Mehreen Jabbar (Urdu: مﮩرين جبار) (born on 29 December 1971) is a Pakistani film and television director and producer based in New York City. She is a daughter of the Pakistani media-person Javed Jabbar,https://tribune.com.pk/story/483415/with-coke-kahani-mehreen-jabbar-highlights-the-lives-of-pakistanis/, Interview with Mehreen Jabbar on The Express Tribune newspaper, 23 December 2012, Retrieved 19 March 2017 niece of Beo Zafar and first cousin of the famous Pakistani-British singer, actor and director, Yasir Akhtar. Active since 1994, Jabbar established herself as a prolific television director. Her work for 2008 TV series Doraha earned her Lux Style Award for Best TV Director.
Early life Born in Karachi, Jabbar grew up around Pakistan's show business. Her father Javed Jabbar was born in the princely state of Hyderabad in British India and migrated to Pakistan after India annexed the state. He has been a filmmaker, and a successful ad man apart from being a former Pakistani senator and a cabinet minister. After receiving a BA degree from Saint Joseph's College in Karachi, Mehreen Jabbar went to the US to study film and completed a two-year program at University of California Los Angeles in 1993, with a Film, Television and Video certificate. She returned to Pakistan, directed and produced drama serials under the banner of TasVeer Productions, almost all of which were critically acclaimed by the Pakistani press.
Career Jabbar is a Pakistani-American director who is a 25-year veteran of the industry, with a prolific career as a Director/Producer of gritty, hard-hitting films and TV series for Pakistani and South Asian Television which have earned her both critical and commercial success. She has also made a number of narrative shorts that have been screened internationally in film festivals as well as on TV. Her award-winning short films and TV dramas include Marhoom Colonel Ki Betiyaan, Beauty Parlor, Doraha, and Daam, amongst others. In 2008, Mehreen directed her debut feature film Ramchand Pakistani for which she was awarded the 'Global Film Initiative Grant'. The film premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival and continued a successful festival run. It was later released theatrically in Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom in 2008-09 to wide critical and audience acclaim. 'Ramchand Pakistani' was awarded the 'Fipresci Prize' by the 'International Federation of Film Critics', the 'Audience Award' at the 'Fribourg Film Festival', Switzerland and an 'Honorable Mention' by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award at the London Film Festival. In 2010, Mehreen was invited to screen her film at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Her second feature film Dobara Phir Se which was shot in New York and Karachi had a successful theatrical release in Pakistan, the UK, USA and the UAE in December 2016.
Jabbar has been a member of the National Board of Film Censors in Karachi, a founding member of the KaraFilm Festival in Karachi, Pakistan and a founder member of the NGO WAR (War Against Rape). In 2011, she was invited to the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda - a non-profit training lab founded by director Mira Nair to be a directing mentor. She is the recipient of several awards for her work and has served as a jury member in many local and international film festivals.
Ramchand Pakistani Ramchand Pakistani was Jabbar's first feature-length film, which was released in Pakistan, India and the UK to wide critical and audience acclaim. The film premiered in the competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2008. It won the FIPRESCI PRIZE from the International Federation of Film Critics and received Honourable Mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Awards at the London Film Festival, 2008 as well as the Audience award at the Fribourg International Film Festival. The film recently had a week-long screening at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York.
Jabbar directed the web drama series Ek Jhoothi Love Story which was released on ZEE5 in October 2020.
Filmography
Film Year Title Notes 2008 Ramchand Pakistani 2013 Dil Mera Dhadkan Teri Telefilm 2016 Dobara Phir Se Lala Begum Short film 2018 Dino Ki DulhaniyaTelefilm Hum Chale AayeTelefilm
Web series Year Title Platform Notes 2020 Ek Jhoothi Love Story ZEE52025 Farar ZEE5
Television YearTitleNetworkNotes Ref(s) 1996Ab Tum Ja Saktey Ho 1997Farar 1998Dhoop Mein SawanMiniseries 2000Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai 2001Kahaniyaan Chalo Phir Se MuskurainAfsoon KhawabBeauty ParlorMarhoom Colonel Ki Betiyaan Deeda-e-PurkhoonHarjai New York Stories Lal Baig Abba Amma Aur Ali Putli Ghar Sanam Gazida 2006Pehchaan 2008Doraha 2009Malaal 2010Vasl WapsiTelefilm Daam 2011Daam 2012Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu Coke Kahani 2013GhoonghatTelefilm Rehaai 2014Jackson Heights 2015Mera Naam Yousuf Hai 2019Dil Kiya Karay 2020Meray Dost Meray Yaar Season 2Geo EntertainmentMiniseries2023Jurm 2024NadaanHum TV2026Doctor BahuARY Digital
Awards and nominations Ramchand Pakistani wins FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics and receives Honourable mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Awards at the London Film Festival (2008) Won – Indus Drama Awards (2004) Best Director for Harjai Won – IndusVision Young Achievers Award (2002) Won – Kara Film Festival (2001) Best Director & Best medium-length Film for Daughters of the Late Colonel Won – Pakistan Media Award (2010) Best Drama – Satellite Malal Nominated - Hum Awards (2012) Best Director for Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu
Lux Style Awards Ceremony Category Project Result 9th Lux Style AwardsBest TV Director Doraha 10th Lux Style Awards Daam rowspan="3" 13th Lux Style Awards Rehaai 16th Lux Style Awards Best Film Director Dobara Phir Se
Festival screenings
Beauty Parlor screened at: Hong Kong International Film Festival Pusan Film Festival, South Korea San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, USA Trikone Festival, USA New Orleans Film Festival, USA Toronto Inside Out Film Festival, Canada Regent Park Film Festival, Canada Leeds Film Festival, UK Bite the Mango Festival, UK Travelling Film Festival of the British Film Institute. UK Screenings at Pioneer Theatre, and the Queens Museum of Art, New York .
Daughters of the Late Colonel screened at: KaraFilm Festival, Pakistan
Ramchand Pakistani Official Selection at: Tribeca Film Festival Seattle International Film Festival Osian Film Festival Rhode Island International Film Festival Pusan International Film Festival London International Film Festival South Asian International Film Festival Third I Film Festival, San Francisco Cairo International Film Festival Dubai International Film Festival Kerala Film Festival Fribourg Film Festival
Lala Begum screened at: Jagran Film Festival, Delhi, India MISAAF Film Festival, Canada Dallas South Asian Film Festival, USA Washington DC South Asian Film Festival, USA (Winner, Best Story)
Dobara Phir Se screened at: Chicago South Asian Film Festival, USA Tasveer Seattle South Asian Film Festival, USA
References
External links Mehreen Jabbar's – Official website