Shaista Lodhi Opens Up on Why She Left Media

Shaista Lodhi, a name that does not require any introduction in Pakistan’s television industry, recently left showbiz very quietly and many just assumed that she’ll be coming back with another morning show. However, in the latest episode of Rewind With Samina Peerzada, Shaista opened up about her life-changing experiences and why she has bid farewell to showbiz.

“I was doing it [morning show] for so long, I felt that somehow, somewhere I had lost my own self,” the former host opened up as she spoke calmly.

“There were so much glitz and glamour, and such a fast pace on everything that even in my normal routine I found myself always in a haste, always restless,” she added.

Shaista went on to reveal that in 2014 when she took a break from the morning show, following a controversy of her then channel, she decided to take up her half-completed medical studies. Albeit that she was a doctor, it was at that time she fully resumed her practice to manage both the professions simultaneously.

“Then there came a point I realized, I cannot do this anymore. I realized if I continue to be in this field I’ll be left all alone in the end, it’s all temporary, superficial,” the cosmetic doctor opened up further.

“Now if you look at it in financial terms, it’s a loss. But the inner peace that I have found after leaving showbiz, I think it’s too big of a gain to think of any financial loss,” she said with a smile.

Shaista also reflected back on her days as a morning show host and how she missed on small milestones of her children which could now be her memories, she expressed regret over wasting precious years of her life for the momentary gain.

“I had to think of how I’ll send my kids to school, how to give them a better life. At that point, sticking to the job only made sense to me, or so I explain myself now,” she truthfully stated.

The former morning show host also expressed her remorse for not utilizing the true power of her reach and not trying to be an agent of change in her society.

“Thoughts would come on how I can use this morning show platform to educate people, do better content, but then the editorial pressure or the pressure of bringing ratings to retain the job would get the better of me.

Now when I look back, I think I should have at least tried to talk to my superiors, maybe find a 50/50 way. If I did “shadi biyah” I could have done other things on other days,” she reflected back on her past.

During the course of the interview, Shaista spoke of her childhood, her first marriage, the traumatic divorce and now her happy married life. She also particularly mentioned her relationship with her mother that she stated is evolving even now.

“I didn’t want to be a doctor, my mother forced me into MBBS. I fought with her for a long time but now when I come back from the clinic and even though I am tired, I thank her, she made the right decision by giving me an alternate path in life,” Shaista said as she expressed contentment over her current profession and changed life.