Mehreen Jabbar: The Director's Director

Mehreen Jabbar has directed more than her share of the dramas people remember. Active since 1994, she built a reputation as one of Pakistani television's most prolific and stylistically distinctive directors, and in 2026 she returned to serials with one of the year's biggest shows.

Quick facts

• Born: 29 December 1971
• Profession: Director, producer
• Known for: Doraha, Nadaan, Dobara, Doctor Bahu
• Awards: Lux Style Award for Best TV Director, for Doraha (2008)

A career behind the camera

Jabbar's work for the 2008 series Doraha won her the Lux Style Award for Best TV Director and set the tone for a filmography that favours texture and character over noise. Her serials, including Nadaan and Dobara, have drawn praise for performances and pacing, and she has also worked as a producer, helping get other people's projects made.

She has spent much of her career based in New York, which has given her work a particular vantage point on the stories she tells about Pakistan, close enough to see clearly, distant enough to see whole.

Back in serials

In 2026 she returned to the serial format with Doctor Bahu, one of the most-watched dramas of the season, bringing her signature control to a nightly audience again. For viewers who grew up on her work, it has been like hearing a favourite voice come back on the radio.

Why she matters

Directors rarely become names in Pakistani television, but Jabbar is one of the exceptions: a filmmaker whose choices are visible in every frame and whose body of work keeps growing decades in.

Where to follow

• Instagram: @mehreenjabbarofficial
• Website: mehreenjabbar.com