Maria Wasti
Encyclopedia
Maria Wasti is a Pakistan
i film
and television actress. Most of her roles in television serials portray her as a Pakistani woman going through difficult times and have landed her great respect in the eyes of critics and fans alike.
, Tanzania
, where she lived and went to school for 7 years. She has originally wanted to study Business Management but instead started acting by chance. In her early days, Wasti's parents wanted their daughter to become a doctor. In the day, the only television network active in the country was the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation
(PTV). It would be later in the 1980s that Network Television Marketing
(NTM), the country's first privately owned channel, showcased content specifically targeted to the younger generation and Wasti got interested in acting.
, a film actress. The teleplay
highlighted a story around two sisters going through the turmoil of arranged marriages. The show was received well with the critics as never before had a show captivated the true essence of gender divide
and Wasti's acting admired. She has since done over 50 serials and around the same number of assorted plays.Rendezvous: Maria Wasti
and Islamabad
centres for PTV. In a short span of time, she was commended for being an extremely exceptional actress. She reminisces that people were sceptical when she stepped into acting, but once she proved herself they started accepting her.
She considers Bano Qudsia
's Kallo one of her most memorable plays where she had to ‘put on tonnes of make-up to look really dark’ to play a dark-skinned girl who falls in love with a fairer man. This role brought her instant success. In other equally applauded roles, she played a woman victim in Baadlon Par Basera, who is forcefully led into marriage with a man in the United States of America on the phone and when she meets him for the first time, she realises the man is older than the picture she saw him in.
Maria is usually seen playing unglamorous roles involving sensitive issues regarding women in Pakistan. She has played roles depicting prominent women like Salma Murad and Lenin Peace Prize
winner Bilquis Edhi
.
Maria is known for being outspoken on various of issues women's rights, gender equality and prejudice.
being amongst the most sensitive. She also cites the reason for the decrease in the quality of drama serials as being the lack of a supply of actors, actresses, writers, directors and producers.
In view of these thoughts, Wasti opened up a production house in 2002, where she has successfully produced several serials and a dozen plays. Her productions aim at the revival of television in Pakistan through better quality and content rivalling the glamour filled television plays from across the border in India
.
GEO Television
AAJ TV
ARY Digital
Hum TV
Indus Vision
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i film
Cinema of Pakistan
The cinema of Pakistan refers to Pakistan's film industry. Most of the feature films shot in Pakistan are in Urdu language but may also include films in English, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi or Sindhi languages....
and television actress. Most of her roles in television serials portray her as a Pakistani woman going through difficult times and have landed her great respect in the eyes of critics and fans alike.
Early years
Wasti was born in Dar Es SalaamDar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, where she lived and went to school for 7 years. She has originally wanted to study Business Management but instead started acting by chance. In her early days, Wasti's parents wanted their daughter to become a doctor. In the day, the only television network active in the country was the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation
The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...
(PTV). It would be later in the 1980s that Network Television Marketing
Network Television Marketing
NTM - A former Shalimar Television Network ChannelThe Network Television Marketing was Pakistan's first ever private sector Television Channel. NTM had started its transmission in 1990 under a 3-year agreement with Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company . NTM succeeded in acquiring much...
(NTM), the country's first privately owned channel, showcased content specifically targeted to the younger generation and Wasti got interested in acting.
First teleplay
In mid-1990s, she was approached by Bakhtiar Ahmed, the programme manager PTV Lahore Centre to be cast in a play called Sarah Aur Ammara alongside ReshamResham
Resham is a Pakistani film, television and theater actress based in Lahore. She debuted with Syed Noor's film, Jeeva in 1995 and later went on to star in a string of commercial hits in the late 1990s. She was noted for her performance as the upcoming model in Samina Peerzada's Inteha...
, a film actress. The teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
highlighted a story around two sisters going through the turmoil of arranged marriages. The show was received well with the critics as never before had a show captivated the true essence of gender divide
Gender differences
A sex difference is a distinction of biological and/or physiological characteristics associated with either males or females of a species. These can be of several types, including direct and indirect. Direct being the direct result of differences prescribed by the Y-chromosome, and indirect being...
and Wasti's acting admired. She has since done over 50 serials and around the same number of assorted plays.Rendezvous: Maria Wasti
Acting as a career
Where her parents initially wanted her to be a doctor, they were supportive after her acting skills were adorned. Wasti recalls that her first experience in acting was for the passion of art, but later her parents told her to pursue the career in a professional manner. After her first stint, Wasti began receiving roles in various other plays in Lahore, KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
centres for PTV. In a short span of time, she was commended for being an extremely exceptional actress. She reminisces that people were sceptical when she stepped into acting, but once she proved herself they started accepting her.
She considers Bano Qudsia
Bano Qudsia
Bano Qudsia is a writer, intellectual, playwright and spiritualist from Pakistan who wrote Urdu novels and short storiesregarded among the best Urdu novelists and short story writers of modern times.She is best known for her novel Raja Gidh.She has written for television and stage in both the...
's Kallo one of her most memorable plays where she had to ‘put on tonnes of make-up to look really dark’ to play a dark-skinned girl who falls in love with a fairer man. This role brought her instant success. In other equally applauded roles, she played a woman victim in Baadlon Par Basera, who is forcefully led into marriage with a man in the United States of America on the phone and when she meets him for the first time, she realises the man is older than the picture she saw him in.
Maria is usually seen playing unglamorous roles involving sensitive issues regarding women in Pakistan. She has played roles depicting prominent women like Salma Murad and Lenin Peace Prize
Lenin Peace Prize
The International Lenin Peace Prize was the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize, named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel indicated had "strengthened peace among peoples"...
winner Bilquis Edhi
Bilquis Edhi
Bilquis Bano Edhi Hilal-e-Imtiaz, , wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi, is a professional nurse and one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She has been nicknamed, The Mother of Pakistan. She was born in 1947 in Karachi. She heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation, and with her husband received the...
.
Maria is known for being outspoken on various of issues women's rights, gender equality and prejudice.
Recent ventures
Wasti has expressed that newer Pakistani plays should portray issues in today's Pakistan. She names drugs and AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
being amongst the most sensitive. She also cites the reason for the decrease in the quality of drama serials as being the lack of a supply of actors, actresses, writers, directors and producers.
In view of these thoughts, Wasti opened up a production house in 2002, where she has successfully produced several serials and a dozen plays. Her productions aim at the revival of television in Pakistan through better quality and content rivalling the glamour filled television plays from across the border in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Drama Serials
Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV)Pakistan Television Corporation
The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...
- Aashiyaana
- Kabhi kabhi
- Moorat
- Sarah Aur Ammara
- Boota from Toba Tek SinghBoota from Toba Tek SinghBoota from Toba Tek Singh was a Pakistani television drama series. It was aired by Pakistan Television Corporation in Urdu language comprised on 22 episodes...
- Neend
- Baadlon Par Basera
- Kaali Aankhain
- Dharkan
- Ahsaas
GEO Television
- Buri Aurat
- Kuch Dil Ne Kaha
- Barish Kay Ansoo
- Sheeshay Ka Mehal
- Ruswa
AAJ TV
AAJ TV
AAJ TV is a 24 hour Pakistani news television channel. Aaj in English means "Today".-Channel and its Programmes:AAJ News was initially started on March 23, 2005 by the Business Recorder Group...
- TV3 Karachi
ARY Digital
ARY Digital
ARY Digital, a subsidiary of the ARY Group, is a popular Pakistani television network available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob . The network caters to the...
- Tere Liye
- Tujh Pe Qurban
- Aangan Bhar Chandni
- Kuch Ankahi Baatain
- Riyasat
- Diya Jalay
- Khandaan
- Aey Ishq Hamain Barbad Na Ker
Hum TV
Hum TV
Hum TV is a 24-hour Pakistani entertainment TV channel based in Karachi. It is the first brand of Eye Television Network Limited, Pakistan. Hum TV began its transmission on January 17, 2005.-Serials:* Manay Na Ye Dil * Akhri Barish...
- Woh Chaar
- Love Kay Liye
- Thori door Saath Chalo
Indus Vision
- Jab Hatheli Per Chand Likhna