Mirza Nazir Baig (born 19 July 1941), best known by his screen name Nadeem (), 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, singer, and producer. He has appeared in over two hundred films during his 56-year-long career.He has also been honored with the

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

award in 1997. He has also won a record 16

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards () were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema, after having been revived in 2017 following a 15-year absence. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The ...

as an actor.

Early life

Nadeem was born on 19 July 1941 in

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

, which at the time was part of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Nadeem migrated to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), 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. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

along with his family after the independence of Pakistan, in 1947. He finished high school at Sindh Madrasa-tul-Islam and attended some years of college at Government Islamia Science College, Karachi before he entered the

Pakistani film industry The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including Lollywood, which mak ...

.Profile: The legend speaks
Dawn (newspaper), Published 29 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2021 Nadeem, and artists Talat Hussain, M. Zaheer Khan, Aftab Azeem, Saleem Jafry, and TV producer Iqbal Haider were all discovered at a club 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 ...

in the 1960s. He and his friends, Ameer Ahmed Khan and Qasim Siddiqui, won several music competitions. At one of those musical competitions, he was noticed by singer

Ferdausi Rahman Ferdausi Rahman (; born 28 June 1941) is a Bangladeshi playback singer. She sang some popular film songs for Pakistani films also in the 1960s especially working with the music composer Robin Ghosh in film Chakori released in 1967. She was award ...

. She was impressed by his singing talent and encouraged him to try playback singing in

's film industry.

Career

Nadeem's film career spans more than 50 years. He started his career in 1967 and appeared in his first film, ''

Chakori ''Chakori'' ( ), is a Pakistani Urdu feature film. This film was released on 22 March 1967 on Eid-ul-Azha Day in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The film was directed by Captain Ehtesham. It was Nadeem's and Shabana's debut film. The ...

'' (1967), in a leading role with actress Shabana. The film was produced and directed by Captain

Ehtesham Ehtesham ur Rahman (1927 – 17 February 2002), known as Captain Ehtesham, was a Bangladeshi and Pakistani film director. On his death in 2002 he was described as a pioneer of the film industry in Dhaka, and one of Bangladesh's leading directors ...

, who, in real life, became his father-in-law in 1968 when Nadeem married Farzana, Ehtesham's daughter.Film director Ehtesham dies at 75
Dawn (newspaper), Published 19 February 2002, Retrieved 26 March 2021 The film did well in both circuits of the Pakistani film industry, i.e., West and East Pakistan. He won a

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards () were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema, after having been revived in 2017 following a 15-year absence. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The ...

in the best actor's category for ''Chakori''. Nadeem's films include ''Nadan'' (1973), Anari, Pehchan (1975), Talash (1976), Aina (1977), Hum Dono (1980), Lajawab, Qurbani (1981), Sangdil (1982), and Dehleez (1983). He made a popular screen pairing with actress

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 ...

, with whom he acted in most of his films.Some milestones in the Pakistani film industry
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 23 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2021 Besides acting, Nadeem has sung many songs for films. Nadeem has worked with veteran film directors of the

, including

Pervez Malik Pervez Malik (1937 – 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 excellent review ...

, Nazrul Islam, S. Suleman,

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 actr ...

Sangeeta Sangeeta may refer to: Song and music * Sangita or Sangeeta, music-related performance arts in the ancient and medieval era Indian texts * '' Sangita Makarandha'', an ancient work on Indian classical music Sangeet Sangeeta *Sangeeta Bijlani ( ...

, and

Samina Peerzada Samina Peerzada (, Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a Pakistani film and television actress, producer and director. She was a popular model in 1970s. She is one of the most popular actress of her time and was one of the most successful actress o ...

. Among the well-known actors, he has worked with Santosh Kumar, Darpan,

Waheed Murad Waheed Murad (; 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, ...

, Allauddin, and

Syed Kamal Syed Kamal (; (27 April 1937 – 1 October 2009), often just known as Kamal, was a Pakistani film and TV actor, producer and director. He had worked in 4 Bollywood films before migrating to Pakistan in 1956.Ahmed Rushdi Ahmed Rushdi (; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the Cinema of Pakistan#The Golden Era (1959–1977), golden age of Pakistani film music". Regarded as one of the gr ...

and later

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed (; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a 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 started as a stage singer ...

provided his voice. He acknowledged that songs in Rushdi's voice made his work easier and played a significant role in his success.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1967) (Nadeem's debut film) * '' Behan Bhai'' (1968) * '' Diya Aur Toofan'' (1969) * '' Daman Aur Chingari'' (1973) * '' Aina'' (1977) * ''

Bandish Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, ...

'' (1980) * '' Dillagi'' (1974) * '' Shama'' (1974) * ''Phool Mere Gulshan Ka'' (1974) * ''Anari'' (1975) * ''

Jab Jab Phool Khile ''Jab Jab Phool Khile'' () is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, starring Shashi Kapoor and Nanda. The story is of a poor boy who is a boatman in Kashmir and falls in love with a rich tourist. The film became a "blockbuster" at t ...

'' (1975) * '' Pehchan'' (1975) * '' Mutthi Bhar Chawal'' (1978) * ''Pakeeza'' (1979) * '' Dehleez'' (1983) * '' Doordesh'' (1983) -

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

film * '' Mukhra'' (1988) - a film produced by Nadeem Baig also * '' Bulandi'' (1990) * '' Sargam'' (1995) * '' Jeeva'' (1995) * '' Inteha'' (1999) * '' Koi Tujh Sa Kahan'' (2005) * '' Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaoon Ga'' (2007) * '' Love Mein Gum'' (2011) * '' Main Hoon Shahid Afridi'' (2013) * '' The System'' (2014) * '' Hijrat'' (2016) * '' Sikander'' (2016) * ''

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

'' (2019) * '' Parey Hut Love'' (2019) * '' Zarrar'' (2020) * ''

Tere Bajre Di Rakhi ''Tere Bajre Di Rakhi'' is a 2022 Pakistani Punjabi-language film written and directed by Syed Noor, with music composed by Zulfiqar Ali. It stars Saima Noor, making a comeback in the Punjabi film industry after 6 years. The other cast include ...

'' (2022)

Television

Awards and recognition

for a total of 16 times between 1967 and 2002 as an actor including the Nigar Award Millennium Award in 1999 *

Award by the President of Pakistan in 1997

Lux Style Awards

References

External links

* * (Filmography of Nadeem on IMDb website) {{Authority control 1941 births Living people Male actors from Vijayawada Muhajir people Pakistani male film actors Pakistani male television actors Pakistani television directors Nigar Award winners Recipients of the Pride of Performance Male actors from Karachi Singers from Karachi Male actors in Urdu cinema People from Karachi Pakistani expatriate male actors in India Male actors in Hindi cinema