Вахид Мурад: Легенда пакистанского кино

Pakistani actor, film producer and director

and has influenced the film industry in the Indian subcontinent. Born in Sialkot, Pakistan, he graduated from the S. M. Arts College Karachi, and then earned a master's degree in English literature from University of Karachi. He started his film career in a cameo in 1959 in the film Saathi when he was 21 years old. One of his films, Armaan, which was produced by him, was a great success. Murad is the only actor of film industry to secure the highest number of platinum, diamond, golden and silver jubilees. He mesmerized Pakistani nation during 1960s and 1970s more than anyone before or after and is considered to be evergreen chocolate hero of Pakistan's silver screen history. He acted in 125 feature films and earned 32 film awards. In November 2010, 27 years after his death, the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari posthumously awarded him the Sitara e Imtiaz, the third highest honour and civilian award by the State of Pakistan, given in the fields of literature, arts, sports, medicine, or science. On 2 October 2019, Google celebrated Murad's 81st birthday with a doodle on its homepage for Pakistan, India and several other countries.

Murad was an only child and grew up in Karachi. His mother was Shireen Murad (a Christian from Bikaner who had converted to Islam), and his father was Nisar Murad, a film distributor in Bombay, both of whom had migrated to Karachi before the partition of India (1947). His father was a Punjabi whose family belonged to the cultural elite of Sialkot. Murad's ancestors had migrated from the Bahmani Sultanate in southern India to Kashmir and eventually settled in Sialkot in the 18th century. Where Murad's grandfather Zahoor Murad, an advovate and a social activist, adopted the surname "Murad" in 1887. The Murads also claimed Turkish ancestry; claiming that one of their ancestors, Murat, was a soldier of Ottoman origin serving in the Mughal Army who settled in Punjab. In his second film as producer Jab se dakha hai tumhein he cast Darpan with Zeba as heroine. Afterwards, Darpan most of the time started coming late at studio. Zeba suggested Waheed to cast himself as hero in his next film. Waheed was not ready to sign himself in his own movies. But when the same suggestion came from his old good friend Pervaiz Malik, he accepted it on the condition that if Zeba would be his co star, Zeba accepted in return (according to Zeba). As a result, he firstly appeared in a supporting role in 1962's Aulad. The film was directed by his friend S. M. Yousuf. Aulad got much more acclaims from critics, and it also got the Nigar award in the best film's category for the year. Heera aur pathar was his first movie as a leading actor. He got the Nigar award in the best actor category for the same film. In 1966, he produced and acted in Armaan. The film broke all the box office records at that time and completed 75 weeks in theatres. The film were sung by Ahmed Rushdi. Murad received two Nigar awards for the categories best producer and best actor for the film. In 1967, he appeared as the leading actor in films like Devar Bhabi, Doraha, Insaaniyat and Maan baap. From 1964 to 1968, Murad and Pervaiz Malik made Heera Aur Pathar, Armaan, Ehsaan, Doraha and Jahan tum wahan hum. The combination of Waheed Murad, Pervaiz Malik, Masroor Anwar, Sohail Rana, Ahmed Rushdi and Zeba created a number of films. Waheed Murad brought Malik, Anwar and Rana under the umbrella of 'Film Arts'. Film Arts broke up and Pervaiz Malik started creating his own projects with new actors. A total of seven films, including two films, i. e., Usey dekha usey chaha and Dushman released after a long gap of 6 years in 1974, were produced with the combination of Waheed and Pervaiz (but not under 'Film Art' Production). In 1969, Waheed produced, wrote and directed the movie Ishaara. It was released in 1969. Other co stars included Shabnam, Rozina, Aliya, Talish and Mustafa Qureshi. Waheed Murad's son Adil Murad also reacted to the outcry by apologizing to the song's fans for the controversial remake. In 2022, "Ko Ko Korina", featured in the opening scene of American series Ms. Marvel and won top ratings.

By the late 1970s, Waheed was being cast in supporting roles either with Nadeem or with Mohammad Ali. Most of the leading heroines like Zeba, Shabnam and Nisho were not allowed to play lead roles with Waheed by their husbands. Pervaiz Malik wrote in a local newspaper: "Not even once during that time [did] Waheed come to me seeking work in my films. Waheed was becoming depressed. His close friends revealed that he was becoming addicted to alcohol, oral tobacco and sleeping pills. Even his domestic life suffered and his wife Salma left for the United States. A combination of bad habits and stress caused ulceration in Waheed's stomach in 1981. He suffered from bleeding and had to undergo stomach removal to save his life. His many fans came to the hospital to donate blood to save the life of their favourite hero. Although, he recovered, he lost a significant amount of weight. Even then, Iqbal Akhtar and Iqbal Yousuf, who proved to be real friends in difficult times, cast Waheed Murad in their movies. Waheed appeared old and charmless in Dil ney phir yaad keya and Ghairao. Even his loyal admirers felt that it was all over for him." Babra Sharif, revealed that during the filming of a scene of Hero, Waheed lost his balance while walking toward her and fell down. He took several minutes to catch his breath prior to standing up on his feet again. Waheed was buried near his father's grave in Gulberg Graveyard in Lahore.

Waheed Murad married Salma, the daughter of a Karachi based industrialist, on 17 September 1964. They had two daughters, Aaliya and Sadia, and one son, (Adil). Sadia died in infancy.

On 2 October 2019, Google celebrated Murad's 81st birthday with a doodle on its homepage for Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan named a street and intersection after him in Lahore on August 16, 2021.