| Alina Khan | |||||||
| Birth Place: | Lahore, Pakistan | ||||||
| Nationality: | Pakistani | ||||||
| Occupation: | Actress | ||||||
| Years Active: | 2019–present | ||||||
| Notable Works: | Darling (2019) Joyland (2022) | ||||||
| Module: |
| ||||||
Alina Khan (Urdu: علینہ خان) is a Pakistani actress known for her lead roles in the short film Darling in 2019 and the feature film Joyland in 2022.[1] She is the first transgender person to have a lead role in a major Pakistani film. In May 2023, she was crowned Miss Trans Pakistan 2023 in Lahore, Pakistan.
Khan was born into a Muslim family in Lahore, Pakistan. She has described facing societal discrimination due to being transgender,[2] and how after being contacted by an NGO in Pakistan, she auditioned and won a lead role in the film Darling,[3] [4] [5] which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival[6] and had global distribution rights sold to Focus Features.[7] According to Aiman Rizvi, writing for Dawn about Darling, "The crux of the story is perhaps best encapsulated in the words of the lead actress, Alina Khan, a trans woman who describes her personal struggle in the industry, "I've always wanted to act in movies, since I was a child. But then I'd ask myself, how are they going to cast me? As a man, or a woman?""[8]
Khan has also appeared in the short film Happy Marriage, as well as commercials, a music video by Ali Sethi, and on the television show Good Morning Zindgi.[2] In 2018, she performed as a dancer at the Naaz Theatre in Lahore.[2]
Khan made her debut at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in the role of Biba in Joyland,[9] the first Pakistani feature film screened at Cannes,[7] [10] [11] and "the first major Pakistani motion picture to feature a trans actor in a lead role", according to The Guardian. Khan, the director, and other cast members were present during the Cannes screening where they received a standing ovation that lasted almost ten minutes.[12] [13] Siddhant Adlakha writes in a review for IndieWire that in the film, Khan "has an immediately commanding presence — when she walks into a room, she makes it hers" and "as Biba grows closer to Haider, inadvertently threatening what little footing he has left as a man in society's eyes, a deep vulnerability begins to emerge, which Khan wields with precision."[14]
In November 2022, after the film was approved to be shown, the Pakistan Ministry of Information & Broadcasting banned Joyland from national distribution, in response to complaints about its subject matter, including from the Jamaat-e-Islami party.[15] In response to the ban, Khan told The Guardian, "I've been very sad. There's nothing against Islam and I don't understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films."[16] [17] The ban was reversed on November 16, clearing the way for domestic screenings of the film.[18]
On 31 May 2023,[19] Khan was crowned Miss Trans Pakistan 2023 in a ceremony held in Lahore, Pakistan.[20] Khan commented to the media, "The feeling of being crowned in front of my Trans community is a very great feeling because it gives us a voice through this platform to represent ourselves."[21] Sonia Ahmed began the Miss Trans Pakistan pageant in 2021 where Shyraa Roy got the title previously; it is the first pageant for trans women in Pakistan with an opportunity for the winner to represent Pakistan at international pageants.[22] [23]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Darling | Alina | Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film, 76th Venice Film Festival | ||
| 2022 | Joyland | Biba | Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard category and Queer Palme award, 75th Cannes Film Festival | [24] |