The 37th death anniversary of Pakistani film icon Waheed Murad was observed yesterday. Lollywood veterans took the opportunity to remember the late superstar.
According to senior actor Durdana Rahman, Murad’s entry embodied ‘good fortune’ for the film industry as a whole. "The local film industry was lucky to have found a star-like Waheed Murad. He delivered films that are assets for our industry. It was the wish of every producer to cast him in their films while every actress wanted to star opposite him. His name alone guaranteed success during those times,” Rahman told The Express Tribune.
Expressing similar sentiments, senior producer Choudhry Ejaz Kamran called him one of the most beautiful faces to have graced the big screen across the world. “ Waheed Murad was not only among the most beautiful leading actors of Pakistan but also the world. He was a pure actor who boosted the moral of our industry when it needed it the most. During his era, Bollywood had started to copy his style and work,” said Kamran.
Deeming him the master of all trades, veteran director Altaf Hussain shared that Murad had found success in every genre he stepped in. " Waheed Murad was enriched with many qualities. He was producer, director and also actor. He earned fame in every genre of work. As an actor he was very versatile and performed each role with grace. Today’s generation of actors can learn a lot from him,” said Hussain.
Murad, who became known as the ‘Chocolate Hero’ of Pakistan, passed away on November 23, 1983, at 45 years of age. He was not only a gifted actor but also enjoyed quite a reputation as a director, producer and scriptwriter.
Born in Sialkot on October 2, 1938, Murad migrated to Karachi seeking higher education and earned a Master’s degree in English from the University of Karachi. His father ran a film company and so, the actor was introduced to cinema at a very young age. He subsequently began his film career as a producer with 1961’s Insaan Badalta Hai, followed by Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhe.
But it wasn’t until Zeba Begum, the top female actor of the era, advised him to try his hand at acting that Murad decided to come in front of the camera. His first film Aulaad (1962) proved to be a super hit at the box office and so started what would be a long, decorated film career that many still aspire to emulate today.
Aulaad went on to compete at the Nigar Awards for that year and firmly established Murad as the first choice of film-makers across the country. Thereafter, he played the male lead in Heera Aur Pathar (1964), which also became a hit. Then, in 1966, he acted in and produced Armaan which broke all previous records of Pakistani cinema, playing in theatres for 75 weeks. Murad received two Nigar Awards for the film as well.
The late artist has other mega hits like Doraha, Devar Bhabi, Ehsaan, Yahan Tum Wahan Hum, Usse Dekha Usse Chaha and Dushman to his credit, wherein he worked with all the leading female stars of his time, including Neelo, Shamim Ara, Zeba, Aliya, Shabnum, Sangeeta, Kaveeta and Babra Shariff. In total, he worked on 124 films in his career.
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