: بیگم خورشید مرزا ), also known by her screen name as Renuka Devi (1918 – 1989), was a Pakistani television actress and a film actress in the pre-partition era.
Early life, Family and Education
Begum Khurshid Mirza was born as ''Khurshid Jehan'' on 4 March 1918 in
Aligarh
Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capit ...
to
Sheikh Abdullah
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later re ...
and Waheed Jahan Begum, the founders of
Women's College, Aligarh
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Orient ...
. Her father was a practising lawyer and philanthropist who was keen to bring education and enlightenment to Muslim women. Her elder sister Rashid Jahan was a prominent
language writer and one of the founding members of the Progressive Writers' Movement. Mirza married in 1935 to a police officer Akbar Mirza and migrated to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in the wake of
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947. Mirza completed her education with a Master's degree in English in 1963.
Film career
Khurshid Mirza was introduced to Indian cinema by Devika Rani of
Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay.
The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After ...
under the screen name Renuka Devi. In her interview given to Lutfullah Khan, Mirza recalled Rani named her after her deceased sister.
She acted in ''
Jeevan Prabhat
''Jeevan Prabhat'' (Dawn Of Life) is a 1937 Hindi film social drama, produced by Bombay Talkies and directed by Franz Osten. The music director was Saraswati Devi with lyrics and dialogues by J. S. Casshyap. The screenplay was by Niranjan Pal. ...
(1937)'', '' Bhabhi (1938)'', ''Bhakti (1939)'', ''Bari Didi (1939)'' and Naya Sansar (1941)'', and performed as a leading lady in box-office hits ''
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
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, location =
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'' (1943), ''Ghulami'' (1945) and ''Samrat Chandragupta (1945)''. She also sang for some of her movies.
She announced her retirement from the film industry in February 1945.
Films in India
Films in Pakistan
Television career
When Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) began its broadcast transmission in 1964 and its TV drama serials started earning household fame, there was a need for professionals to train the young media crew. It was a
Haseena Moin
Haseena Moin (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio, and television. She was the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to th ...
's serial, entitled ''Kiran Kahani'' (1972), which rediscovered Khurshid Mirza as a senior actress. Her performance gained her rave reviews, even though she said in a later interview that it was slightly off-key. The next serial she worked in was ''
Zair, Zabar, Pesh
Zair, Zabar, Pesh ( ur, , lit=Topsy-Turvy) is a 1974 Pakistani television series written by Haseena Moin and directed by Ishrat Ansari and produced by Shireen Khan and Zaheer Khan.
Synopsis
The story is about Sabeen ( Roohi) and Khadim ( Shak ...
'', also written by
Haseena Moin
Haseena Moin (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio, and television. She was the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to th ...
. Her performance was regarded by many as one of the finest acting performances in that role, and this set the tone for the rest of her acting career.
She remained a character actress for PTV,
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
television centre and had nearly a dozen of popular drama series to her credit, including '' Uncle Urfi'' (1972), '' Parchhaiyan'' (1976) and a special play ''Massi Sherbate'' written by Fatima Surayya Bajia. She retired in 1985, with her last performance coming in PTV drama series '' Ana'' (1984).
Zair, Zabar, Pesh
Zair, Zabar, Pesh ( ur, , lit=Topsy-Turvy) is a 1974 Pakistani television series written by Haseena Moin and directed by Ishrat Ansari and produced by Shireen Khan and Zaheer Khan.
Synopsis
The story is about Sabeen ( Roohi) and Khadim ( Shak ...
Afshan
Afshan ( fa, افشان, also Romanized as Afshān; also known as Afshār) is a village in Ashar Rural District, Ashar District
Ashar District ( fa, بخش آشار) is a district (bakhsh) in Mehrestan County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Ir ...
''
* '' Ana'' (1984)
* ''Aagahi''
* ''Massi Sherbate''
* ''Show Shaa''
* ''Panah''
* ''Agar Nama Bar Milay''
Literary and Art Works
Begum Khurshid Mirza penned her autobiography ''The Uprooted Sappling'', which appeared in the Pakistani monthly
Herald
A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.
Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...
as a nine-part serial, from August 1982 to April 1983. Later, the collection was compiled in 2005 as a book by her daughter, Lubna Kazim
* ''A Woman of Substance: The Memoirs Of Begum Khurshid Mirza'' (an autobiography, edited by Lubna Kazim. Delhi: Zubaan 2005)Woman Of Substance: The Memoirs Of Begum Khurshid Mirza on goodreads.com website Retrieved 24 December 2019
From 1960 onwards, she was involved in several literary activities, writing short stories for prestigious Urdu magazines ''Saqi'' published by Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi. Later, she compiled all her short stories with the cover title ''Mehru ki Bachee''.
During her days 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 the ...
, Mirza ran the women's programme and wrote plays for
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...
. She also composed religious verses under the pseudonym ''Shola'' and sermons for Milad meetings.
Social works
After migration to Pakistan, Khurshid Mirza worked for the '' All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA)'' as a volunteer helping destitute women. When her husband was transferred to
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 the ...
, she took charge of the APWA centre in a rural area called ''Ismail Killi''. She had also aired programmes on women's issues on radio.
Awards and recognition
*
IFFI Best Actor Award (Female)
The IFFI Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Silver Peacock for the Best Actor Award (Female)) is an honor presented annually at the International Film Festival of India since 2010 to an actress for the best performance in a leading ...
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.PTV Best Actress Award in the PTV play ''Afshan'' in 1982.
*In 2004, an event was arranged to pay tributes to Begum Khurshid Mirza 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 ...
, where many Pakistani dignitaries gathered to recall her efforts for the tribal women during her stay 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 the ...
in the 1950s where she also used to hold events to raise funds for
All Pakistan Women's Association
The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, ( ur, آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of mo ...
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 ...
, where she died on 8 February 1989. She was buried in Mian Mir graveyard.