Umera Ahmad

Umera Ahmed is a prominent Pakistani writer, author and screenwriter. She remains one of the most widely read Urdu fiction novelists and screenplay writers of this era.

Early life and education

Umera Ahmed was born on 10 December 1976 in Sialkot. She began her writing journey at an early age by contributing stories to monthly Urdu Digest magazines.

Career

Ahmed started her professional writing career in 1998 when she published stories in monthly Urdu magazines. Her first story for a digest magazine was Zindagi Gulzar Hai, which she wrote when she was 21 years old. This specific story captured significant reader interest and led to the publication of a full-length novel. The work was later serialized into a popular drama in 2012 that featured Sanam Saeed and Fawad Khan. In an interview, Ahmed stated that the lead female character, Kashaf, is based on her own character.

She has written more than 35 books throughout her career. These works include various novels and compilations of short stories. Some of her most famous titles are Pir-e-Kamil, Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan and Amarbail. Her writing often focuses on men-women relationships or societal pressures. She frequently depicts women as the central theme in her narratives.

Many of her books have been translated into English and Arabic languages. Juggernaut books has also translated her works into Hindi. Over 22 of her books have been converted into drama series for television. Her novel Alif, published in 2019, was dramatized into a popular series starring Hamza Ali Abbassi, Sajal Aly and Kubra Khan.

Ahmed also explores themes of religion and spirituality through her prose. She wrote the novel Pir-e-Kamil in 2004 and Shehr-e-Zaat in 2012. These stories focus heavily on spiritual elements. Her novel Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan was also adapted into a drama that aired in India under the name Kesi Yeh Qayamat in 2014.

As a screenwriter, she has produced various stories specifically for movies and dramas. She collaborated with director Mehreen Jabbar to create several popular drama serials. This partnership resulted in the web-series Aik Jhooti Love Story, which was released on 30 October 2020 via the ZEE5 platform. The comedy stars Billal Abbas Khan and Madiha Imam.

Ahmed wrote the screenplay for Baaghi, a project based on the late model Qandeel Baloch that starred Saba Qamar. She has also worked on projects for Netflix. Her recent work involves a thriller series about cyberbullying that follows a female detective investigating a crime. She noted in an interview that this project comes from her heart because she has seen how trolling destroys lives.

In 2023, she collaborated with Sara Qayyum to write the drama Tumhare Husn ke Naam. This production was inspired by Hakeem Nayyar Wasty's 1930 novel Akhtar aur Salma. The drama features Saba Qamar and Imran Abbas in lead roles.

In 2016, she established Alif Kitab to support new writers. This digital platform allows budding authors to share their work and monetize it. It provides editorial guidance through interactions with experts and allows users to submit writings to production houses.

Awards and recognition

Ahmed won the Best Writer award at the tenth Lux Style Awards for her novel Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan. She received the Best Writer of the Year award for the drama serial Zindagi Gulzar Hai at the 2014 Pakistan Media Awards. That same year, she won the Hum Award for Best Writer Drama Serial for the same production.