Savera Nadeem


Savera Nadeem is a Pakistani actress, producer, and director. Primarily known for her work on television; she also acted in theatre and films. Nadeem received a Lux Style Award for Best Television Actress and five nominations.

Early life

Savera Nadeem was born in 1974 to a Kashmiri family in Lahore. Her father, Shahid Nadeem, is a prominent journalist. She has a Masters in English Literature from Kinnaird College, Lahore, and studied directing at the National School of Drama, Delhi. Nadeem also has a background in classical music.

Career

Acting

Nadeem started acting when she was fifteen, with her first appearance in the drama Kiran, being broadcast in 1989. She subsequently had the lead role in Ayub Khawar's directed social-issue drama Inkaar. For her performance in the series, Nadeem won the PTV Award for Best Actress. In 1995, she played a gynecologist appointed in a small neighborhood in the dark comedy Janjal Pura.
In 2010, Nadeem appeared in the drama Diya Jalay as a wife caught in an abusive marriage. A reviewer from Dawn opinied that she "not only emotes well but looks smashing". Later that year, she portrayed a self-sacrificing housewife struggling emotionally in the drama Qaid-e-Tanhai. Nadeem won Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress for her performance at the 11th Lux Style Awards.
In 2012, Nadeem played titular role of the rigid and dictatorial Zubeida in the drama Bari Aapa. She was drawn to the project due to the character and the gripping dialogues. She then appeared in the drama Mera Yaqeen, portraying a bedridden, paralysed housewife grappling with her husband's romantic affair with her best friend. While reviewing the series for The Express Tribune, reviewer Altaf Hussain found that she "steals the scenes whenever she appears on screen".
In 2015, Nadeem played a caemo role in her second film, the biographical-drama Manto. Based on the life of eminent Urdu writer Saadat Hassan Manto, Nadeem portrayed a tanga puller, a character wrote by the writer himself in one his short story.
In 2022, Nadeem played the manipulative and sly matriarch in the mystery-thriller Wehem. Nadeem was agreed to the project due to the unique character traits. In 2023, she played a malevolent stepmother of the male protagonist in romance Jaan-e-Jahan. The performance received positive reviews from critics.

Producer and director

Nadeem's first job as director was on Kal, a telefilm starring Saba Qamar and Fawad Khan that aired on PTV and Geo TV in 2006. Subsequently, she directed thirteen episodes of Qurbaton Ke Silsilay, a drama broadcast on PTV.

Filmography

Films

Television

Web series

Talk Shows

Nadeem was the presenter of AAJ TV's morning show AAJ SUBH from 27 September 2010 to 16 September 2011.

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
TBAPTV AwardsBest Drama ActressInkaarWon

Lux Style Awards