Actress Reema Khan heaps praise on PM Imran Khan

• "Imran Khan did not set up this organisation for personal gains," says Reema Khan.
• Organiser Zahid Bhatti says every year he supports a different project of SKMCH and has been working with it for last 15 years. 
• “We appeal to each and everyone to support SKMCH," says President of PTI-West Midlands Mushtaq.

BIRMINGHAM: Reema Khan — one of the most famous Lollywood actresses — on Thursday heaped praise on Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that Allah has chosen him to perform noble deeds.

Praising the prime minister for his achievements and deeds, the actress said that Allah has chosen PM Khan to help the poor people of Pakistan suffering from cancer, which shows that he has special blessings of Allah upon him.

While speaking to Geo News at a charity event, organised under the banner of “Imran Khan Cancer Appeal” to raise funds for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH), the film star said: "Imran Khan did not set up this organisation for personal gains but only to serve the humanity," adding that "we should keep supporting this good cause till we breathe our last."

“The credibility of SKMCH is not hidden from anyone. This hospital is a clear example of PM Khan’s desire to serve humanity. Every single one of us should be a part of it and play our role in its development for the rest of our lives," she added. 

Reema told Geo News that it is a great personal honour for her to be affiliated with this great organisation as a brand ambassador for breast cancer awareness for the last 18 years. 

The actress became an instant hit when her debut film “Bulandi” was released in 1990. At the time, Reema was a teenager. In her illustrious career, which lasted for nearly two decades, she starred in more than 200 films, mostly playing the lead role. In 2019, she received “The pride of Performance Award” for her services to the film industry.

She also said that regardless of the fact that she has such a vast experience, she never felt fully satisfied by her performances. But personally, she thinks that the roles she played in films “Nikah”, "Rani Beti Raaj Karegi”, “Zever” and “Dulha Laykar Jaongi” are the ones to remember.

The star said that in the film industry, all of her colleagues have treated her with love and affection and they were always like a family but her all-time favourite actor in Lollywood is Nadeem.

“I have played the role of his daughter in films and also he has worked under my direction. Apart from him, there are many other seniors too but I’ve learnt a lot from working along with Ghulam Mohiuddin and Javed Sheikh and also enjoyed working with them," she added.

Talking about the contemporary actors, Reema said she enjoyed the most working with Sahiba, Rambo (Afzal Khan), and Moammar Rana.

Besides playing lead roles in films, the Lollywood actress also ventured into directing and producing films in the later stages of her career. Her debut film as producer and director was “Koi Tujh Sa Kahan” released in 2005, followed by a second film “Love Main Gum” in 2011. But that stopped after she got married to a US-based Pakistani heart surgeon Dr Tariq Shahab later that year.

“After getting married, I had to move to the US, so I couldn’t continue producing or directing films. But now I’m back in film production and currently working on a couple of projects”, Reema told Geo News.

Responding to a question about why she never thought about signing, Reema said that she’s been working on that skill for some time now and recently recorded her first song which will be released soon from the platform of Kashmir Beats.

Talking about the current state of Lollywood, Reema said that at the moment, all the industries in Pakistan are running on a self-help basis and the film industry is no exception to that.

"Currently everyone in the film industry puts all of their efforts to perform well in their respective fields and in her opinion to name any single person will be very unfair to others," she said. 

She further said that the key to her success in her opinion is humbleness and she is specially blessed by Allah that whenever she does something with Allah’s help, it becomes successful.

Local businessman and one of the organisers of the event Zahid Bhatti told Geo News that every year, he supports a different project of SKMCH as he has been working with the hospital for the last 15 years.

“This affiliation is for personal reasons as me and my partner Abdullah Mushtaq’s mother both suffered from Cancer. Whenever we go to Pakistan and visit the hospital, we see how the patients are treated and what facilities they are provided with.

"Without any class distinction among the patients every single one of them is treated equally”, said Zahid Bhatti — who is also CEO of a local charity Feedo Needo.

President of PTI-West Midlands Abdullah Mushtaq said that it is unfortunate that Cancer is spreading fast and this disease has become a household name and people from every other house are affected by it.

“We appeal to each and everyone to support SKMCH. The facilities provided to the patients by this hospital are not less than international standards. In fact, this has become such a prestigious institution that every Pakistani feels proud of it," said Mushtaq.

Robina Khan — who heads a local Pakistani women's organisation — said that she has been arranging events in cooperation with local organisations like Macmillan to raise awareness about Cancer but this is the first time she has collaborated with Imran Khan Cancer Appeal (IKCA).

“The response from attendees of this fundraiser has been phenomenal, 100% proceeds of this event will be donated to SKMCH," added Robina. 

Reema specially thanked “Creative Craft Media Agency” and its Director Mateen Sehrai, organisers Zahid Bhatti, Mushtaq and Robina for making the arrangements so that she could attend the fundraiser.

Acting medical director of SMKCH Dr Ahsun Waqar Khan informed the attendees of the event about the various ongoing and upcoming projects running under the hospital in detail.  

A documentary about SKMCH and a special message of PM Imran Khan urging overseas Pakistanis to donate to IKCA was also screened.