Imran Shirvanee

Imran Shirvanee is a veteran theater, Radio, TV and film actor, writer, and director. He was born Imran Ahmed Khan Shirvanee to a journalist father Afzal Ahmed Khan and a primary school teacher mother Mehnaz Afzal. He started his media career as a child artiste when in 1973 he started appearing in Radio Pakistan's programs as a voice actor. In 1974, he wrote a small Radio play called Munnay Mia Nay Roza Rakha (The Fasting of Munnay Mia). Next year, he also wrote a sequel to this play. Both plays went on air in the children's program of Radio Pakistan. Shirvanee started his journalism career very young when he was encouraged to write profiles of his fellow child artistes for Urdu language newspaper Jang. He later went on to become English language journalist for DAWN, The News, Mag, Muslim, and other newspapers and magazines. His journalism career took him to television when he started working for GeoTV of Pakistan as producer. He produced and hosted a street reality show called "Hum Awaam" (We the people) which brought him instant celebrity status. But later, after working for several other TV channels (ARY, Express, AajTV etc) he could not find job in any TV channel or newspaper. Throughout this career, he continued to write, direct, produce, and at times act in theater plays. His play Salma Nay Bhi Yehi Kya Tha (This is what Salma did too) has been widely acclaimed by audiences in home country where it has been staged in National Drama Festival 1994 in Islamabad apart from various performances in Karachi. So far, he has written over two dozen plays, and directed as many, apart from appearing in over a dozen theater plays on amateur stage. Due to his passion with theater, he was offered also various acting roles on television. His various acting assignments on television include TV films Raqeeb (1994) and Socha Tha Pyar Na Karaingay (2002). He turned to teaching in 2010 when he became a trainer and part-time teacher of media studies for various universities. This opened his possibilities to act in student movies first of them being Vasl kay phool by Asad Faruqi. After acting in one of such student movies, he was offered a small role in a major movie, "Chupan Chupai." This prompted him to take up his acting career seriously. He then signed a TV serial for Cinematic Media company called "Arzu." This was later released in 2019 by Express Entertainment TV rechristened as "Beparwah." He has acted in over 400 Radio plays apart from his theater and screen work. His recent stage plays include Qorma Biryani (a play he had written for children) and Yeh Bacha Kis Ka Bacha Hai (whose is this child) both staged in 2024 at the National Academy of Performing Arts-NAPA, Karachi.