Politics Is My Passion But Showbiz Is The Business, Says Salman Sheikh

The Artist-cum-politician, whose wife Hira Mani is also a Lollywood star and social activist, says PPP has destroyed Karachi and Sindh instead of delivering during its years’ long rule, claiming that Mustafa Kamal  is the better leader than Prime Minister Imran Khan to solve the problems of the metropolitan city.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-June 2^nd, 2021) A well-known artist and Political leader Salman Sheikh aka Mani has said that joining PTI was a mistake in his political career.

In an interview conducted by journalist Imran Aslam, Salman Shiekh who is husband of known Lollywood star Hira Mani says he did a lot of work for ruling PTI but couldn’t get any positive response from it.

“I did a lot of work for the PTI but they didn’t give any positive response after which I stepped away and left the party,” said Mani who later joined Pakistan Sarzameen Party (PSP).

He is of the view that MQM leaders will flee the country as soon as the term of the term of the government ends.

He argues, “Mustafa Kamal is better than Imran Khan to solve Karachi's problems; Imran Khan could not deliver in Karachi. The way Israel oppressed the Palestinians, PPP has dealth with Sindh and Karachi the same way. Karachi can only come forward under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal. Karachi is the highest tax paying city in the country,”.

Mani is not only doing politics and busy in showbiz but does lot of social welfare activities to help the people during these difficult times of Covid-19.

“The lockdown means no work opportunities for daily wage earners as they are all forced to sit at home and quarantine,” says the actor, adding that like many others they also started off with ration drives to help the needy.

“We did what we could do during these challenging times by putting our efforts and money both for help of the needy people,” he says, adding that serving the humanity was our aim.

He says that they posted the charity work on social media, because it motivated others and labeled as “trending”.

“We spread all our efforts on social media but many are there who troll us and terms our work as cheap publicity stunt,” he explains, contending that when celebrities flaunt their wardrobes, their cars, their dogs or their homes, it's trendy, tasteful, cute and stylish. But when they try to do something good, so others can follow the suit or join their drive, it's suddenly called cheap publicity!!!.

Mani says, “During lockdown when we saw the plight of the starving daily wage worker, Hira and I started a small donations drive at our place with the funds we had and put it up on Instagram,”.

He remembers the backlash of the charity work they did and the situation they went through.

“You know—there was a backlash and we couldn’t understand it, because we have put up pictures on Instagram so whoever knew anyone deserving could contact us and refer that needy family. However, just after a week we started running out of funds and appealed to others to join our drive. We encouraged fans to start similar donations in their areas because our reach was limited. Moreover Hira launched a ‘Hira Mani Fundraiser’ campaign during that time,”.

Recalling his journey of showbiz industry, Salman Shiekh Aka Mani says he started his acting career with the comedy serial ‘Sub Set Hai’. The serial became a huge hit and it earned huge fame for Mani. After that Mani worked in many comedy serials. His comedy plays are Meri Teri Kahani, Mr. Shamim, Kollege Jeans. Mani is also one of the famous RJs of Pakistan, his debut for Radio was in 2003 on FM96.Salman Saqib Sheikh was married to Hira Salmani in 2008 who is also a famous tv actress and host.

His initial interest grew after his minor appearance in a theatre with a theatre group Katha stars sania saeed and Nadia Jamil. He started his career in television as a junior anchor and host before becoming an actor. He wrote scripts for Fakhar-e-Alam's show Boom Boom Bastic aired on ptv. In 2001, He started the trend of road shows in Pakistan and hosted the first ever Road Show in Pakistan Television's history called Streets, aired on Indus Vision in which he conducts the show by asking issue based questions to general public of Pakistan. He also produced sitcoms Zerooos and Khala Surayya aired on Geo TV.

Mani has also worked with Pakistani movies which are ‘Money Back Guarantee’ ,Ishrat: Made in China’s, Lafangey and other also

Where as Hira Mani calling herself to lucky girl after marry with Mani, Hira Mani is one of the most popular actress in Drama industry, While talking to Samina Peerzada in her web show ‘Speak Your Heart with Samina Peerzada’, Hira spoke about her two broken engagements before she finally married Mani.

Praising her husband, she said that he is the one who changed her entire life and fulfilled her every dream.