Salman Saqib Sheikh (Urdu: سلمان ثاقب شیخ), credited as Mani, is a Pakistani actor, politician and host. Mani is mostly known for his comic roles. He started his career as an anchor and first roadshow host before becoming a sitcom and comedy actor.
Mani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Salman Saqib Shaikh 22 March 1978 |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, VJ, Host |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | Muzammil and Ibrahim |
He is known for his roles in Meri Teri Kahani, Bandish and the telefilm Dil Toh Bacha Hai.[2][3][4]
Early life
editMani was born on 22 March 1977 and was raised in a locality of Gulshan-e-Iqbal[5] in Karachi. During an interview with Samina Peerzada, Mani explains that despite his father Saquib Sheikh was an actor and his elder sister Ayesha Mirza is an actress, he was interested in sports during his early days and did not think about venturing into the television. His initial interest grew after his minor appearance in a theatre with a theatre group Katha stars Sania Saeed and Nadia Jamil.
Career
editEarly career as actor and scriptwriter
editHe started his career in television as a junior anchor and host before becoming an actor. He wrote scripts for Fakhar-e-Alam's show Boom Boom Bastic aired on PTV.[6] In the early 2000s. We mention some of them, including Sarak Chapp, which aired on Geo TV and ATV. Mani amog Azfar Ali also created the Azfar Mani Show on AAG TV.[7] The show also experienced significant growth within the community and among the general public. This airing made them popular among such TV channels.
Mani played a generous role by participating in campaigns run by Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.[8] His excellent behavior and attitude drew a lot of attention from people watching commercials. They came forward to contribute as much as they could. He also contributed to various commercials and campaigns for Pepsi, Tepal, Ufone, and Mobilink.
Host
editIn 2001, he hosted the first ever Road Show in Pakistan Television's history called Streets, aired on Indus Vision in which he conducts the show by asking issue-based questions to general public of Pakistan. He introduced road shows in Pakistan. He also hosted two other road shows called Road Romeo and Sarrak Chhap aired on ATV and Geo TV respectively.
Mani is also known as the pioneer of roadshows. It's an honor for him to be part of the golden generation, in which he gained much attention for sweating his hard work. He was the one who changed the audience's viewing ability with his brilliance at acting and genuine character indulgence. The cast of the TV show Sub Set Hai includes Mani, Adnan Shah Tipu, Salma Hassan, and Azfar Ali. This TV show became a world sensation among everyone, despite its borders. Mani had been part of various music channels, such as Indus Music and The Music.
He gave his best at street shows, where he asked for country issues. That was fantastic, and people loved it for being so real and oral in the community.
A similar show Ulta Seedha, penned by Faisal Qureshi, co-hosted by Mani was also aired on Geo TV. Mani then hosted the first talk show Casual for newly founded Hum TV in 2006. Hira and Mani initiated the show at Hum TV, specifically the Hum 2 Humara Show. Both of them served as the show's hosts. They upheld their reputation as an ideal couple, receiving widespread affection from both the audience and the public. This show aired for about three years, during which different actors and actresses came together and found pride in being part of the TV show.
Production
editMani produced a sports show Champions on ARY Digital. He also produced sitcoms Zerooos and Khala Surayya aired on Geo TV.[9][10]
Politics
editBesides being an actor, Mani is also very active in politics.[11] He actively supported Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and attended several processions[12] across Pakistan [13] before joining Pak Sarzameen Party in 2018.[14] He and his wife, Hira Mani, have criticized Imran Khan and Altaf Hussain on several occasions.[15] He also did the polio campaign for UNICEF.
Personal life
editHe married fellow actress Hira Salman in 2008. Hira Salman, commonly known as Hira Mani, in her interview at Speak Your Heart With Samina Peerzada on 19 Oct 2018 [1] explained interesting story how she met Mani. She grabbed Mani's contact number from her friend's cellular phone (who was Mani's girlfriend) secretly & started talking to him on phone by name Mariam while she was also engaged to a Banker in Dubai at that time, whom she left afterwards and married Mani.[16] Their marriage ceremony took place on 18 April 2008. They frequently work together in most of their projects after marriage.[1][17][18] The couple has two sons: Muzammil (born in 2009) and Ibrahim (born in 2014).[19][20][21]
Television
editAs host
edit| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Streets | Indus Vision | Pakistan's first Road Show |
| 2001 | Mani Says | Indus Music | Pakistan's first trolling show |
| 2002 | Road Romeo | ATV | |
| Sarak Chaap | Geo TV | ||
| 2006 | Mani-Ism | ARY Musik | |
| 2007 | Casual | Hum TV | Political satire |
| 2007 | Azfar Mani Show | Aag TV | |
| 2007 | Champions | Sports Show | |
| 2008 | Hero Ya Zero | Hum TV | Game show |
| 2010 | Hum 2 Humara Show | Hum TV | [22] |
| 2011 | Hira Mani Show | AAG TV | [22] |
As producer
edit| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Sub Set Hai | Sitcom | |
| 2010 | Khala Surayya | ||
| 2010 | Zerooos | Hum TV | Sitcom |
| 2013 | Shilae Maseen | Geo TV | Telefilm |
As actor
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Mera Ghar Aik Whirpool | Writer | |
| 2001 | Sub Set Hai | Bobby | [23] |
| 2001 | Kollege Jeans | ||
| 2003 | Ulta Seedha | Ilyas Soomro | Serial with Faisal Qureshi |
| 2008 | Ab Set Hai | Bobby | Writer |
| 2010 | Khala Surayya | ||
| 2010 | Zerooos | Meenu | Sitcom |
| 2013 | Shilae Maseen | Telefilm | |
| Meri Teri Kahani | Mani | Inspired by American series Curb Your Enthusiasm | |
| Hum Sab Ajeeb Se Hain | Behtreen friend; International | ||
| 2014 | Firaaq | ||
| Jab We Wed | |||
| 2015 | Mr. Shamim | ||
| 2017 | Lollipop | ||
| Yaqeen Ka Safar | Haroon | ||
| 2019 | Bandish | Dr. Abhiyaan | |
| Dil Toh Bacha Hai | Telefilm[24] | ||
| 2021 | Chupke Chupke | Mani | Ramadan special |
| 2023 | Teray Aany Se | Ayaz Mamoo | |
| 2024 | Tere Mere Sapany | Sikandar Mamu | Ramadan special show on Geo News |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Donkey King | Rangeela | Animated film[25] |
| 2022 | Ishrat Made in China | Naushad/ Chunke | [26] |
| Lafangey | Security guard | [27] | |
| 2023 | Money Back Guarantee | G.A. Muhajir | [28] |
| Babylicious | [29] | ||
| Teri Meri Kahaniyaan | Shahanshah |
References
edit- ^ a b "Hira Mani stole Mani from her friend, broke off her own engagement for him". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Mani jokes about his 'first' marriage in an interview". The Express Tribune.
- ^ "Mani clarifies stance over controversial #MeToo comments | Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ Khan, Sheeba (2 February 2019). "Review: This black magic TV drama is a Pakistani horror fan's delight". DAWN. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "Gulshan-e-Iqbal". Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Mani On Rewind With Samina Peerzada | Part I".
- ^ AAG TV
- ^ Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital
- ^ "Mani On Rewind With Samina Peerzada | Part II".
- ^ "Mani makes new accounts on social media to bully politicians". The Express Tribune. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Mani shares hilarious ideas up his sleeve to save Pakistan". Daily Pakistan Global. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Web Desk (12 December 2020). "Politics affected my acting career - Mani". Behtareen. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Hand Pakistan over to Imran Khan: Mani". Daily Times. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Pak Sarzameen Party welcomes new entrants". Daily Times. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Hira Mani takes a jab at PM Imran Khan, saying he should allow people to worry". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "I give my all to reach my wife's acting level: Mani". The Express Tribune. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Hira Mani gives success credit to husband Salman Sheikh". Dunya News. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "I'm proud to be labelled as 'Mani's wife': Hira Mani". The Express Tribune. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Syeda Hira Salman (@hiramaniofficial) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- ^ "My purpose is to act, no matter what the medium is: Hira". Daily Times. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Yaqeen Ka Safar is honest and original, and has changed the paradigm of Pakistani dramas". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ a b Ahmad, Fouzia Nasir (2 September 2018). "If I wasn't multitasking as a mum and wife, I'd consider all actors as cut-throat competition: Hira Mani". DAWN. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "'Sub Set Hai' returning for a sequel called 'Mid Life'". Express Tribune. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Haq, Irfan Ul (20 May 2019). "Hira and Mani are romancing on-screen yet again in an upcoming Eid telefilm". DAWN. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ "The Donkey King: An epitome of quality, comedy and democracy". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "First look for Mohib Mirza's 'Ishrat Made in China' is finally out". 24newshd.
- ^ Haq, Irfan Ul (13 January 2022). "Mani will soon be seen on cinema screens in horror-comedy film Lafangey". Images. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Shooting of Money Back Guarantee finished, confirms Gohar Rasheed". The News International (newspaper). 27 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "'Babylicious' trailer: A must-watch for the hopeless romantics". The Express Tribune. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.