Waheed Murad ( ur, ; 2 October 1938 – 23 November 1983), also known as Chocolate Hero, was a Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Famous for his charming expressions, attractive personality, tender voice and unusual talent for acting, Waheed is considered one of the most famous and influential actors of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

and has influenced the film industry in the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

. Born in

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

, Pakistan, he graduated from the S.M. Arts College Karachi, and then earned a master's degree in English literature from

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (wh ...

. 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 Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

posthumously awarded him the

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

, 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 Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

celebrated Murad's 81st birthday with a

doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

on its homepage for Pakistan, India, Nepal and several other countries. In 2022, song ''

Ko Ko Korina "Ko Ko Korina" (Urdu:) is a song which appeared in the 1966 Urdu-language film '' Armaan'' and is considered the first pop song of Pakistan, and often of all South Asia. Produced during the Golden Age of Pakistani cinema, the song's lyrics were ...

'' which was picturised on him in 1966, featured in the opening scene of American series Ms. Marvel (TV series) and won top ratings.

Early life

Murad was an only child. His mother was Shireen Murad, and his father was Nisar Murad, a film distributor. He did graduation from S.M. Arts College, Karachi, and then masters in English literature from

.. Rise and fall of a silver screen hero. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.Chocolate Hero Waheed Murad’s 75th Birthday
Despardes.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-20.
. thecinezine.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-10. His father was a Punjabi whose family belonged to the cultural elite of

. The Murads claimed Turkish ancestry; one of their ancestors, Murat, was a soldier of Ottoman-origin serving in the Mughal army who settled in Punjab.

Film career

Waheed Murad started his film career by joining his father's established 'Film Art' in 1961 as producer of the film ''Insaan badalta hai''. 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 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 ...

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 ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = ...

. 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 Sohail Rana (born 31 March 1938) is a Pakistani music composer for films and television. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when singer Ahmed Rushdi sang his compositions in such films as ...

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 Jharna Basak (born 17 August 1946), known by her stage name Shabnam, is a Bangladeshi–Pakistani stage and film actress. Actor Waheed Murad introduced her to the Pakistani film industry by offering her a lead role in his film '' Samundar'' in ...

, Rozina, Aliya, Talish and

Mustafa Qureshi Mustafa Qureshi is a Pakistani film and television actor. He has acted in more than 600 movies, in Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi languages. He is best remembered for playing the antagonist Noori Natt in '' Maula Jatt'' (1979). He was born into a ...

. Murad received a Nigar award in the best actor category for the film. In his 25-year career, Murad paired with many actresses like Zeba,

Shamim Ara Shamim Ara (22 March 1938 – 5 August 2016) was a Pakistani film actress, director and producer. She was known as ''The Tragic Beauty'' because of the tragic heroine roles she often portrayed in films. She was one of the most popular actres ...

, Rani, Naghma, Aaliya, Sangeeta,

Kaveeta Nasreen Rizvi, better known as Kaveeta, is a Pakistani film actress who is known for films ''Tere Mere Sapne'' (1975), '' Society Girl'', ''Mohabbat Aur Mehangai'' (1976), ''Kabhi Kabhi'' (1978), '' Mutthi Bhar Chawal'' (1978), '' Mian Biwi Ra ...

, Aasia,

Deeba 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 and Punjabi films. She has received a Nigar Award and Pride of Performance. ...

Babra Sharif Babra Sharif ( ur, ), (born 10 December 1954) is a Pakistani film actress, most known for her roles from the mid-1970s to the 1980s. She started her career in television commercials. She has worked with many famous names of her time, including Sh ...

, ''Rukhsana'', '' Bahar Begum'' and

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 ...

. He acted in a total of 124 films (two were released after his death), of which 38 were black and white and 86 were in colour. He also appeared in six films as a guest star including his first and shortest appearance in 1959's ''Saathi''. He acted in 115

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi films and 1 Pushto film, and earned 32 film awards including ones for best producer and for best actor.

Film Art productions

Waheed Murad produced eleven films under his father's company Film Art. He was the youngest film producer in the Pakistani film industry at that time. Most of his produced films were either Golden Jubilee or Silver Jubilee. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he produced films like ''Insaan Badalta Hai'' (1961) (his first film as producer), '' Armaan'' (1966), ''Ehsaan'' (1967), ''Naseeb Apna Apna'' (1970) and ''Mastana Mahi'' (Punjabi film of 1971). However, after ''Mastana Mahi'', he produced no film except ''Hero'' which was produced in the 1980s and was released after his death. As a director, he had directed as well as produced ''Ishaara'' (1969) with co-star

Playback singers

In Waheed's career, most of the songs picturised by him were sung by Ahmed Rushdi. He sang more than 200 duet and solo songs for him. Other playback singers who provided voice for him were Mehdi Hassan,

Masood Rana Masood Rana ( ur, , 6 August 1941 – 4 October 1995) was a Pakistani film playback singer. He began his singing career in 1962 with the film ''Inqalab'', became one of the top male singers in both Urdu and Punjabi films for more than thr ...

, Saleem Raza,

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed ( ur, ; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a Pakistani people, Pakistani film playback singer and still considered one of the leading voices of the film industry. Early life and career He was born in Delhi in 1946 and st ...

Mujeeb Aalam Mujeeb Aalam (2 September 1948 – 2 June 2004) was a Pakistani playback singer who had a short film career. His singing style was a mixture of Mehdi Hassan and Ahmad Rushdi's style. He sang dozens of hit songs in late 1960s. However, h ...

, Asad Amanat Ali Khan, Bashir Ahmad,

Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Ustad Amanat Ali Khan ( ur, ; ; 1922 – 18 September 1974) was a Pakistani classical vocalist from the Patiala gharana tradition of music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical and ''ghazal'' singers of all time. Together ...

and A Nayyar. In August 2018, ''Coke Studio'' produced a remake of

's first South Asian pop song "

", originally lip-sync by Waheed Murad in the 1966 film '' Armaan'', in the voices of Mustehsan and Ahad Raza Mir. Their rendition of this Pakistani classic was widely criticized. Within a few days of the video being released on YouTube, it became the most-disliked video in the music show's 11-year history. Waheed Murad's son Adil Murad also reacted to the outcry by apologizing to the song's fans for the controversial remake.

Later life

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 Pervez Malik (1937 in Karachi – 18 November 2008) was a Pakistani film director. He was the director of Pakistan's first platinum jubilee film, " Armaan" (1966). He directed more than 20 films, mostly in Urdu language, and received e ...

wrote in a local newspaper: "Not even once during that time idWaheed 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." In 1983,

Anwar Maqsood Anwar Maqsood Hameedi (born 7 September 1939, Urdu:), popularly known as Anwar Maqsood, is a Pakistani scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. He was well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the lat ...

, a TV writer and anchor and a close friend, invited Waheed to his TV comedy show ''Silver Jubilee''.

, 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. In July 1983, Waheed was driving his car too fast and struck a tree. He was left with a scar on his face. A few days after the accident, Waheed asked his friend Pervez Malik for a role. Malik said, "Get better and you will be the lead in my next film." He replied, "You give me the role and I will get better". He was going to Karachi to get the scar fixed to complete the last few scenes of ''Hero'' when he met the chief editor, Ilyas Rasheedi, of the film magazine 'Nigar' at the airport. Rasheedi wrote in his magazine:

By chance a famous film producer was also present in the waiting area and Waheed put him on the spot by asking if he had a role for him for
Javed Sheikh Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films '' Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony G ...
's father in his movie. The producer had a difficult time dodging Waheed.

Last days and death

Waheed's son Aadil was in Karachi staying with his grandmother. A day before his face surgery, Waheed celebrated his son's birthday. He bought several gifts for Aadil and wished him a happy year. Waheed Murad (14319103598)

He returned late to spend the night at Anita Ayub's mother Mumtaz Ayub's home. When Waheed did not wake up until late, the door had to be forced open and Waheed was found lying on the floor, dead for several hours. A paan leaf with an unidentified substance in it was found in his mouth. It is not clear if the cause of death was a heart attack or suicide. Waheed was buried near his father's grave in Gulberg Graveyard in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Personal life

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.

Awards and honours

On 2 October 2019,

celebrated Murad's 81st birthday with a

on its homepage for Pakistan. At PTV Awards in 2012 on June 11th at

17th PTV Awards The 17th annual PTV National Awards took place on 11 June 2012 and was aired on 30 June 2012. The awards were presented by the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) to honor the best drama programs on Pakistani television of the preceding 12 mo ...

tributes were paid to him and he was awarded PTV Pakistani Legend Award which was given to his son Adil Murad. The

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

named a street and intersection after him in

on August 16th, 2021.

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

* * (now discontinued)
Biography of Waheed Murad

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murad, Waheed 1938 births 1983 deaths Punjabi people Nigar Award winners Pakistani male film actors Pakistani film directors Pakistani film producers Pakistani screenwriters 20th-century Pakistani male singers Pakistani people of Turkish descent Male actors from Karachi University of Karachi alumni Karachi Grammar School alumni 20th-century Pakistani male actors Lawrence College Ghora Gali alumni Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Male actors in Urdu cinema PTV Award winners Male actors in Punjabi cinema 20th-century screenwriters