Deeba ( ur, ), is a Pakistani film actress. She was one of the leading film actresses during the 1960s and 1970s, well known for her romantic and tragic roles in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

films. She has received a

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

and

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

. She is known as the ''"Pakistani Mona Lisa"''.

Early life and career

Deeba (Birth name:''Raheela'') was born at

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area o ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 1 August 1947. In the 1950s, she was living with her married sister near Karachi Cantt. Station (a railway station) in a slum area of Karachi. She started her career as a child actress in the film ''Miss 56'' (1956) and was nicknamed "Chutanki" as she was still a little girl. She got a breakthrough in ''Charagh Jalta Raha'' (1962 film), a Fazal Karim Fazli film. Her performances in several films, such as ''Milan'' (1964), ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964), ''Aina'' (1966), ''Payal ki jhankar'' (1966), Doraha, ''Sangdil'' (1968), ''Dard'' (1969), ''Sajna Door Diya'' (1970), ''

Neend hamarey khuwab tumharey ''Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare'' is a 1971 Pakistani Urdu colour film, produced and directed by Khalid Khursheed. It was a musical romantic drama film with music by M Ashraf and lyrics by Kaleem Usmani. The story was written by Bashir Niaz ba ...

'' (1971), ''Ansoo'' (1971), ''Pardes'' (1972), and ''Seeta Maryam Margaret'' (1978) have won critical acclaim. She played many supporting characters, including on-screen mother in several films throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s. She acted in several television plays in early 2000s.

Personal life

Childhood tragedy

''Deeba'', as a child, had lost her father, and then she got separated from her mother too in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

). She migrated to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

along with her guardian uncle and aunt. She didn't have any clue about the whereabouts of her mother till she started working in movies. In 1964, during the filming of her movie "''Milan''", her picture was published in a

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

film magazine. Her mother saw that picture and recognized her as her daughter ''Raheela''. The Bengali writer

Mohiuddin Nawab Mohiuddin Nawab ( ur, ) (September 4, 1930 - February 6, 2016) was a Pakistani novelist, screenwriter, and poet. He is famous for his popular novel series, " Devta" that was episodically and continuously published in Suspense Digest from February ...

, who happened to be a neighbor of Deeba's mother in Dhaka, heard her story and wrote to the magazine. When ''Deeba'' read about her mother in the magazine, she immediately looked for her estranged mother and soon found her. Later, she took her mother along with her to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Marriage

Deeba married cameraman ''Naeem Rizvi'' in 1971 and left the silver screen for 10 years. However, financial hardships made her join the

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

again in 1987 as a supporting actress. She has three children her daughter,

Madiha Rizvi Madiha Rizvi is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Kahin Deep Jaley'', '' Aik Thi Rania'', ''Piya Naam Ka Diya'', '' Mere Meherbaan'', '' Parizaad'' and '' Chaudhry and Sons''. She is the daughter of film actress Deeba. ...

is an actress, and her son Imran Rizvi is an actor.

Pakistani Mona Lisa

Deeba's smiling face and innocent look have given rise to the tag ''"Pakistani

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best kno ...

"''.

List of television projects

Television series

Telefilm

Filmography

Film

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deeba 1947 births Living people People from Ranchi Pakistani film actresses Nigar Award winners 20th-century Pakistani actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema 21st-century Pakistani actresses Actresses from Jharkhand Actresses in Urdu cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Pakistani television actresses Actresses in Pashto cinema Actresses in Sindhi cinema Muhajir people Recipients of the Pride of Performance