# Farhan Saeed

Farhan Saeed (born 14 September 1984) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. Saeed is the former lead vocalist of the Pakistani band Jal and owns the Cafe Rock restaurant in Lahore. He sings in Urdu and Punjabi. He made his acting debut with the drama De Ijazat Jo Tu (2014).
Saeed had his breakthrough with Udaari, for which he received the Hum Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. He earned wider recognition with his portrayals in Suno Chanda (2018), Suno Chanda 2 (2019) and Mere Humsafar (2021-22). The former won him Hum Award for Best Actor Popular. Saeed made his film debut with Tich Button (2022).

## Early life and career

Farhan Saeed was born into a Punjabi Kashmiri family. Both his parents are practicing doctors. A music fan from the very start, he used to listen to Vital Signs and Junoon and centred his music around pop, and at times folk. In his teens, he took A-level from the Keynesian Institute of Management and Sciences (KIMS) and then enrolled in Computer Science at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, after which he discovered his future band members Atif Aslam and Goher Mumtaz. The band took off and became famous across Asia.
In 2011, reports broke out that he had parted his ways from Jal, which left his fans stunned. He pursued a solo career and became regular to feature in Bollywood. Saeed opened Cafe Rock restaurant at Hussain Chowk, situated off the M. M. Alam Road, Gulberg, Lahore. His restaurant's theme is in a similar vein to that of the Hard Rock Cafes, providing underground bands and young aspiring artists with a platform to project themselves and perform in front of an audience.

## Music career
### Jal the band

Saeed first rose to prominence when he joined the Lahore-based pop rock band Jal, at the age of 17, as a vocalist.
Saeed replaced Atif Aslam in 2003, who quit because of musical differences with Jal's founding member Goher Mumtaz.

### Solo music career

In September 2011, in an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Saeed shocked the fans claiming that he had left Jal to pursue a solo career despite Goher Mumtaz offering him to continue his solo career while being a part of Jal. On 8 September 2011, Saeed's departure was confirmed by Jal's guitarist Goher Mumtaz who wished him luck for his solo career. He did a collaboration with Aima Baig, Adnan Qazi and Bilal Saeed for his super hit song "Na cher malangaan nu". His recent song was with Hania Aamir for Asim Jofa that was directed by Qasim Ali Mureed.
He made his Bollywood-singing breakthrough in 2014, by contributing a song to Vikram Bhatt's Creature 3D. The song, Naam-e-Wafa, is a romantic-duet with Indian vocalist Tulsi Kumar as the co-singer and Mithoon as the composer.

## Acting career

Saeed started his acting career by debuting in a leading role in the 2014 Hum TV drama serial De Ijazat Jo Tu alongside Sohai Ali Abro, Saba Hameed and Javaid Sheikh. He then played the lead role as Mohid Shuja in ARY Digital's Mere Ajnabi alongside Urwa Hocane who was the female lead. He has also played the lead role of Arsh in the drama Udaari as a lawyer along with female lead Urwa. Apart from acting in the drama, Saeed has also collaborated with Hadiqa Kiani for the OST that has topped music charts all over Pakistan.
In 2016, he also played the lead role again in ARY Digital's Teri Chah Mein, alongside Maria Wasti and Saboor Ali, and Hum TV's Sila alongside Ainy Jaffri.
In 2018 he grabbed the leading role of Arsal Jamshed Ali (Arsal) in Hum TV's critically and commercially superhit drama serial Suno Chanda, with Iqra Aziz as the leading female role, and due to the critical success of the show, a season 2 was immediately announced by the producers. He reprised his role as Arsal Jamshed Ali in the second installment of Suno Chanda alongside Iqra Aziz in 2019. The season was also a hit and a critical success.
He had the leading role in Karachi Se Lahore 3 with Kubra Khan as co-star, the third installment of Wajahat Rauf's successful series including the box-office hits Karachi Se Lahore and Lahore Se Aagey which would have been his feature film debut, but he had to quit the project because of music tours and concerts he was already committed to.
In early 2019 it was announced that he'll get his first lead role in a movie in Tich Button, a rom-com co-produced by his wife Urwa Hocane under their joint new production company Shooting Star Studio. After some delay, the movie was eventually released in 2022.

## Other work
### Director

He turned to direction with the 2018 music video of O Jaana from the singer-songwriter Hamza Malik, starring actress Iqra Aziz and featuring musicians Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sahir Ali Bagga.

## Personal life

Saeed married Urwa Hocane on 16 December 2016, in Lahore, Pakistan. On 6 October 2023, Saeed and Hocane announced their pregnancy through social media. On 3 January 2024, the couple had their first child, a daughter, who was named Jahan Aara Saeed.

## Discography
### Film songs

* All films are Pakistani except where noted
| Year | Film | Song | Music | Lyrics | Co-singer(s) | Note |
| 2012 | Dil Tainu Karda Ae Pyar | "Kyun Gayee" | Jaidev Kumar | Kumaar | | Punjabi film |
| 2012 | Qasam Se Qasam Se | "Meethi Yaadein" | Sayanti-Shailendra | Shailendra Kumar | | Hindi film, as member of Jal |
| 2014 | Creature 3D | "Naam-e-Wafa" | Mithoon | Mithoon | Tulsi Kumar | Hindi film |
| 2014 | Main Aur Mr. Riight | "Bhool Na Jaana" | Astiva Band | Astiva Band | | Hindi film |
| 2017 | Punjab Nahi Jaungi | "Rab Rakha" | Ali Mustafa | Himself | | |
| 2017 | Half Girlfriend | "Thodi Der" | Himself | Kumaar | Shreya Ghoshal | Hindi film |
| 2018 | Parwaaz Hai Junoon | "Musafir" | Azaan Sami Khan | Shakeel Sohail | Zenab Fatimah Sultan | |
| 2023 | Tich Button | "Ehsaan Hai Tumhara" | Adrian David Emmanuel | Shakeel Sohail | Jonita Gandhi | |

### TV series songs

| Year | Serial | Song | Music | Lyrics | Co-singer(s) |
| 2014 | De Ijazat Jo Tu | "De Ijazat Jo Tu" | Sohail Haider | Sohail Haider | |
| 2016 | Teri Chah Mein | "Teri Chah Mein" | Sohail Haider | Samina Ejaz | |
| 2017 | Mere Ajnabi | "Mere Ajnabi" | Adrian David Emmanuel | Adrian David Emmanuel | |
| 2018 | Suno Chanda | "Suno Chanda" | Naveed Nashad | Aehsun Talish | |
| 2018 | Aangan | "Haari Haari" | Naveed Nashad | Imran Raza | Naveed Nashad |
| 2019 | Suno Chanda 2 | "Suno Chanda" | Naveed Nashad | Aehsun Talish | Damia Farooq, Rimsha Khan |
| 2020 | Prem Gali | "Prem Gali" | Adrian David Emmanuel | Shakeel Sohail, Ahmad Farad | Nish Asher |
| 2023 | Jhok Sarkar | "Meri Matti" | Adrian David Emmanuel | Sibtain Khalid | |

### Non-film songs
#### Albums

| Year | Title | Note |
| 2004 | Aadat | as member of Jal |
| 2007 | Boondh | as member of Jal |

#### Singles

| Year | Song | Album/Single | Notes |
| 2011 | Khuwahishon | | Single |
| 2011 | Ik Arzu | | Single |
| 2012 | Pi Jaon | | co-singer Momina Mustehsan; Nominated – Lux Style Awards for Best Song of the Year |
| 2013 | Tu Thori Dair(Original Punjabi Version) | | Single |
| 2013 | Halka Halka Suroor | | |
| 2014 | Roiyaan | | Lux Style Awards for Best Song of the Year, Hum Awards for Best Music Single |
| 2015 | Sajna | | Single |
| 2016 | Saathiya | | Single |
| 2016 | Ji Jaun | | Single |
| 2016 | Sajna Ve Sajna | Udaari | co-singer Hadiqa Kiani |
| 2016 | Jab Se Miley Tum | Udaari | co-singer Maryam Fatima |
| 2016 | Bol Ke Lab | Udaari | co-singer Hadiqa Kiani |
| 2016 | Koi Rokay Na Mujhe | | Nominated-Hum Award for best music video |
| 2017 | Dekh Tera Kya/Latthay Di Chaadar | Coke Studio 10 | |
| 2018 | Dil Hua Panchi | | Single |
| 2018 | Maula | | collaboration with Rishi Rich |
| 2020 | Baliyay | In The Box by Saad Sultan | Single |
| 2021 | Pyaar Sufiyana Ft. Hania Amir | | For "Asim Jofa" |
| 2021 | Na Cher Malangaan Nu | | co-singer Aima Baig |
| 2022 | Khush Bichar Ker | Kashmir Beats S2 | |
| 2022 | Naukar Shah Da | Kashmir Beats S2 | co-singer Shuja Haider |
| 2022 | Kadi Kadi | | Single |

### Music video director

| Year | Song | Singers | Company |
| 2018 | O Jaana | Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Hamza Mallik | Zee Music |

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2017 | Punjab Nahi Jaungi | Himself | Special appearance in song "Rab Rakha" | |
| 2022 | Tich Button | Kaka Saab | | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Daay Ijazat Jo Tu | Sarmad | |
| 2015 | Mere Ajnabi | Mohid Shuja | |
| 2016 | Udaari | Taimoor Arshad "Arsh" | |
| 2016-2017 | Sila | Taimoor Ahsan | |
| 2016-2017 | Teri Chah Mein | Faisal Khan | |
| 2018 | Suno Chanda | Arsalan "Arsal" Jamshed Ali | Also playback singer for title song |
| 2019 | Suno Chanda 2 | Arsalan "Arsal" Jamshed Ali | Also playback singer for title song |
| 2020–2021 | Prem Gali | Hamza Hatim | Also playback singer for title song |
| 2021-2022 | Mere Humsafar | Hamza Raees Ahmed | |
| 2022 | Badshah Begum | Pir Shahzaib | |
| 2022-2023 | Meri Shehzadi | Dr. Hasan | Special appearance |
| 2023 | Jhok Sarkar | Arsalan | |
| 2024-present | Kaisi Hai Ye Ruswai | Baaris | |

### Telefilms

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2017 | Pyar Ki Love Story | Haadi |
| 2018 | Iss Dil Ki Essi Ki Tessi | Azhar |
| 2020 | Luv Di Suan | |
| 2021 | Love Vaccine | Nadeem |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2013 | Lux Style Awards | Best Song of the Year | "Pi Jaun" | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hum Awards | Best Solo Artist | "Kyun Gae" | Nominated |
| 2015 | Lux Style Awards | Best Song of the Year | "Roiyaan" | Won |
| 2015 | Hum Awards | Best Music Single | "Roiyaan" | Won |
| 2017 | Hum Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Udaari | Nominated |
| 2017 | Hum Awards | Best Onscreen Couple (with Urwa Hocane) | Udaari | Won |
| 2017 | Hum Awards | Best Onscreen Couple Popular (with Urwa Hocane) | Udaari | Nominated |
| 2017 | Hum Awards | Best Music Single | "Koi Ruke Mujhay" | Nominated |
| 2017 | International Pakistan Prestige Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Udaari | Nominated |
| 2017 | International Pakistan Prestige Awards | Best Onscreen Couple (with Urwa Hocane) | Udaari | Won |
| 2018 | Zee Cine Awards | Best Music Director | Half Girlfriend | Nominated |
| 2019 | Lux Style Awards | Best Original Sound Track | Aangan | Nominated |
| 2019 | Hum Awards | Best Actor | Suno Chanda | Nominated |
| 2019 | Hum Awards | Best Onscreen Couple (with Iqra Aziz) | Suno Chanda | Won |
| 2019 | Hum Awards | Best Actor Popular | Suno Chanda | Won |
| 2019 | Hum Awards | Best Onscreen Couple Popular (with Iqra Aziz) | Suno Chanda | Won |
| 2019 | International Pakistan Prestige Awards | Best Actor – Jury | Suno Chanda | Won |
| 2019 | International Pakistan Prestige Awards | Best Actor – Viewer's choice | Suno Chanda | Nominated |
| 2019 | International Pakistan Prestige Awards | Best Onscreen Couple (with Iqra Aziz) | Suno Chanda | Won |
| 2019 | Pakistan International Screen Awards | Best Television Actor | Suno Chanda | Nominated |
| 2019 | Pakistan International Screen Awards | Best Original Soundtrack | Suno Chanda | Nominated |
| 2021 | ARY People's Choice Awards | Favourite Actor | Prem Gali | Nominated |
| 2021 | ARY People's Choice Awards | Favourite Actor in a role of Damad | Prem Gali | Nominated |
| 2021 | ARY People's Choice Awards | Favourite Jodi (with Sohai Ali Abro) | Prem Gali | Won |
| 2023 | Lux Style Awards | Best TV Actor | Mere Humsafar | Nominated |
| 2023 | Lux Style Awards | Best TV Actor – Critics' Choice | Mere Humsafar | Nominated |
| 2024 | Hum Awards | Best Actor Popular | Badshah Begum | Nominated |
| 2024 | Hum Awards | Best Actor Popular | Jhok Sarkar | Nominated |
| 2024 | Hum Awards | Best Onscreen Couple Popular (with Hiba Bukhari) | Jhok Sarkar | Nominated |