Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: December 08, 2023 | 
| 中文
It was 14 February 2004, a Valentine's Day-themed morning show was being aired on Pakistan’s first private satellite television channel, Indus News. As a member of a two-man Sports Desk, I was in the makeshift newsroom, constantly pressing F5 on my keyboard hoping to get an update from ‘htcricket.com’, a website I often visited. Suddenly, a major news flashed, Breaking News. With no bulletin in sight, the problem rose how to break it. Those were the days when Geo News was functioning in full swing, and it was a very popular news channel. ‘Why hasn’t Geo played the news with a breaking bulletin’, was my first thought, but the news editor allowed me to give the content to the host during a hurriedly arranged ‘break’. I simply picked a paper, wrote 5 words ‘India is coming, Vajpayee agrees’ and handed it over to the host, the veteran Nausheen Masud.
Nausheen Masud (extreme right) with friends on a tour to interior Sindh
Being around for over a decade, she knew the importance of the news, the history of the rivals and the treatment required. Nausheen treated it as a victory of her own, rather than Indus News’ ‘beating its rival channel’. In just a few minutes, it turned into a context-driven, crisp India’s Valentine's gift to Pakistan. The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had given the go-ahead for the Indian cricket team’s ice-breaking cricket tour to Pakistan. Geo entered the scene quite late, and the story that instantly came up was celebrated in the newsroom after the show. Nausheen Masud was a one-woman army, who excelled in all departments. She knew the news operations, was in love with production and was a master of ceremonies. I learnt the importance of being calm and composed that day from the ‘Iron-lady’ of electronic media.
Many like me saw her in Junaid Jamshed’s song Awaara Koi Sapna Tha in 1994, for the very first time. Nausheen Masud fresh from college, was a by-product of NTM, the groundbreaking private channel that revolutionized television. She joined NTM as an associate producer for a children’s show, and soon caught the eyes of Ghazanfar Ali, a.k.a Baba, who was heading Combine Productions, which produced television shows for NTM. She soon became part of the team that produced Music Channel Charts, and appeared as a ‘VJ’ for Pepsi Top of the Pops. Both shows were widely watched in days of ‘Dish Antenna’, and Nausheen’s gentle smile and presence won her many fans. She became a household name and was behind the success of upcoming bands and singers: Strings, Fringe Benefits, Shahzad Roy and Amir Zaki to name a few. Amir Zaki’s Mera Pyar Tumhi Ho was directed by her, among others.
Nausheen (extreme right) with her college friends
She had an excellent fashion sense, as was evident from watching the three seasons of the show Andaz Apna Apna that she hosted. As a producer, she had a finger on the viewer's pulse and as a director for music videos, rarely crossed the line. She started out as ‘head of programming’ at Indus, when there was no precedent for setting up a satellite channel in Pakistan. She was the reason why Ghazanfar Ali opted for a separate Music Channel, Indus Music. ‘IM’ became the launch pad for Pakistan's thriving music industry and brought about a revolution in popular music. Nausheen was the brain behind the productions and planning of events. It was converted into MTV afterwards, and is remembered as the favorite music channel to date.
Nausheen was an excellent mentor for young boys and girls, who were hit by the MTV mania. Dozens of protégés wept at her death and miss the days they served under her at the MTV, Pakistan. They still remember her encouragement, support and charisma. Mahira Khan, Syra Yusuf, Ali Safina and Sanam Saeed, started out as VJs for MTV Pakistan, and have developed into accomplished actors.
Nausheen Masud and Mahira Khan
As an occasional actor, Nausheen appeared in many episodes of Mystery Theatre on NTM, Pakistan’s first soap Jaal and with film actor Nadeem, in his television debut Bisaat. She was there in the role of a student in Jamil Dehalvi’s Jinnah (1998), where Hollywood legend Christopher Lee played the central role.
When Ghazanfar Ali started the ‘Indus’ channels, she was there to execute his ideas. She remained Baba’s girl Friday for over a decade, and was instrumental in launching Pakistan's first news, drama and music channels. In 2004, she moved to Sunbiz, the first business and stock market focused channel in Pakistan, and worked round the clock, establishing reliable production and programming teams. Creating the programming software was like a walk in the park for her, as she was picked up by CNBC Pakistan, country’s first international franchised channel. She executed successful show formats like Awam ki Awaz, Aap Ka paisa, Stock Guru and the celebrity shows. As the Channel Head at Play TV, she used all the experience from Indus, and took it to the top in its genre in Gross Rating Points (GRP). The same story followed at Health TV and Hum TV's Style 360, a channel dedicated for Fashion and lifestyle.
Nausheen (extreme left) with the team of Style 360
She was also appearing in dramas despite all her other activities and commitments. Many people remember her in Colony 1952 and Ghar Tu Akhir Apna Hai. She last appeared in Geo TV’s serial Dolly ki Ayegi Baraat as Saba in 2010. One of her last projects were Pakistan Idol and Sur Ka Safar as a creative director in 2015. Since then, she cut down her work as she was found to be suffering from bone cancer. She died on Dec 6th, 2023, after 30 years in the media, a news that saddened her fans and the entertainment industry alike.
Nausheen Masud with Sultana Siddiqui and a team member at a fashion show
She arrived into the world of television, when Pakistan media was undergoing through a transformation. There were no private channels and no one to show her the ropes, yet she passed all tests with flying colors. Everyone who had come in contact with her was upset and had a very favorable and encouraging story to tell.
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