And he has done so as a woman.

When Saleem takes to the airwaves, he is Begum Nawazish Ali, a coquettish widow who interviews Pakistan’s glitterati and some of its top politicians. A real woman could not possibly do what Saleem does. In the unlikely event a station would broadcast such a show, the hostess would be shunned.

It is something of a mystery why a man who openly acknowledges he is bisexual is a sensation here. Traditional Islamic teaching rejects bisexuals and gays.

Saleem, 28, has his own theory for his popularity: he thinks Pakistan has always been more open than outsiders believed. He is thrilled with his success for reasons that are both political (he is proud to be breaking ground in bringing up tough subjects) and profoundly personal. “My biggest high is to see myself gorgeous in the mirror” he said recently while reclining in a makeup-room chair. “Maybe, yes, I am a diva.”

It is hard to judge how successful Saleem’s show is as there are no viewership ratings here. And there are clearly people who find the show revolting.

But by many measures, it is a success. Television critics have been generally supportive, and the show, which has been on for a year and a half, has a prime-time slot despite its name, Late Night Show With Begum Nawazish Ali.

Pakistan’s urbanites, meanwhile, seem not to be able to get enough of the once-a-week show, which is rerun twice each week. They have showered praise on Saleem’s portrayal of a middle-aged widow who, in glamorous saris and glittery diamonds, invites to her drawing room politicians, movie stars and rights advocates from Pakistan and India.

With fluttering eyelids and glossy lips, the Begum flirts with male guests using suggestive banter and sexual innuendo. With female guests, she is something of a tease, challenging them about who looks better. Questions are pointed and piercing. Politics, democracy and saucy gossip are enmeshed in her conversation.

Colourful and witty, Saleem is open about his own sexuality and sprinkles his conversation with gender-bending phrases. “My life fluctuates between two extremes,” he says. “I am a man and I am a woman.”

Saleem has also been willing to take on tough political subjects. He is openly critical of the army’s role in ruling Pakistan, for instance. President Musharraf’s policies and the role of the powerful ISI have come under fire on his talk shows.

Owais Aslam Ali, secretary general of Pakistan Press Foundation, an independent media research centre in Karachi, said that “on things of consequence, restrictions remain”.

Ali said there also were unstated restrictions on reporting about Baluchistan, for example. “This is a big black hole as far as media is concerned,” he said. “Parameters have been set. You cross those parameters at your own peril.”

Saleem, who in the guise of the glamorous Begum often gets away with questions that print journalists might be wary of, said his show would not have been a possibility earlier. “I owe Begum Nawazish Ali’s existence, in a certain way, to General Musharraf,” he said.

But he appears to know his own limits. He shrugged when asked if he should not invite the General himself on the show, appearing to indicate that he knew that was one taboo he could not break.