Riaz Shahid (1927 – 1 October 1972) was a Pakistani filmmaker, film writer, and a journalist.

Early life and career

Riaz Shahid was born in 1927 in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

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 ...

. He belonged to a Punjabi Kashmiri family. He was the father of a famous Pakistani film star

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP ( ur, ; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid ( ur, ) or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, writer and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading acto ...

. Shaan was only one year old, when his father died. His real name was ''Sheikh Riaz'', but was called by his nickname ''Shahid''. He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore, Pakistan. Riaz lived in Lahore where he started his career as a journalist for the newspaper ''Chataan'' and later joined

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

's ''Lail-o-Nihar''. He also wrote a novel named ''Hazar Dastaan''. Riaz Shahid was introduced as a story and dialogue writer to the Pakistani film industry by his friend, actor Allauddin, in film ''Bharosa'' (1958). In 1962, Riaz started his film career as a director for the film ''Susraal'' (1962 film). Collaborating with the noted progressive poet,

Habib Jalib Habib Jalib (24 March 1928 - 12 March 1993; Urdu, Punjabi: ) was a Pakistani revolutionary poet, left-wing activist who opposed martial law, authoritarianism and state oppression. Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz said that he was the poet of t ...

, he went on to write or direct several films like ''

Zarqa Zarqa ( ar, الزرقاء) is the capital of Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. Its name means "the blue (city)". It had a population of 635,160 inhabitants in 2015, and is the most populous city in Jordan after Amman. Geography Zarqa is located in t ...

'' (1969),

Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

(1962), ''Farangi'' (1964), ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) and ''

Yeh Aman ''Yeh Aman'' is a 1971 Pakistani film directed by Riaz Shahid who also wrote the screenplay. The film is produced by his wife and actress Neelo. The film stars Nisho, Sangeeta, Adeeb, Jameel and Allauddin. The film revolves around the Kashmi ...

'' (1971). Riaz Shahid was married to then famous actress

Neelo Neelo Begum (born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes; ''née'' Abida Riaz; 30 June 1941 – 30 January 2021) was a Pakistani veteran film actress. She made her film debut in 1956 with Hollywood film ''Bhowani Junction''. She was known as ''The Qu ...

and had three children. The first child was a daughter and was named ''Zarqa'' followed by two sons

Shaan (actor) Armaghan Shahid PP ( ur, ; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid ( ur, ) or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, writer and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading acto ...

, who is now a well-known Pakistani film actor and Sarosh, who also worked in a couple of Pakistani movies.

Death and legacy

Riaz Shahid died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

on 1 October 1972 at Lahore, Pakistan. A noted Pakistani film actress and director Sangeeta is quoted as saying, "Riaz Shahid was a visionary. Whatever is happening in Kashmir today, he showed it well in the 60s. He was the top director of his period and we should be proud that such people were once a part of our industry". Another film producer Choudhry Ejaz Kamran reportedly said, "Riaz Shahid stood out for not just his craft but his contribution to meaningful cinema. Cinema that was both political and imppressive. Shahid directed super hit films that are now considered guide books for upcoming film-makers. While he dabbed into a variety of genres, he always preferred to do films based on serious and revolutionary ideas".

Filmography

As a film director

* ''Susral'' (1962) * ''

'' (1969) (a

diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

film) * ''Gharnata'' (1971) * ''Yeh Aman'' (1971)

As a writer

* ''

Neend ''Neend'' is a Pakistani drama film directed by Hassan Tariq in his directorial debut and released in 1959. Based on a story and screenplay by Riaz Shahid, the films stars Noor Jehan, Neelo and Aslam Pervaiz with Nighat Sultana, Allauddin and ...

'' (1959) * ''

'' (1962) * ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) (Riaz Shahid won the

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 ...

as a writer for this film) * ''

Farangi Farang ( fa, فرنگ) is a Persian (and Southeast Asian) word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic tribe) and later came to refer to White Europeans in general. The word "Farang" is a cognate and originates from Old F ...

'' (1964) * '' Kaneez''(Eeshah Omer
Remembering Mohammad Ali – the legend of Pakistani films (includes info on films written by Riaz Shahid)
Daily Times (newspaper), Published 21 March 2018, Retrieved 8 February 2022 * ''Aag Ka Darya'' (1966) * '' Badnaam'' (1966)

Awards and recognition

Nigar Awards 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 ...

Best Script Writer

*Neend (1959) *Shaheed (1961) *Khamosh Raho (1964) *Zarqa (1969) *Bahisht (1974) *Haider Ali (1978)

Best Dialogues/Screenplay

*Shaheed (1961) *Shikwa (1963) *Firangi (1964) *Yeh Aman (1971) *Bahisht (1974)

Best Director

*Zarqa (1969)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahid, Riaz 1927 births 1972 deaths Film directors from Lahore Pakistani male journalists Nigar Award winners Punjabi people Deaths from cancer in Pakistan Deaths from leukemia Government Islamia College alumni 20th-century screenwriters 20th-century Pakistani writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century journalists Pakistani film directors Pakistani screenwriters Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent