Mallika Sherawat being considered to lead Indian Begum Nawazish Ali biopic

Do you remember Begum Nawazish Ali? If you don’t know who that is, you’re about to find out — a biopic based on the life of Pakistani television personality Ali Saleem and his alter-ego (the begum) is in the works across the border.

The CEO of streaming app EORTV, Deepak Pandey, announced the movie and showed an interest in casting Bollywood actor Mallika Sherawat to play the part, according to IANS. “This is a strong story, a story of boldness and courage. The character is multifaceted and needed someone as courageous and undaunted as the begum herself,” he said, adding that he is planning on approaching Sherawat for the role “as she would be apt for a fearless performance like this”.

Pandey spoke about the impact such stories generate. “This is going to be [the] story of an unapologetically fearless man who’s leading a life of his own choice in spite of living in a politically warm environment,” he shared.

The CEO said that Begum Nawazish Ali’s background and childhood may be interesting but the journey he makes in the due course of his life is even more interesting. “He has interviewed the who’s who from business, politics [and] entertainment with gusto. He has courted satire and controversy [yet] managed to make a place in the hearts of the common man. His life will make for very compelling content on screen,” he said.

Saleem had been hosting as Begum Nawazish Ali on and off since 2005. After many years of a good reception, he felt it become tedious and monotonous so he decided to shed the alter-ego altogether. He took on a new show, The Late Late Show with Ali Saleem, where he showed up as himself.

Begum Nawazish Ali was revived once again in 2019. Saleem had told Images at the time about a web series being on the way that was supposed to feature the Mor Mahal actor in his most famous avatar, hosting one-on-one interviews with the celebs such as Meera, Humayun Saeed, Mehwish Hayat, Azfar, Sadaf Kanwal and Zahid Ahmed.