Bilal Abbas Khan

Bilal Abbas Khan was born on 4 June 1993 into a Pathan family in Karachi, Sindh.^[7] His father, Sohail Abbas, is a civil servant, who earlier served as a DSP in the Sindh Police, and is presently serving as Exercise and Taxation Officer in the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department of Sindh, and his mother, Farhana Sohail, is a fashion designer.^[8] He has two brothers, one elder and one younger, and an elder sister.

Raised in Karachi, where he received his early education, he was later on sent to a boarding school, Lawrence College in Murree, where he took part in theater plays, which inspired a desire in him to pursue a career in acting.^[9] He later joined the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology in Karachi to study marketing, and graduated in 2015.^[10][11]

Khan formally studied acting at the National Academy of Performing Arts.^[12] Mainly inspired by Viola Spolin's "great focus on improvisation and improvisational techniques", Khan started his acting career in 2016 with commercial modelling and later auditioned for television roles.^[12]

Khan made his acting debut with a minor role in the 2016 soap opera Khushaal Susral, and subsequently received praise for his role as a second lead opposite Sonia Mishal in the social drama Dumpukht - Aatish-e-Ishq in the same year. He then played a supporting role in the Hum TV's religious drama Saya-e-Dewar Bhi Nahi, alongside an ensemble cast of Naveen Waqar, Ahsan Khan and Emmad Irfani. Directed by Shahzad Kashmiri, he played a spoiled brat who hated his parents for neglecting and abandoning him.^[13]

Khan received wide recognition for playing a man betrayed by his elder brother (played by Sami Khan) by marrying his love interest (played by Armeena Khan) in the romantic drama Rasm E Duniya, that aired on ARY Digital in 2017. His next role was that of a murdered victim in the courtroom drama Saanp Seerhi. The series was based on the novel of the same name, written by Umera Ahmed, and also starred Samina Peerzada and Madiha Imam, who played his mother and love interest respectively. His breakout role came with the romantic comedy drama O Rangreza (2017), in which he starred as an introvert, raised by his strict uncle (Noman Ijaz), who falls in love with his daughter (Sajal Aly).^[14] Mahwash Ajaz of Samaa wrote that Khan portrayed his character without "being repetitive" and that he is the "master of [his] craft".^[15] The series topped the rating upon its airing and earned him further recognition, as well as the Hum Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.^[16][17]

Further popularity came with the role of a family-oriented guy married to a selfish wife (played by Ushna Shah) in the thriller Balaa (2018), which earned him the ARY Media Awards for Best Actor and a Lux Style Award for Best Television Actor nomination.^[18] Daily Times called him the "master performer of this age", and ARY News said that "Bilal continues to go from strength to strength" and labeled him as an "amazing actor".^[19][20][21]

The 2019 crime drama Cheekh, was one of the most successful and acclaimed dramas of 2019.^[22] His role of an antagonist opposite Saba Qamar, was well-received by the critics as well as by the public, establishing Khan as a leading actor in Urdu television.^[23] Daily Times stated that Khan is "scary as the coldblooded murderer", while Mangobaaz labelled him as "a modern day masterpiece".^[9][24] At the annual Lux Style Awards, he received another Best Television Actor nomination.^[25] He next starred as a Naval officer in the patriotic military-based telefilm Laal, which was aired on television on the occasion of Pakistan Day.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Khan began 2020 with the role of a dumb but mathematics genius in the comedy drama Pyar Ke Sadqay, opposite Yumna Zaidi.^[30] The series as well as his performance was widely praised by the public and the critics.^[6] The Nation said that Khan has raised the "bar high" for his performance in the series.^[3] His next appearance was opposite Madiha Imam in Mehreen Jabbar's social comedy web-series Aik Jhooti Love Story, as a computer hardware technician who unknowingly romances his neighbour through an online profile with a fake persona.^[31] The web-series, written by Umera Ahmed, was streamed on the Indian video on demand service, called Zee5.^[32] Critical opinion on his acting prowess was overwhelming; critic Maliha Rehman of Dawn wrote, "Bilal has been proving his acting brilliance for some time now, completely personifying every character that he plays. In Aik Jhooti Love Story, he transforms completely into Sohail, bringing an earthy, very real sweetness to his role.^[33][34] Khan concluded the year with the #MeToo movement-based thriller series Dunk, where he played the hot-headed love interest of Sana Javed's character, alongside her, Noman Ijaz, and Yasra Rizvi.^[35][36] Khan described his character as "a very realistic one. Haider is an honest guy who stands with the truth and fights for what is right."^[37] Based on a real-life story of a family in Sargodha, Dunk generated controversy when its producer, Fahad Mustafa, stated against the sexual harassment cases, citing that many of the men are falsely accused.^[38] Muna Moini of Something Haute found the series to be "a multi-layered drama full of powerful performances."^[39][40][41]

In 2021, he played the lead in his second film, the historical drama Khel Khel Mein, opposite Sajal Aly and directed by Nabeel Qureshi.^[42][43] It received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. The same year, he starred as Maahir in Dobaara opposite Hadiqa Kiani. After a year gap, in 2023, he was seen playing a realtor Salman in the light-hearted comedy drama Kuch Ankahi, opposite Sajal Aly.^[44] Comparing it with the most viewed Pakistani serials of 2023, Aurora praised its writing, themes and acting performances.^[45] In the year-ender list by Dawn Images, the reviewer praised the performances of the actors and the subtle messaging in the series.^[46]

Later in 2024, Khan appeared in the Hum TV's romantic drama Ishq Murshid, opposite Durefishan Saleem. The series received mixed reviews from the critics, but Khan was widely praised by the audiences and the critics in Pakistan and India.^[47] The Reviewer praised Khan's transition between two characters and called it as "effortless", with the character of female protagonist as "clichéd and forgettable".^[48] Ishq Murshid went on to become of the most watched Pakistani serials of 2024, achieving a TRP rating of 22.3, the highest for the network.^[49] Khan then appeared in India’s Zee Zindagi series Abdullahpur Ka Devdas opposite Sarah Khan.^[50] His final appearance of the year was in the miniseries Mann Jogi, which dealt with the exploitation of the Islamic practice of Nikah Halala by individuals for personal gain.^[51] Gaitee Ara Siddiqi of The News International called Khan "brilliant" in the series."^[52]

In December 2020, Khan was selected by the UK magazine Eastern Eye as one of the "Top 50 Asian celebrities", along with four other Pakistani celebrities, and was labelled as the "fastest rising acting star in Pakistan" by the magazine.^[53][54]

In 2021, Eastern Eye featured him in its list of "30 under 30 Global Asian Stars", along with four other Pakistani celebrities.^[55]