LAHORE: After conquering television and film screens, actress Hania Aamir has stepped into music, releasing her first song as a singer, “Pablo” — a Punjabi hip-hop track she has written and composed herself.
The song also features a surprise appearance by Indian actress and television personality Rakhi Sawant.
What sets “Pablo” apart from the usual actor-turned-singer novelty is the level of Hania’s involvement. Rather than lending her voice to a track created by others, she wrote the lyrics and composed the music herself, making the song a personal creative statement as much as a debut.
The choice of genre is also telling. Punjabi hip-hop is one of the most commercially successful sounds in South Asian music today, with a huge following in Pakistan, India and the diaspora in the UK, Canada and the Gulf. Its blend of Punjabi lyrics, rap delivery and heavy beats has made it a staple of streaming playlists and social media reels.
The appearance of Rakhi Sawant adds an unexpected twist. Known to Indian audiences for her dance numbers, reality television appearances — including Bigg Boss — and her flair for headline-grabbing moments, Rakhi brings instant recognition across the border. Her cameo is likely to widen the song’s reach among Indian viewers and fuel conversation on social media.
Hania made her screen debut in the 2016 film Janaan and followed it with Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018). On television she rose to the top rank of Pakistani drama stars with serials such as Ishqiya, Mere Humsafar and Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, the last of which became one of the most-watched Pakistani dramas of recent years. She also starred opposite Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh in Sardaar Ji 3 (2025), which was released in overseas markets.
Alongside her acting, Hania has built one of the largest social media followings among Pakistani celebrities, often sharing playful clips of herself singing, dancing and lip-syncing — content that hinted at her musical interests long before “Pablo”.
In Pakistan, the traffic between music and acting has usually flowed the other way, with singers such as Ali Zafar and Farhan Saeed moving from music into acting. Hania’s move reverses that path, and her ability to sustain a music career will depend on whether audiences embrace her as a musician rather than as a star trying something new.
The timing is favourable. Pakistani music is enjoying fresh global attention, with Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s “Pasoori” becoming the first Pakistani music video to cross one billion YouTube views, proving that songs from Pakistan can find massive audiences worldwide.
Celebrity-led music releases have also become a growing trend across South Asia, where an established star’s fan base can give a new song an audience from its first day. The challenge for such projects is usually longevity: listeners may press play out of curiosity, but they keep returning only if the music itself holds up.
It remains to be seen whether “Pablo” is a one-off experiment or the start of a parallel music career. Either way, the song adds a new dimension to one of Pakistan’s most visible entertainment careers — and with her own words and her own tune, Hania has made clear that she wants to be heard as well as seen.
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