Bilal Lashari

Early life and education

Bilal Lashari was born into a Baloch family. His father, Kamran Lashari, is a retired senior Pakistani bureaucrat who served as a Federal Secretary and did a lot in cultural preservation in Lahore, while his paternal grandfather was a landlord, lawyer and poet. His younger brother, Rohail Lashari, an MBA graduate from HEC Paris, was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Lahore-based band Jhol (2010-2015) and was "in charge" of the seventh season of Coke Studio Pakistan, while his other younger brother, Omar Lashari, is a Cornell-educated financial analyst.

Lashari grew up in Pakistan, attending local schools. He went to the United States of America for college, studying at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Motion Pictures and Television in 2008.

Career

After his return to Pakistan, Lashari first directed music videos and won 'Best Music Video Director' twice at the Lux Style Awards and ‘Best Pop Video’ at the MTV Pakistan Music Video Awards for "Sajni". He has also directed "Chal Bulleya" for Meekal Hassan Band. He has worked with artists and bands such as Abrarul Haq, Atif Aslam, Mekaal Hassan Band, Jal, and Entity Paradigm. He also directed the video "Chal Bulleya" for Meekal Hassan Band. In 2004, Lashari briefly worked as assistant director for Shoaib Mansoor during pre-production of Khuda Kay Liye in 2004.

Finally, in 2013, Lashari got his start on Waar. The film opened to positive reviews and was Pakistan's highest-anticipated film at that time. It was his feature directorial debut. His next project in 2022, The Legend of Maula Jatt opened to positive reviews and is considered to be Pakistan's biggest blockbuster and most expensive film. It is also the second Pakistani film to use the Red Epic W camera as it was previously used for Waar, which is mostly used for certain Hollywood films.

Filmography

Music videos

Velo Sound Station

Velo Sound Station is a Pakistani television programme and music show which features live studio-recorded music performances by veteran and emerging artists. The show is directed by Bilal Maqsood and Yasir Jaswal, former is also the executive producer of the show. The first episode of Velo Sound Station aired on 20 November 2020.

Bilal Lashahri Music Producers & Program Director Season 3 (2025)

Featured Artist season 3 - Atif Aslam & Fawad khan

Awards and nominations

ARY Film Awards

Hum Awards

Lux Style Award

References

Citations

General and cited references

References

1. "How much business will the Legend of Maula Jatt do? - Bilal Lashari's big claim - Geo News".
2. (9 January 2014). "Bilal Lashari dips his hands in films". DAWN.com.
3. Rafay Mahmood. (23 November 2013). "It's official, Waar is the highest grossing Pakistani film of all time". The Express Tribune.
4. Rafay Mahmood. (14 December 2013). "Bilal Lashari's next project: A multi-million dollar remake of Maula Jatt". The Express Tribune.
5. Saira Agha. (30 April 2014). "'Waar' dominates ARY Film Awards with 13 major wins". Daily Times.
6. (24 March 2024). "Eminent Filmmaker Bilal Lashari Honoured With Sitara-i-Imtiaz". [[The Friday Times]].
7. [https://insidelahore.com/kamran-man-who-kept-culture-alive/ Kamran Lashari, The man who kept our Culture Alive]
8. Rohail Lashari (18 January 2018), [https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/62639/i-wanted-to-earn-the-lashari-surname-and-studying-abroad-in-hec-paris-helped-me-achieve-just-that/ "I wanted to earn the ‘Lashari’ surname, and studying abroad in HEC Paris helped me achieve just that!"], ''[[The Express Tribune]]''. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
9. (9 December 2015). "Bringing Pakistan's Film Style to the World Stage - Academy of Art University". [[Academy of Art University]].
10. "Overload - Dhamaal (Music Video)".
11. "Jal - Sajni".
12. "Kinara - Atif Aslam".
13. "Atif Aslam - Hungami Halaat Video (High Quality)".
14. "Mekaal Hasan Band - Chal Bulleya (HQ Music Video)".
15. "EP (Entity Paradigm) - Shor Macha".