Full Name Ushna Shah Name Ushna Shah Residence Karachi, Pakistan Religion Islam | Occupation Actress Parents Ismat Tahira Nationality Pakistani Role Actress | |
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Siblings Irsa Ghazal, Shah Sharabeel Movies and TV shows Bashar Momin, Dil Kaleji Hogaya, Zindagi Ab Bhi Muskurati Hai, Afrah Tafreeh Similar People Irsa Ghazal, Faysal Qureshi, Sami Khan, Sumbul Iqbal, Humayun Saeed | ||
Ushna Shah On Playing Balaa | Speak Your Heart With Samina Peerzada
Ushna Shah (Urdu: اُشنا شاہ) (born February 12) is a Pakistani-Canadian actress. She is the daughter of Ismat Tahira and sister of actress Irsa Ghazal and acclaimed director Shah Sharahbeel.
Contents
- Ushna Shah On Playing Balaa Speak Your Heart With Samina Peerzada
- Career
- Personal life
- Controversies
- Dramas
- Films
- Telefilms
- Awards
- References
Career
Ushna Shah had a penchant for acting at a very young age. During her visits to Pakistan, she hosted a radio show at the age of six for Radio Punjab. After winning awards for theatre throughout elementary and middle school, she shifted to Pakistan to complete her O-levels where she also perfected her Urdu. Later on she returned to Canada to finish high school after which she attended York University but dropped out to pursue a career in programming. She had a short stint in hosting local television and radio shows in Canada during the summer of 2011 before permanently shifting to Pakistan to pursue a career in acting in 2012. She began her career with character roles, most notable being that in the mega serial Bashar Momin (2014) which established her career, she continued her successful career with another drama serial Dua (2015) in which she played the title character and was highly praised for her performance and the critically acclaimed megaserial Alif Allah Aur Insaan (2017) which launched her into stardom for portraying the role of a beggar turned courtesan. She made her debut on the big screen with Jawad Bashir's Teri Meri Love Story in which she played the leading character Eesha but the film was halted post production and the official release never happened. She also starred in the first online Pakistani comedy film Oye Kuch Kar Guzar by D-juice Pakistan. She also appeared as a guest in Blockbuster movie Punjab Nahi Jaungi.
She has been the brand ambassador for Fashion powerhouse Nickie Nina and has done campaigns for various lawn brands such as Jahanara.
Personal life
Ushna has three dogs, Narco the Staffordshire Terrier close to the Pitbull lineage whom she often discusses in interviews as well as her mother's dogs: Audrey the Toy poodle and Tweety the Shih Tzu. She has a passion for theatre, acting and especially writing. She is an avid animal lover and a strong advocate for better treatment of animals in Pakistan.
Controversies
She is known for being outspoken which has led to a few controversies.
While being the lead in Geo Televisions biggest drama, a controversial dialogue from the drama Rukhsar dismissing 'iddat' (a woman's waiting period after divorce) was repeated and criticized by the rival channel ARY and Shah came under fire for having delivered the said dialogue. However an apology was issued from the anchor Mubashar Luqman for wrongfully targeting actors playing their parts.
In June 2017 she wrote a lengthy Facebook status criticizing the trend of various talk shows using Ramadan to cash on Television Rating Points- the status became viral through the subcontinent and earned her general praise for her brave stance in a country such as Pakistan.
In an another incident she took on the country's controversial right wing religious host Aamir Liaquat and contradicted his views on the treatment of minorities as well as laws targeting minorities for alleged blasphemy.
Dramas
