Ali Saleem

Ali Saleem (Urdu: ), best known by his alter-ego Begum Nawazish Ali, is a Pakistani television host, actor, scriptwriter, and impressionist. He became a contestant in Bigg Boss Season 4 in 2010. He broke into the mainstream audiences through his impersonations of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and later playing the cross-dressing Begum Nawazish Ali on various television channels, including Aaj TV, Dawn News, and Geo TV.

His alter ego of Begum Nawazish Ali has now become his primary persona as he rarely appears as the male Ali Saleem. He is a bisexual man born to a retired colonel father in Pakistan Army and a former government official mother.

Biologically born a male, Ali has at times called himself gay, Khusra, bisexual, and transgender.

Early life Ali Saleem was born in Islamabad to a colonel in the Pakistan Army. It was in his teens that he got to do a play for Yasmeen Ismail at the Arts Council clad in a burqa offering the audience with his monologue that people saw his inner lady come out. They would flock him and ask him in disbelief of how a child can impersonate a woman older than his age. Ali now says that because his audience was older than his age then, he felt he matured earlier. Saleem took his early life education from Cadet College Hasan Abdal, and later went to Froebel's International School for A-Level.

Late Night with Begum Nawazish Ali Saleem cross-dressed as a woman wearing a sari and asked influential guests provocative questions in his show Late Night with Begum Nawazish Ali. He would invite two guests at a time to be interviewed. The name Begum Nawazish Ali was suggested by Dr. Adil talking of his neighbour with the same name, wife to a colonel. Saleem could relate strongly to this persona as an alter ego. The facts that the Begum they created lived a wealthy life living off the money of her late military man husband and was a socialite, bore resemblance to the life Saleem himself had lived in his earlier days. It was due to this use of gestures and acts that Begum earned a nasty reputation amongst the more fundamentalist ideals of the religious leaders (where some were even amused by his show) but he had still ventured into the hearts and minds of the younger generations. While talking of taboo topics like "sex" in Pakistan where it is strictly off-limits even trying to mention it, Saleem had been spared a backlash only because when on-the-air he is personifying a woman. Women, however, said that they were still afraid to do what Saleem was doing on the show. The reformatted show aired 26 episodes with Indian celebrities on the channel 9X from India.

The Late, Late Show With Ali Saleem Saleem joined Dawn News with his latest show The Late, Late Show with Ali Saleem, hosting the show as himself. The first episode aired on 26 March 2016. Humayun Saeed, Nadeem Baig, and Mehwish Hayat appeared as guests on the first episode. In 2019, Saleem played a cameo role in Baaji, in which in he brought back his Begum Nawazish Ali character.

In March 2023, it was reported that a biopic based on Saleem's life is in the works, with Indian actress Mallika Sherawat being considered to play him.

Legal troubles Reportedly, on 26 May 2011, Saleem's mother Farzana Saleem called the capital city police and told them that her son has been torturing her. She was immediately taken to the hospital with a broken nose and other injuries on her body while Saleem was taken to police station. He told media personnel that there was some dispute going on within the family about property.

Reality television

As contestant Year Show Place Channel2010