Bilal Lashari

Bilal Lashari is a Pakistani film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and occasional actor. He made his directorial debut film in Waar (2013), which holds the record of being the seventh highest-grossing Pakistani film. His next project is a remake of the 1979 film Maula Jatt. The film is titled The Legend of Maula Jatt, The Legend of Maula Jatt whose trailer was released on December 21, 2018. Lashari won awards in four categories at the ARY Film Awards 2014 for his directorial debut.

After his return to Pakistan, Lashari first directed music videos, and won 'Best Music Video Director' twice at the Lux Style Awards and ‘Best Pop Video’ at the MTV Pakistan Music Video Awards for “Sajni”. He has also directed “Chal Bulleya” for Meekal Hassan Band. He has worked with artists and bands such as Abrarul Haq, Atif Aslam, Mekaal Hassan Band, Jal and Entity Paradigm. He also directed the video “Chal Bulleya” for Meekal Hassan Band.

Lashari was born into a Baloch family. His father, Kamran Lashari, is a retired senior Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the Petroleum Secretary of Pakistan and did a lot in cultural preservation in Lahore, while his paternal grandfather was a landlord, lawyer and poet. His younger brother, Rohail Lashari, an MBA graduate from HEC Paris, was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Lahore-based band Jhol (2010-2015) and was "in charge" of the seventh season of Coke Studio Pakistan, while his other younger brother, Omar Lashari, is a Cornell-educated financial analyst. Lashari grew up in Pakistan, attending local schools. He went to the United States of America for college, studying at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Motion Pictures and Television in 2008.

In 2004 Lashari briefly worked as assistant director for Shoaib Mansoor during pre-production of Khuda Kay Liye in 2004.