London: Pakistani actress Veena Malik shocked her country after an alleged photo of her posing nude appeared on the cover of the Indian edition of FHM.
Following an outrage in Pakistan, she denied that it was she in the picture and claimed that the photo was morphed.
She may be an actress famous for controversies now but she had started her career as a comedienne.
Malik made her acting debut in 2000 alongside Shaan and Zara Sheikh in Askari’s Tere Pyar Mein and in 2007 she was awarded ‘most stylish celebrity on the carpet’ at the Lux Style Awards, the Mirror reported.
The daughter of an army soldier and his wife, she is believed to have been born in 1978 in Rawalpindi.
She was a basketball player through school and college, and is reported to have graduated with a BA degree in Sociology, Psychology and Persian.
Although Malik achieved fame in Pakistan through a series of ‘Lollywood’ movies - the term used to describe films made in Lahore - she became a household name in India only after she participated in Bigg Boss 4 in 2010.
She was evicted two weeks before the finals, and was one of the final six contestants out of the original fourteen who had participated. WWE wrestler The Great Khali was also among the housemates.
However, her presence in the show angered clerics in her country who accused her of ‘immoral behaviour’.
She famously clashed on the issue with cleric Mufti Abdul Qawi on a Pakistani talk show where she insisted that the country had far more issues to focus on than her.
Her outspoken views have won her many fans from Pakistan’s youth and liberals. She has also been involved in social work and worked as a representative at the World Health Organization for over two years
The actress is also the former girlfriend of disgraced cricketer Mohammad Asif who was jailed in November for his role in the Pakistan match fixing scandal.
She is reported to have suggested she has not been praised enough for her revelations about Mohammad Asif in the match-fixing scandal.
“I seriously expected a bravery award after what I have done. My life isn’t secure anymore after these revelations,” she is reported to have said.
“This is a male-dominated world and they try to cut to size all bold women. In Pakistan, it is a crime to be bold, beautiful and young. And I am all three,” she said.
In February 2011 Malik became part of a Cricket World Cup reality show called Big Toss where she was captain of one of the two teams.
Her favourite Indian cricketer is reportedly Sachin Tendulkar but she is a fan of the Australian game too.
“… if there is a character I deeply admire, its Brett Lee,” she said.
ANI