his second feature film Motorcycle Girl based on the real-life story of Zenith Irfan, who is thought to be the first Pakistani woman to make a solo motorcycle journey across the country at the age of 20. The film released in 2018 to good critical appreciation [1] with Adnan writing, co-producing and directing it. [2] He also wrote the lyrics for one of the movie's two songs, Pahiya.
Adnan marked his TV debut as an actor with Sarmad Khoosat's 2018 drama Aakhri Station . [3]
In January 2019 he announced to make three films by 2020. [4]
Sarwar has trained as a Doctor of Medicine and is a graduate of Baqai Medical University, Karachi, and has previously worked as a doctor in Australia. [5] He is also trained as a high-performance race car driver and has represented Pakistan in lower categories of formula car racing series in various international auto racing competitions, he became the first ever local Pakistani to get selected to race for the A1 GP Team Pakistan in the A1 Grand Prix motorsports Worldcup series. He also founded a company Racing Pakistan, through which his aim was too create awareness of motorsports in Pakistan and to promote and educate young Pakistani talented drivers in international motor racing categories. [6]
Year | Film | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Music composer | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Shah | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Syed Hussain Shah | Biopic about Hussain Shah |
2018 | Motorcycle Girl | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Iffy | Biopic about Zenith Irfan |
Year | Title | Role | Director | Channel |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Aakhri Station | Waqar | No | ARY Digital |
2021 | Aik Hai Nigaar | No | Yes | |
2023 | Gunah | SHO Saleem | Yes | Express Entertainment |
2024 | Inspector Sabiha | No | Yes |
Year | Title | Role | Platform |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Baarwan Khiladi | Director | Tapmad TV |
Ceremony | Category | Project | Result |
---|---|---|---|
15th Lux Style Awards | Best Film | Shah | Nominated |
Best Film Director | |||
Best Lead Actor in a Film | |||
18th Lux Style Awards | Best Film | Motorcycle Girl |
Syed Hussain Shah is a retired Pakistani boxer from Lyari, Karachi Pakistan, who won the bronze medal in the Middleweight division (71–75 kg) at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This was the country's first and only Olympic boxing medal to date. He was the second Pakistani to win an individual medal at the Olympic Games. The only other Pakistanis to ever win individual Olympic medals are the wrestler Muhammad Bashir, who won a bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and Arshad Nadeem, who won gold medal in Javelin throw at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Sarmad Sultan Khoosat is a Pakistani actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Mainly known for his work as a director and actor in both cinema and television, Khoosat has directed the super-hit TV dramas Humsafar and Shehr-e-Zaat.
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Shah is a 2015 Pakistani biographical sports film directed and written by Adnan Sarwar. The film, produced under the Logos Films & Media banner, is based on the life of boxer Hussain Shah, who won the bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics and became the only boxer in Pakistan's history to secure an Olympic medal. Adnan Sarwar underwent one year of boxing training to portray Hussain Shah. Other roles are portrayed by Kiran Chaudhary, Sardar Baloch, Adeel Wali Raees, and Gulab Chandio.
Manto is a 2015 Pakistani biographical drama film based on the life of Pakistani short-story writer Saadat Hassan Manto, starring Sarmad Khoosat in the title role. It was directed by Khoosat himself, produced by Babar Javed, and written by Shahid Nadeem, whose screenplay was adapted from Manto's short stories, particularly "Thanda Gosht", "Madari", "License", "Hatak" and "Peshawar Se Lahore". It also depicts his relationship with singer-actress Noor Jehan. The film was released on 11 September 2015, sixty years after Manto's death.
Shazli Hafeez Khan, better known as Shaz Khan is a Pakistani-American actor and director who appears in English and Urdu films, and television series. After pursuing a bachelor's degree in finance from the Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree in fine arts from the Pace University, Khan made his acting debut with the acclaimed drama Moor (2015) and received praise for playing the role of a lawyer in the television series Yaqeen Ka Safar (2017), and a pilot in the combat war film Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018).
Zenith Irfan is the first Pakistani female motorcyclist to ride across Pakistan. Her father dreamt of traveling around the world on his motorbike, but when he died young at age 34, Zenith decided to fulfill his dream. "I did this for my father and I still do it for him. For me, going and riding across Pakistan is a spiritual endeavour," Irfan says.
Motorcycle Girl is a 2018 Pakistani biographical adventure drama film based on the life of motorcyclist Zenith Irfan. Directed, written and co-produced by Adnan Sarwar, it is second installment in Sarwar's thematic Hero trilogy, following Shah (2015). The film stars Sohai Ali Abro as Zenith Irfan who travels to northern areas of Pakistan on a motorbike to fulfil her father's wish, facing many challenges along the way, with Samina Peerzada, Ali Kazmi, and Shamim Hilaly also playing supporting roles.
Aakhri Station is a seven-part Pakistani television drama mini-series, created by Sarmad Khoosat and Kashf Foundation. It premiered on ARY Digital on 13 February 2018 and concluded on 28 March 2018. Written by Amna Mufti, it is directed and co-produced by Khoosat with Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation Productions and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Series consist of seven episodes.
Surkh Jora is a Pakistani romantic television serial first aired on 28 August 2015 on Hum Sitaray. Serial is produced by Fayyaz Idrees. Sonya Hussain and Azfar Rehman played the lead roles.
Zindagi Tamasha, titled Circus of Life in English, is a 2019 Pakistani drama film directed by Sarmad Khoosat. It premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival and went on to win notable awards at both Busan and the 2021 Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. The release of the film was repeatedly delayed due to censorship concerns and protests by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.
Zareen Panna, also known as Panna or Zarrin is a Pakistani actress and former classical dancer. She acted in both Urdu and Punjabi films.
Baarwan Khiladi is a Pakistani sports drama web series produced by Nina Kashif and Mahira Khan in her debut production under her banner Soul Fry Films. It is directed by Adnan Sarwar. The cast of the web series include Kinza Hashmi, Shahveer Jafry, Khaqan Shahnawaz, Saba Faisal and Sarmad Khoosat in leading roles with Fawad Khan and Shoaib Malik in cameo appearances. It was released on 5 March 2022, on OTT platform Tapmad TV.
Kamli is a 2022 Pakistani drama film directed by Sarmad Khoosat, who co-produced it with Kanwal Khoosat under the banner Khoosat Films. Based on a short film by Mehar Bano, the additional story and dialogues were by Khoosat himself. It stars Saba Qamar, Sania Saeed, Nimra Bucha and debutante Hamza Khawaja in lead roles. Kamli revolves around the intertwining stories of three women and their restrained desires. The film released theatrically on 3 June 2022 and opened to positive reviews from critics.
Shashlik is a Pakistani comedy-drama sitcom which was written by Sarmad Khoosat, directed by Jawad Bashir and Khoosat. It was aired on Pakistan Television Corporation from 2001 to 2002. The main cast includes Khoosat, Nadia Afgan, Mandana Zaidi and Nasreen Qureshi. It was directorial as well as the acting debut of the Khoosat.