Omair Rana

Some Lesser Known Facts About Omair Rana

• Omair Rana is a popular Pakistani television and film actor. He is known for delivering very divergent roles on screen for which he has also received national and international awards and nominations. He is also an accomplished theatre actor and director.

• Omair Rana was born to Pakistani parents in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. After completing his secondary education in Al Ain he moved to Pakistan to pursue his higher education. Later, Omair enrolled himself at the London School of Economics and Political Science to complete his formal education. He also did an internship in the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

  

• Omair Rana stepped into the field of acting through theatre. He spent the initial years of his career performing in theatre plays and eventually started directing those plays. He is considered as the one theatre actor who made a significant contribution in the field of teaching Dramatics Art at a number of institutions.

  

• Omair Rana, in 2000, established his own theatre company called Real Entertainment Productions (REP). The company has successfully organised more than 50 theatrical plays across Pakistan. Under his direction, Real Entertainment Productions also got the chance to direct plays in educational institutes including ‘Life of Galileo’ and ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ at Lahore Grammar School Johar Town campus. He is also a visiting lecturer for Drama and Theater at Kinnaird College and Beaconhouse National University (BNU).

• In 2005, Omair was featured in a short film based on Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story “Toba Tek Singh.” The film features a powerful satire on the relationship between India and Pakistan.

• Omair made his film debut in 2013 with the Pakistani Urdu-language political thriller film ” Chambaili.” Omair played the character of Rashid along with Salmaan Peerzada, Khalid Ahmed, Maira Khan, Shafqat Cheema, and Mohammed Ehteshamuddin in Ismail Jilani directed film. In the same year, he also became a part of a TV short titled “65” which was based on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He played the role of a soldier in the film. Later he became part of various commercially successful films including Tamanna, Dukhtar, and many more.

• Soon after making his film debut, Omair Rana also made his television debut in 2013. He acted in Hum TV’s drama serial “Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi,” directed by Kashif Nisar. Omair got the opportunity to work with popular television actors including Noman Ijaz, Sohail Ahmed, Saba Qamar, Uzma Hassan, Irsa Ghazal, Yumna Zaidi, and Noman Masood for the drama serial. He received huge praise for his performance in the drama. He won a lot of recognition for his performances in Hum TV’s drama serial “Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi,” directed by Kashif Nisar.

• In 2020, Omair Rana appeared on screen playing the character of ‘Sarwar’ in Hum TV’s drama serial “Pyar Ke Sadqay” opposite Yumna Zaidi, Bilal Abbas, Atiqa Odho, Yashma Gill, and Salma Hassan. Omair who was known for playing very sophisticated and positive characters in the drama serials played a negative character in this drama and earned huge fame for it. He received huge popularity for the character. When asked about choosing a negative character, completely out of his zone, he said
  

  I have made a deliberate decision to not work in more negative roles for now. I have acted out positive as well as negative characters, but I do realise that the latter has been noticed more. Having said this, I don’t want to be pigeonholed into a certain genre. I would like to work on a positive character, but give him shades and make him interesting rather than neutral or forgettable.”

  https://youtu.be/AM_u_nSj7cw

• Omair Rana also faced huge hate as ‘Sarwar.’ He received hate messaged from the audience. During the media interaction, he told that a lot of people messaged him regarding his character but appreciated his acting skills. He said,
  

  I haven’t gone to a mall or any public place, so I haven’t had to face any negative comments face to face. But social media is another story. The most common reaction I get is the comment, ‘You’re so nice but Sarwar is so bad’. That’s a relief. It would be so wrong if people liked Sarwar and what he did. At the same time, it’s great that they are able to differentiate the actor from the character.“But there was also this recent message that was cursing me, telling me to ‘leave Abdullah!’ [the name of his stepson in the drama, played by Bilal Abbas Khan]. I literally laughed out loud, but perhaps that was because the insults were in my inbox, delivered from a distance.”

• Omair Rana in 2021, became part of TV One’s Kashif Nisar directed drama serial “Dil Na Umeed To Nahi.” He was featured in the lead role along with Yumna Zaidi, Wahaj Ali, Fajar Khan, Bonita Malik, Muhammad Sadoon, and Isbah Irfan. Omair Rana played a  grey character named “Zulfi.” Omair showcased both aspects, the positive and the negative side of the character in the drama serial. He got this role by a coincident when he met Roshaneh Zafar, the maker of the show, at a school event. Omar described the incident as
  

  This script was just amazing. I was in Lahore for an educational event. Roshanay offered me to portray a character in her upcoming drama serial. I asked her that who is directing the project when she replied that Kashif Nisar is directing the play I immediately agreed to be a part of their project.”

  He further added,

  The character of Zulfi is very interesting. I loved playing such grey characters for sure. The audience is confused at the moment regarding Zulfi’s life but something will definitely reveal in the upcoming episodes.”

• Apart from doing television and films, Omair Rana has also been part of a web series called “Churails.” He played Jameel Khan, husband of the lead character Sara. The storyline is based on the lives of four women who join hands to start Karachi’s secret detective agency whose mission is to expose the city’s unfaithful, elite husbands. The Web series received huge critical acclaim internationally and proved to be the most commercially successful web series in Pakistan.

• Omair Rana is one of the few actors in the Pakistani industry who have been part of theatre, television, films, and web series as well. When asked for choosing between the four he said it will be theatre forever. He explained his answer as
  

  People think that TV is amazing but they have yet to witness the power of great theatre. And I’ve always played the protagonist in theatre, so I’ve had a taste of it plenty of times.”

• Omair Rana loves spending time with his family. He often posts pictures of him with his children playing board games in their leisure time.