Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar top the list of 2017 Bollywood debutantes

A UK based publishing, Eastern Eye, recently made a survey focusing on the best debutantes of 2017 in Bollywood in which Pakistani actresses Mahira Khan and Saba Qamar have topped the list.

India-Pakistan have always shared a bittersweet relationship politically, however, many Pakistani actors and actresses have worked their way to the Indian film industry. Famous Pakistani names that made it big in Bollywood include Fawad Afzal Khan, Imran Abbas and Mawra Hocane.

For 2017, Eastern Eye published an article declaring Mahira and Saba to be the best debutantes of Bollywood. Mahira got the biggest break in the Indian film industry by starring opposite the ‘King Khan’ of Bollywood for her first movie ‘Raees’.

Film critic Anna MM Vetticad said, “Mahira Khan – a star in Pakistan, a debutante here – is naturally easy before the camera playing the girlfriend of Raees and later his wife.”

On the other Saba debuted in the industry opposite the critically acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan in one of the super-hit movies of 2017, ‘Hindi Medium’. “Qamar is a beauty. Between her and Fawad, they might convince Hindi film audiences that Pakistan has cornered a majority share of the world’s hotness. Though her character is often hyper, her acting never is – that is a fine line to tread, and she pulls it off,”, film critic Anna said.

Saba’s ‘Hindi Medium’ was also declared to be far better than Salman Khan’s ‘Tubelight’ and SRK’s ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’.

In the same year, some other Pakistani actresses also debuted in Bollywood including Sajal Ali with her movie ‘Mom’, in which she played SriDevi's daughter, however, the movie was an average performer at the box-office. Another Pakistani actress and VJ Madiha Imam also made her debut in the Indian movie industry with ‘Dear Maya’ opposite Manisha Koirala.