Zeba Bakhtiar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Zeba Bakhtiar

• Zeba Bakhtiar is a well-known Pakistani actress, producer, and director. She has worked in the Pakistani entertainment industry as well as the Indian film industry.

• Zeba’s father, Yahya Bakhtiar, was born into a Pashtun household in 1921 in Quetta, Pakistan. He attended a number of schools in Quetta and Lahore, graduated from law school in London, and was called to the bar in the United Kingdom. In 1941, he became a member of the All-India Muslim League. He served as a Pakistani barrister and statesman Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s cabinet. Yahya Bakhtiar played a key role in the framing of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. In 1974, he joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and left the Council Muslim League. In 1977, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from the Quetta-Pishin constituency. Yahya was also appointed to the Senate of Pakistan.

  

• Mr. Bakhtiar gained notoriety in Pakistan when he represented former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in a court case against the Zia-ul-Haq administration that commenced on 24 October 1977. After being found guilty of murder on 18 March 1978, Bhutto was given the death penalty and was executed on 4 April 1979. The execution of the democratically elected prime minister was dubbed “judicial murder” by many Pakistanis. Yahya Bakhtiar was chosen to serve as Pakistan’s Attorney General in 1988. He continued to serve as the Balochistan PPP’s president, vice-chairman, and a member of the Pakistan People’s Party Central Committee. In addition, he defended former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Bakhtiar passed away in Karachi on 27 June 2003 at the age of 81. ^[3]The Nation ^[4]The New York Times

  

• Zeba’s mother, Eva Bakhtiar, was born to Hungarian parents. She met Yahya Bakhtiar in the early 1940s and the pair got married in 1949. Eva graduated with an honours degree from University College London in England and got settled in Pakistan with her husband in 1949. Eva passed away in her sleep in 2011 in Milwaukee, USA.

• When Zeba was in her early 20s, she was diagnosed with diabetes. She is often seen advocating various diabetes awareness campaigns on different forums. In an interview, while talking about participating in such awareness drives, she said,
  

  Though I have been working formally to raise awareness for diabetes for over a year now. I have still not been able to provide free drugs, testing and treatment to patients who cannot afford to pay for it.”

• Zeba appeared in various popular Pakistani TV dramas including Tansen (1990), Laag (1998), and Pehli Si Mohabbat (2005). Additionally, she appeared in many Pakistani films including Chief Sahib (1996), Qaid (1996), and Musalman (2001). In 2015, she played the role of Saba’s mother in the romantic drama film Bin Roye.

  

• Zeba became a household name after she appeared in the film Henna (1991). She appeared in several Bollywood films including Mohabbat Ki Aarzoo (1994), Stuntman (1994), and Jai Vikraanta (1995).

  

• Zeba has worked in Bollywood films with several popular actors including Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, and Jackie Shroff.

  

• In 2014, Zeba collaborated with her son, Azaan Sami Khan, and produced the Pakistani spy thriller film O21 (or Operation 21 formerly The Extortionist), starring Shaan Shahid and Ayub Khoso. The screening day of the film Operation 21 fell on Eid day due to which some cinema houses, Capri and Bambino Cinemas in Karachi and Dreamland Cinema in Multan, closed after 25 minutes into the screening. Later, Zeba Bakhtiar announced a boycott of three cinema houses in a press conference at Karachi Press Club (KPC).

• She owns a few film production companies such as Nirvana Films, launched in 1999, and Sagar Entertainment, launched in 2004. Zeba is the CEO of Sagar Entertainment. Zeba and her son, Azaan, run a production company called One Motion Pictures.

• She was appointed as the chairwoman of Diya Women Football Club, which is a Pakistani women’s association football and futsal club based in Karachi.

• Adnan Sami’s second wife, Sabah Galadari, filed a case against Adnan under the domestic violence act in 2012. Following this, Zeba Bakhtiar stood firm in support of Adnan and said,
  

  He could be a bad husband but could never physically hurt anyone.”

• Zeba associated with her paternal family business in Quetta’s real estate development. Her first project was Quetta City’s Bakhtiar Mall.

• Zeba was appointed as the president of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) in Pakistan in September 2020.

• She has been featured on the covers of several fashion magazines.

  

• Zeba has also appeared in various print media ads as well as TV commercials.

  

• She is a fitness enthusiast and often shares her fitness regimen on social media.

  

• When Rishi Kapoor passed away, while talking about him, Zeba said that she felt like she was part of the Kapoor family after meeting him. She further said that she was in touch with him through calls and messages and was assured by his brother Randhir Kapoor two days before his death that the actor is getting better.
  

  Before these mobile phones came into our lives, I used to call him on his land-line phone to wish him on his birthday and Diwali. And once the trend of WhatsApp started, we communicated on that to wish each other. Also, he used to message me whenever a film of Ranbir Kapoor released and I used to make it a point to go and watch it.”

  

• Zeba owns a Labrador Retriever.