Pakistani model and actor Sanam Saeed said she was glad that Pakistani shows were having a positive impact on people in India – which was the same effect they had on people in Pakistan.

In an interview with the Times of India, Saeed, who has been associated with Pakistan’s entertainment industry in various avatars, said she did not understand why India and Pakistan were considered different nations when there was so much of similarity between the two countries stressing that both countries were indeed one nation.

The 29-year-old was grateful and happy that Zindagi Gulzar Hai, the drama where she enacted the role of a girl from the lower middle-class, was the first serial which broke the ice across the borders in recent times.

"India uses Bollywood, rather cinema, to tell its stories. It is one of the largest filmmaking nations in the world and so your talents get to tell stories about politics, love and drama through films. In Pakistan, our medium is the small screen.

"We don't make many films, and hardly have theatres. A majority of people seek entertainment while sitting at home and TV gives it to them, so we excel on that part," Sanam said.

The British-born actor, who shifted to Karachi at the age of six, also said that she selected roles which showcased a woman’s struggle.

Elaborating on how the people in Pakistan only had TV as a form of entertainment, she said she tried to do shows which had inspirational value and enacted characters that could be role models for young girls and help change people’s perspective.

Also read: I adore Kapil Sharma, says Samina Peerzada

Opinion

Editorial

After the budget
Updated 26 Jun, 2026

After the budget

Though not a bad document per se, the budget for FY27 is a familiar one, and familiarity in our economic history is rarely cause for comfort.
Missing the mark
26 Jun, 2026

Missing the mark

PAKISTAN’S commitment to the SDGs is routinely reaffirmed, but the gap between promises and progress continues to...
Up in smoke
26 Jun, 2026

Up in smoke

PAKISTAN is watching an epidemic unfold as the menace of narcotic abuse hits every fourth household in Karachi ...
Reflection time
Updated 25 Jun, 2026

Reflection time

Israel is the biggest source of instability in the Middle East, and it is high time the US ended its blind support to Tel Aviv, if it genuinely wants peace in the region.
Raised temperatures
25 Jun, 2026

Raised temperatures

THE fraught situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir requires immense patience and cool heads. Temperatures are raised on...
Debatable remedy
25 Jun, 2026

Debatable remedy

THE Pakistan Psychiatric Society’s challenge to the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling on attempted suicide deserves...