Maria Wasti

Early years

Maria Wasti was born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. She spent her early years there before moving to Pakistan with her family. She is the niece of actors Rizwan Wasti and Tahira Wasti. Wasti's parents wanted her to be a doctor, but she preferred a career in entertainment. At the time, the only television network in the country was the state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation. It would be later in the 1990s that Network Television Marketing (NTM), the country's first privately owned channel, showcased content specifically targeted at the young generation, and Wasti became interested in acting.

First teleplay

In the mid-1990s, Wasti was approached by Bakhtiar Ahmed, the program manager of Pakistan Television Lahore Centre, to be cast in a play called Sarah Aur Ammara alongside Resham, a film actress. The teleplay highlighted a story about two sisters going through the turmoil of arranged marriages. She has since done over 50 serials and around the same number of assorted plays.

Acting as a career

Wasti recalls that her first experience in acting was because of her passion for art, but later her parents told her to pursue the career in a professional manner. After her first stunt, Wasti began receiving roles in various other plays in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad centers for Pakistan Television. She reminisces that people were skeptical when she stepped into acting, but once she proved herself, they started accepting her.

She considers Bano Qudsia and Kallo among her most memorable plays. In other equally applauded roles, she played a victim in Baadlon Par Basera, who is forcefully led into marriage with a man in the United States on the phone, and when she meets him for the first time, she realizes the man is older than the picture she saw him in.

Wasti is usually seen playing unglamorous roles involving sensitive issues regarding women in Pakistan. She has played roles depicting prominent women like Salma Murad and Bilquis Edhi. Wasti is known for being outspoken on various issues like women's rights, harassment, gender equality, and prejudice.

Recent ventures

Wasti has said that new Pakistani plays should portray issues of contemporary Pakistan. She names drugs and AIDS as being among the most sensitive. She also cites the reason for the decrease in the quality of drama serials as the lack of a supply of actors, actresses, writers, directors, and producers.

In view of these thoughts, Wasti opened a production house in 2002, where she has successfully produced several serials and a dozen of plays.

Television

Telefilm

• Kallo
• Parinda

Film

• Ramchand Pakistani, 2008 - Kamla
• Love Mein Ghum