Women got married at ages between 13 to 15 at the Malik household. Even as Veena was growing up, she saw both her elder sisters get married at 14. Veena decided that she would not give into a similar life. A time came when she realized that the only way to get her way was to become financially independent herself and as far as possible support the family in her limited means. Her father had retired from the services by this time and there was a money crunch at home. These were the circumstances under which the starlet in Veena Malik was born. She was in 9^th standard when her first TVC was aired. But Veena’s father never wholeheartedly approved of her profession then. This did not deter Veena. At the behest of one of her friends at that time Veena decided to try her hand at modeling and very soon bloomed into a TV star and a known face in Pakistan. All through this she never let her education suffer. Veena Malik passed her matriculation from F.G School in D.I.Khan. Her graduation was in Sociology, Psychology and Persian from F.G. College in Rawalpindi. The period 2000-2004 was a really trying time for Veena. She was making serious inroads into the modeling and advertisement world in Rawalpindi and on the side seeing to it that her education did not suffer at any cost.

She worked on a few projects at this time including having modeled and done commercials for Coca Cola, Sunsilk and Misfits, a teen apparel brand. She hosted a show called Prime Gupshup at this time, this was a children’s based TV show. She also acted in Mirch Masala, a television series during this time and soon enough Veena Malik was a household name in Pakistan.

Her debut in feature films happened as early as in 2002 when she starred in Tere Pyar Mein. The film was very well received and was a huge hit in Pakistan. Veena now entered the Pakistani film industry on a good note. She went on to do a supporting role in Javed Sheikh’s Yeh Dil Aapka Hua in the year 2002.

2004-2007

What many people do not know is that long before Bigg Boss happened and Veena was a rage across India, she starred in a Indo Pak production titled Pind Di Kudi in the year 2005.

It was in the year 2004 that Veena Malik moved to Lahore after her graduation and took up showbiz as her profession for good. Though she had a choice between choosing Psychology as a career path, the glitz glamour and recognition that the movie industry could offer to her was too lucrative for her to choose anything over it. Her first major release was in 2005 with Koi Tujh Sa Kahan and Mohabbatan Saachiyan. She also starred in a film called Waapsi which was a UAE production and this began giving her international recognition and visibility .  By now Veena was really big on Television, hosting two of the most popular shows of all times in Pakistan, Hum Sab Ummeed Se Hain and Miss Duniya which were political satires.

2010 onwards

The popular Indian news channel did a feature on Veena Malik’s political satire based TV shows and the soon the Indian media began to take notice of this fearless outspoken celebrity. In the year 2010 she was invited to be a part of Bigg Boss season 4. Though she refused in the beginning owing to her busy schedules back home, she finally agreed to do it as the format of the show and the particularly the challenges that the participants have to face evoked her interest. And thus, Veena Malik made a successful transition to Bollywood. Today she enjoys equal amounts of popularity in India if not more as in her home country. Her upcoming releases in India are Zindagi 50-50 where she plays the role of a sex worker and Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai. She will also be seen doing an item number in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. She also hosted a reality TV show titled Bigg Toss during the 2011 International Cricket World Cup

Awards and Honors

The Lux Style Award for the most Stylish Celebrity on the Red Carpet in the year 2007

Bolan award in the year 2007 for the best new face for the film Mohabbatan Saachiyan

CM’s appreciation letter for her work in the SOS Children Village in Pakistan

Controversies and Criticisms

Veena faced a lot of ire after her appearance on an Indian Reality TV show called Bigg Boss. She went all the way criticizing a Mufti Sa’ab on a news channel aired on Empire News in Pakistan.

Veena has also boldly aired her views on the match fixing allegations and trial of the Pakistani cricketer and erstwhile boyfriend Mohd Asif.

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