Pakistan's sweetheart, Mahira Khan, made her Bollywood debut opposite SRK in the film, 'Raees'. However, the film was not released in Pakistan. She said it broke her heart.
Pakistani actress, Mahira Khan has left an indelible mark on audiences all across the world with her impeccable acting. She stepped into the world of glitz and glamour with the Pakistani film, Bol in 2011. But her character ‘Khirad’ in the romantic drama, Humsafar, shot her to fame. After this, Mahira started getting much attention from the audience.
Her immense popularity in Lollywood led her to bag a film opposite the Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan. She was roped in for the 2017 action film, Raees, starring SRK, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub and Sheeba Chaddha. Mahira Khan portrayed SRK’s love interest, ‘Aasiya’, in the film. However, due to unfortunate circumstances, the Pakistani starlet could neither promote the film nor Raees got a release in Pakistan.
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The 38-year-old actress, Mahira Khan made her Bollywood debut with Raees, but as fate would have it, the film was released at a time when the political tension between India and Pakistan was at an all-time high. Despite that, Mahira received much love from the Indian audiences for her role in the film. In an interview, she opened up about her life, both professional and personal.
In an interview with the FWhy podcast that was released on August 28, 2023, Pakistan's sweetheart talked about the time after her Bollywood debut, her struggles with anxiety, and clinical depression, her son, Azlaan and his equation with her ex-husband, Ali Askari. She reminisced about the time after the release of Raees and recalled how unfortunate the circumstances were. She further added:
“The only thing I wanted was, OK, fine, I can’t go to India to promote it, I can’t enjoy this, but I hope it releases in my country because I knew people would rush to the cinemas to watch these two. He (SRK) is loved here, so for me, that was heartbreaking.”
Check the video here.
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Mahira Khan goes on to say that this was one of the darkest phases of her life. She slipped into depression after the release of Raees. In the same podcast, she mentioned that her dreams came crashing down after this whole incident, and she developed severe anxiety to the point where she had panic attacks.
However, she spoke about how her family, friends and ‘the person she was still with’, i.e., her now-husband, Salim Karim, helped her get through the tough times. The 38-year-old revealed that she was eventually diagnosed with ‘manic depression’ and that she has been taking anti-depressants for six to seven years now.
Share your thoughts on the revelations made by Mahira Khan.
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