The 1st Indus Drama Awards ceremony, presented by

Indus TV Network The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region ...

, sponsored by

Dulux Dulux is an internationally available brand of architectural paint originated from the United Kingdom. The brand name Dulux has been used by both Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based ...

, took place on 23 September 2005, at PAF Museum,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. The ceremony was recorded, and was scheduled to be televised in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

on October 1, 2005, by

Indus TV Indus Media Group (also abbreviated as, IMG) is a Pakistani company broadcasting a mix of free-to-air news and entertainment channels via satellite. IMG owns and operates the Indus brand of television channels in various global markets. It o ...

. It was produced by chairman Ghazanfar Ali. The awards were hosted by actor

Shahood Alvi Shahood Alvi (Punjabi, Urdu:شہود علوی) (born in Multan, Punjab) is a Pakistan TV actor, Director and a Producer. He has been working in Pakistani television dramas since 1994. He started work in TV industry as an assistant of sound mixer ...

and co-hosted by Sehar Imran.

Ceremony information

The drama awards were a follow-up of the IM Music awards, art of the INDUS NETWORK, which were held at the D.H.A Golf Club. The stage was set against a giant

plasma screen A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display that uses small cells containing plasma: ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma televisions were the first large (over 32 inches diagonal) flat panel displays to be releas ...

and for the first time a live orchestra had been arranged. The four series competing for the most prestigious honours were 'Maa Aur Mamta', 'Ambulance', 'Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat' and 'Karachi law'.

Kamran Qureshi Kamran Qureshi (born 3 October 1975) is a filmmaker and television director/producer. He won Best Telefilm & Best Director Award for his first ever directed TV film Murad (a.k.a. Eunuch's Motherhood) with a cash prize in Indus Telefilm Festiva ...

’s drama series Maa Aur Mamta was considered most successful with seven awards; Qureshi brought his mother Shagufta Yousuf to receive it on his behalf. Natasha D’souza received her trophy for the best supporting actress in 'Ambulance".

Shafi Mohammad Shafi Muhammad Shah (or Shafi Mohammad) ( ur, شفیع محمد شاہ) PP (7 September 1949–17 November 2007) was a Pakistani film and television actor. Popularly known as ''Shah-jee'', he was born in Kandiaro, Naushahro Feroze District, Si ...

won the best supporting actor for his role in 'Maa aur Mamta'. The best actress in drama series was Shehla Qureshi for her role in "Mehak" while

Humayun Saeed Humayun Saeed Ansari (born 27 July 1971), professionally known as Humayun Saeed, is a Pakistani actor and producer. He has appeared in dozens of Pakistani television dramas and limited number of films, and earned Lux Style Awards, and ARY Fil ...

won the equivalent for Mujrim. Further entertainment was provided by Humayun and Sonu, both of whom danced, Sonu to

Atif Aslam Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique. Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...

's remix song 'Woh Lamhe'. Maa and Mamta also won an extra title when Sohail Asghar was conferred a special award for his role of a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

called Saima in

Murad Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It ...

. A tribute was performed for Najam-uz-Zaman, who had died in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Najam was a prominent figure in

Indus Music Indus Media Group (also abbreviated as, IMG) is a Pakistani company broadcasting a mix of free-to-air news and entertainment channels via satellite. IMG owns and operates the Indus brand of television channels in various global markets. It o ...

and was also one of

's founding members, besides the current owner, Ghazanfar. The best serial writer award went to

Umera Ahmed Umera Ahmed (Punjabi, ur, ) is a Pakistani writer, author and screenwriter. She is best known for her novels and plays ''Shehr-e-Zaat'', ''Pir-e-Kamil'', ''Zindagi Gulzar Hai'', '' Alif'', '' Durr-e-Shehwar'', '' Daam'', '' Man-o-Salwa'', ''Q ...

for ''Wajood-e-Laraib''. The best actress in a drama serial went to Afreen for role in ''Azal'', for which her male counterpart was

Faisal Rehman Faisal Rehman commonly known as Faisal is a Pakistani film and television actor, writer and director. He has worked in 36 films and many television shows. Biography Faisal Rehman's ancestors hail from Afghanistan with roots in the Mohammadzai ...

for his contributions in ''Azal.'' The Best Serial award went to ''Wajood-e-Laraib''.

Adnan Siddiqui Adnan Siddiqui ( ur, ) (born 23 October 1969) is a Pakistani actor, producer and model who has worked in Lollywood and Hollywood and also made his debut in Bollywood with the Hindi film '' Mom'' (2017). He also has his own production house, '' ...

, Faisal Qureshi, and

Fahad Mustafa Fahad Salahuddin ( ur, فہد صلاح الدین) commonly known as Fahad Mustafa ( ur, فہد مصطفٰی, label=none), is a Pakistani film and television actor and producer who is best known for hosting ''Jeeto Pakistan'', a game show that ...

received the trophy. Adnan dedicated the trophy to his newborn baby, while the rest thanked the crowd for their involvement.

Qavi Khan Muhammad Qavi Khan ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film and television actor. He has also worked in Radio Pakistan and on stage. Though now largely working in television, he has acted in over 200 films. The Government of Pakistan honoured Khan with the ...

received a standing ovation for his contributions to the TV world with the late Shahzad Khalil. Ghazanfar himself presented this award to Khalil's wife Badar Khalil.

Awards

Winners are listed first followed by nominees.

Honorary Indus Drama Awards

The Indus Media Group presented Special Awards during the ceremony. These are usually are not a part of specific category, but a special honor for artists related to drama.

Special Contribution for Script Writing

Ashfaq Ahmed Ashfaq Ahmed Khan ( ur, ; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a writer, playwright and broadcaster from Pakistan. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio of Pakistan. He received the President's ...

Special Contribution for Comedy

Moin Akhtar Moin Akhter (also: "معین اختر" Moin Akhtar), (24 December 1950 – 22 April 2011) was a Pakistani television, film and stage artist, humorist, comedian, impersonator, host, writer, singer, director and producer who rose to fame in the ...

Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to TV

* Shahzad Khalil

Special Contributing to Drama

Special Award for Direction of Fifty Fifty

Shoaib Mansoor Shoaib Mansoor (Full name, Shoaib Mansoor), ( ur, ; born 4 February 1951 Karachi) is a Pakistani television and film director, writer, producer, lyricist and musician of Muhajir origin. Active in the television industry since 1980, he first ...

Special Award for outstanding performance in
Murad Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It ...

Sohail Asghar Sohail Asghar (15 June 1954 – 13 November 2021) was a Pakistani TV, Film and Theater actor. Life Sohail was born in Lahore, Pakistan. After completing his education he joined Radio Pakistan. He worked as Radio Jockey from 1978 to 1988. He wa ...

Special Award for Tribute

* Najam-uz-Zaman (Award received by Najam-uz-Zaman's Mother)

Special Award for performance in Fifty Fifty

* Zeba Shahnaz

Multiple Awards and Nominations

Series with multiple nominations

The following 4 series received multiple nominations:

Series with multiple awards

The following four series received multiple awards:

Serial with multiple nominations

The following 4 series received multiple nominations:

Serial with multiple awards