Nabeel Qureshi (director)

Feature-film debut and early success

Qureshi made his feature-film directorial debut with the comedy thriller Na Maloom Afraad (2014), which he co-wrote with producer Fizza Ali Meerza.^[1] He said in a 2014 interview that he and Meerza developed the screenplay together because they wanted the film to be written specifically for cinema rather than adapted from television writing practices.^[1]

Na Maloom Afraad earned Rs. 110 million in two and a half months and received a special screening at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York.^[1] A review in Herald described the film as a light-hearted comedy that used colloquial humour and a Karachi setting to address urban violence and social disorder.^[2] At the 14th Lux Style Awards, Qureshi won Best Film Director for the film.

Qureshi and Meerza next collaborated on Actor in Law (2016), a social comedy starring Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat and Om Puri.^[3] The film became the highest-grossing Pakistani film of 2016.^[4] Qureshi and Meerza have described their working arrangement as a collaborative script-development process, with Meerza producing and Qureshi directing.^[4] At the 16th Lux Style Awards, Actor in Law won Best Film and Qureshi won Best Film Director.^[5]

Later 2010s work

Qureshi continued his collaboration with Meerza on Na Maloom Afraad 2 (2017) and Load Wedding (2018). Load Wedding, starring Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat, deals with wedding-related social pressure and the practice of dowry.^[6] Qureshi said that popular culture could play a role in social change, while reviews also noted the film's focus on the burden placed on women by wedding customs and dowry expectations.^[6][7]

2020s

In 2019, Qureshi and Meerza announced two films, Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad and Fatman. Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad was described as an action comedy about a police officer, while Fatman was described as an action comedy drama about an ordinary person who accidentally becomes a superhero.^[8] In March 2020, Qureshi said that pre-production on Fatman had been halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while post-production on Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad continued.^[9]

Qureshi directed Khel Khel Mein (2021), starring Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan. The film focuses on the events surrounding the 1971 fall of Dhaka through a youth-oriented drama-club narrative.^[10]

In 2023, Qureshi directed Jin Mahal, the horror-comedy segment of the anthology film Teri Meri Kahaniyaan.^[11] He then directed Na Baligh Afraad (2024), a comedy set in the 1990s and produced by Meerza.^[12]

Qureshi's film Zombeid, starring Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat, was set for release on Eidul Azha 2026. The film is a zombie thriller and was among the Pakistani films scheduled for cinemas on Eid day.^[13]

Films

Frequent collaborators

The following table lists actors who have appeared in three or more feature films directed by Qureshi.

More information FilmActor, Na Maloom Afraad (2014) ...

Frequent actor collaborations (3 or more feature films)

Film Actor	Na Maloom Afraad (2014)	Actor in Law (2016)	Na Maloom Afraad 2 (2017)	Load Wedding (2018)	Khel Khel Mein (2021)	Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad (2022)	Na Baligh Afraad (2024)	Zombeid (2026)	Total films
Fahad Mustafa					Does not appear				7
Mehwish Hayat			Does not appear		Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear		4
Javed Sheikh		Does not appear		Does not appear			Does not appear	Does not appear	4
Mohsin Abbas Haider		Does not appear			Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	3
Nayyar Ejaz				Does not appear	Does not appear		Does not appear	Does not appear	4
Saleem Mairaj				Does not appear	Does not appear			Does not appear	5
Irfan Motiwala			Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear			Does not appear	4
Ashhad Siddiqui				Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	Does not appear	3

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Television and music videos

Singles

• Khamosh Dono (2011)^[14]