Sania Saeed (born 28 August 1972) is a Pakistani actress and television host. Works mainly in television and theatre, Saeed is the recipient of numerous accolades including two
PTV Awards
PTV National Awards () was an awards ceremony annually held by the Pakistan Television Corporation. The awards were first introduced in the late 1970s to encourage talented people in Pakistan.
History
The PTV awards is the largest awards cerem ...
, three
Hum Awards
Hum Awards are annual Pakistani accolades bestowed by the Hum Network Limited in recognition of excellence in programming of television, fashion and music industry of Pakistan. Winners are awarded the Hum Award of Merit. The awards were first p ...
and four
Lux Style Awards
The Lux Style Awards is an award ceremony held annually in Pakistan since 2002. The awards celebrate "style" in the Pakistani entertainment industry, and it is the oldest event dedicated to cinema, television, fashion, music and film industry ...
.
She first appeared on television in a street theatre play, televised for 8 March, for the program Aadhi Duniya in 1989. The play was ''Aurat''. She was the first announcer for
Network Television Marketing
Network Television Marketing or ''NTM'' was Pakistan's first private television slot. The company's productions first aired on Peoples TV Network (PTN, later renamed as STN) in 1990. In the 1990s, PTN entered into a three-year agreement with Inte ...
, Karachi center. She then appeared in
Haseena Moin
Haseena Moin (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio, and television. She was the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to the ...
's serial ''
Aahat
''Aahat'' (English: ''An approaching sound'') is an Indian thriller/ horror television anthology series created by B. P. Singh for Sony Entertainment Television. The series premiered on 5 October 1995. The episodes of first, second and fift ...
'', directed by Sahira Kazmi, followed by
Anwar Maqsood
Anwar Maqsood Hameedi (born 7 September 1939, Urdu:), popularly known as Anwar Maqsood, is a Pakistani scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. He was well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the late ...
's ''
Sitara Aur Mehrunissa
''Sitara Aur Mehrunissa'' ( ur, , lit=Sitara and Mehrunissa) is a Pakistani Urdu television series written by Anwar Maqsood. It starred Sania Saeed as Mehrunissa and Atiqa Odho as Sitara in her debut performance. Other members of the cast incl ...
'' directed by Zark in 1991 & 1992 respectively, which shot Sania to her stardom in the
Pakistani television
Television in Pakistan started in 1964 and the first live transmission of Pakistan Television began on 26 November 1964, in Lahore. Sania has been working in theatre and television for over two decades.
Early life and education
Sania was born on 28 August 1972 in Karachi. Her father Mansoor Saeed was a political activist and translated books, documentaries and theatre plays in Urdu and his best works include the translations of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of Man and Bertolt Breckht's life of Galilio, Exception and the rule, He who says Yes and He who says No, Good Person of Schezwan and Saint Joan of the Stockyards.
Sania's mother, Abida Saeed is a Montessorian and had established Seedling Montessori School in 1983 and runs to date.
Sania did her matric from St. Joseph's Convent High School, Karachi. Intermediate from PECHS college for Women and Honours from University of Karachi, in
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
. She married TV director Shahid Shafaat in 1998 who has directed ''
Tau Dil Ka Kia Hua
''Tau Dil Ka Kia Hua'' ( So What Happened to the Heart) is a Pakistani television series aired on 2 July 2017 on Hum TV replacing Sammi. It stars an ensemble cast including Zahid Ahmed, Sami Khan, Ayeza Khan, Mansha Pasha, Imran Ashraf an ...
'' which aires on
Hum TV
Hum TV 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 Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL).
Hum Network Limi ...
.
Career
In the year 1982, sania's father Mansoor Saeed with other like-minded comrades established a theatre group named DASTAK.
The Dastak Experience
Dastak was very active in the struggle for democracy during the longest dictatorship in Pakistan that ended in 1988. It was doing both proscenium and Street theatre. It was a group of volunteer political activists, students, trade union workers, students, women and human rights' activists, journalists and teachers. Sania started from playing child characters, crowds and scene changers to major characters in the Urdu translations of these Dastak performances.
* The Chameleon (Chekhov) – Girgit
* Exception and the rule. – Anokhi baat bhi mumkinhai
* Life of Galileo etc. – Galileo ki Daastan
* Interview in Buenos Aires – Aik jalawatan se interview.
Democracy bought new tasks, and the younger lot of the group moved into street theatre, protesting against discriminatory laws against women, unemployment, unavailability of basic amenities, encouraging education, etc. and continued up to the year 1990.
The Katha Experience
In 1992, Shahid Shafaat, Sania's husband, also an active member of Dastak, assisted by other friends, conducted a workshop with the working children of Korangi with the help of PILER and
Goethe Institute
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
. This workshop evolved into a play, "Tarikyon ke saye" first performed at a local marriage hall in their home town (Korangi, an Industrial area in Karachi) and then later at Pak American Cultural Centre (PACC). The children who participated in this workshop came out a little more aware of themselves. It is one of the rare original full length scripts that was developed from a workshop. This group formalised and is now called KATHA.
Television Experience
1989 – First appearance.
Sania as part of Dastak, was invited to perform street theatre play "AURAT" (originally written by
Safdar Hashmi
Safdar Hashmi (12 April 1954 – 2 January 1989) was a communist playwright and director, best known for his work with street theatre in India. He was also an actor, lyricist, and theorist, and he is still considered an important voice in Indian ...
of Jan Natya Manch India) for PTV, they gladly accepted. Women's issues were being given a lot of importance and several programs were being designed and presented one of which was "AADHI DUNIYA", produced by Fahmida Nasreen. The 20-min play was recorded in two days and performed by activists of Dastak.