Muzaffar Adeeb (1926 – 26 May 2006), known mononymously as Adeeb, was a Pakistani

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He appeared in 38 Indian films from 1940 to 1962, although he did not start performing in films very actively until the 1950s. In 1962, he shifted from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(now Mumbai),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and resumed his film career that lasted until his death with over 500 films to his credit.

Early life and career

Adeeb was born in Bombay in a conservative Pathan family from

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. His family moved to Bombay before

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation th ...

in 1947 and that is where the actor in him emerged, after the completion of his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Urdu literature Urdu literature (, ) comprises the literary works, written in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal'' () and '' nazm'' (), it has expanded into other styles of writing, includin ...

from

Bombay University University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

, Maharashtra. Unlike his contemporaries, scriptwriting was the first love of Adeeb, who worked in the scriptwriting department with

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

's father, Prithviraj Kapoor, in Prithvi Theatre and later with Indian National Theatre as assistant director. It is during this time in India that he learned the basics of acting which later helped him entertain 2 generations of audience. Although he worked in minor roles in his initial career, it was Zia Sarhadi's ''

Footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

'' (1953) that gave him his first breakthrough role opposite

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

, Meena Kumari and Anwar Hussain (

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the ...

's brother). He worked in 30 films during his stay in India, including ''Mehndi'', ''Pak Daman'' (1956) and ''Jung'', before migrating to Pakistan in 1962, on the insistence of director Akbar Ali Akku and actor/director Iqbal Yusuf, son of Adeeb's close friend, director S.M. Yusuf. He settled in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and later moved on to

in search of roles which kept pouring in from the 1960s until his last film – Syed Noor's super-hit Majajan (2006). In an era when on-screen villainy in Pakistani films was ruled by good looking villains such as Aslam Pervaiz, Masood Akhtar and even Mohammad Ali (in his initial films), Adeeb made his entry with ''Daal Mein Kala'' (1964), which was directed by Iqbal Yusuf and featured Syed Kamal and

Bahar Begum Bahar Begum (born Kishwar Begum; ) is an actress best known for many Pakistani movies since 1956. She was first introduced to the Pakistani film industry by the renowned film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in the film Chann Mahi (1956). Anwar K ...

in the lead along with late actors Nirala and Mohammad Ali. In the coming years, he became a close friend of Mohammad Ali and the two acted in numerous successful films such as Kaneez (1965 film), ''Aadil (1966)'' and ''Baghi Sardar'' (1966), ''Hatim Tai'' (1967), ''Mahal'' (1968), ''Naaz'' (1969), ''Aansoo Ban Gaye Moti'' (1970), ''Dushman'' (1974), ''Shirin Farhad'' (1975), ''Haider Ali'' (1979), ''Josh'', ''Sangram'' (1981), ''Zanjeer'' (1986) with ''Rocky Dada'' being their last film together in 1987. He was at ease in both

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and Punjabi films, playing memorable roles in countless films opposite other actors such as

Sultan Rahi Sultan Rahi (; June 24, 1938 – January 9, 1996) was a Pakistani actor, producer and screenwriter. He established himself as one of the leading and most successful actors of Pakistani and Punjabi cinema, and received a reputation as Pakistan' ...

in '' Maula Jatt (1979)'' and ''Andaata'', Waheed Murad in ''Eid Mubarak (1965)'' and Kaneez, ''Saaz Aur Awaaz'' (1965), '' Rishta Hai Pyar Ka'' (1967), ''Aik Nagina'' (1969), ''Afsana'' (1970) and ''Dushman'' (1974), Syed Kamal in ''Daal Main Kaala'' (1962) and ''Shab Bakhair'' and Nadeem in ''Talaash'' (1986), ''Ustadon Kay Ustad'' (1990) and ''Khazana'' (1995). Late directors – Rangeela's '' Diya Aur Toofan'' and Riaz Shahid's ''Gharnata and Yeh Aman'' (both 1971) – gave Adeeb tailor-made roles in their films to show his true potential. He was one of the few actors to work with actor Shaan's father, Riaz Shahid, and portray the character of his on-screen father. During his last years, he was more active on stage than in films and depicted the role of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in one of his last TV plays. In a career spanning over 50 years, Adeeb featured in more than 500 films, depicting villainous roles in different shades such as a deceiving brother, cruel father, nasty husband, dishonest friend and brutal landlord.

Personal life

Adeeb married actress Tani Begum but later they both filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences but remained on good terms.

Death

Adeeb died on May 26, 2006, at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology,

, where he was admitted after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

the previous week.

Filmography

References

External links