Jamal Shah (

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

: جمال شاہ) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

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. ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, musician, writer, sculptor, painter, and social activist. He has also served as the Federal Minister of Culture in Kakar cabinet.

Early life and education

Shah was born into a

speaking Syed family in 1956 in

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, Pakistan. Shah received a

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 ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from the University of Balochistan in 1978. He graduated from the

National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview The National College of Arts – Federally Chartered Institute, is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second ...

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 ...

in 1983. He later obtained a Master's degree in fine arts from the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom.Profile of Jamal Shah on Clifton Art Gallery website
Retrieved 30 October 2019

Personal life

He married actress

Faryal Gohar Faryal Gohar (born 18 December 1959) is a Pakistani actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Uraan'', '' Chaandni Raatain'', ''Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and '' Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayai ...

which ended after nine years in divorce. Shah described the contrast in their personalities as cause of their divorce.

Career

In 1984, Shah established the Fine Arts Department at the University of Balochistan and headed it until 1986. In 1985, he founded the Artists Association of Balochistan and also was appointed the first Chairman of the Artist Association of Pakistan. During the 1980s he began to have an international recognition, being called "the next

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

" and getting a role in the 1989

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television serial ''

Traffik ''Traffik'' is a 1989 British television serial about an illegal drug trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Afghan and Pakistani growers, dealers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. ...

'', but he refused most of these offers as they clashed with his Islamic values. In 1991, Shah made his acting debut in the film ''K2'', directed by

Franc Roddam Francis George Franc Roddam (born 29 April 1946) is an English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher, best known as the creator of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' and ''Masterchef'' and as the director of ''Quadrop ...

, and since then, he has appeared in many other movies and TV dramas. He founded the Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

in 1992 and later became a

Telenor Pakistan Telenor Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited is a Pakistani wireless network operator headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. Khurrum Ashfaque is the current chief executive officer (CEO). Telenor started its operations in Pakistan in March 2005. Over the y ...

brand ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person paid by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the ...

doing television productions under the banner of Hunerkada Productions. In 2007, Shah became the executive director of

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Pakistan National Council of the Arts (, or PNCA) was established through an Act of Parliament in 1973 with the mandate to lead the development of arts in Pakistan. PNCA policies are framed by its Board of Governors which reports to the Federa ...

(PNCA) in Islamabad, Pakistan, and then was appointed its Director General in October 2016. His tenure at PNCA ended on 22 September 2019 with him stating in an interview with Alyan Khan that he "did not want any extension". In 2019, Shah was the President and Chief Curator of the first Islamabad Art Festival. Shah made his directorial debut with the 2016 film ''

Revenge of the Worthless ''Revenge of the Worthless'' is a 2016 Pakistani Urdu, Pashto and English-language action drama film featuring the directorial debut of Jamal Shah with an assistant direction of Zohaib Akhtar and produced by Amna Shah under production banner ...

''. In 2021, Shah was awarded the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

from the French Minister of Culture. In 2022, he sculpted a bronze bust of Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam, which was unveiled by the director general of

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

, Yukiya Amano at IAEA's 61st general conference.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Jamal Pashtun male actors People from Quetta 1956 births Living people Pakistani male film actors Pakistani male television actors Pakistani painters University of Balochistan alumni Academic staff of the University of Balochistan National College of Arts alumni Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Pashtun artists Pakistani artists