Riaz Shahid (1927 – 1 October 1972) was a Pakistani filmmaker, film writer, and a journalist. Influenced by poet

Habib Jalib Habib Jalib (; 24 March 1928 – 13 March 1993) was a Pakistani revolutionary poet and left-wing political activist who opposed martial law, authoritarianism, military dictatorship and state oppression. He wrote several poems in Punjabi and ...

, who would later become a friend, Shahid frequently engaged with political activists at

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

gatherings in Lahore, and his support for the

Pan-Islamic Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...

causes of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and

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 ...

would be reflected in his filmography.

Early life and education

Riaz Shahid was born in 1927 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 ...

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 ...

. He belonged to an ethnic Kashmiri family. He was the father of a famous Pakistani film star

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP (; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid () or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, screewriter and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading actors of Pak ...

. Shaan was only one year old, when his father died. His real name was ''Sheikh Riaz'', but was called by his nickname ''Shahid''. He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore, Pakistan.

Writing career

Riaz lived in Lahore where he started his career as a journalist for the newspaper ''Chataan'' and later joined Faiz Ahmed Faiz's ''Lail-o-Nihar''. He authored the Urdu novel ''Hazaar Dastaan'' (''A Thousand Tales'') in 1955, a

social realist Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...

narrative set in post-Partition Lahore, addressing themes of poverty, inequality, and political disillusionment. After reading the novel, Faiz Ahmed Faiz convinced him to work in films. Though largely forgotten for decades, the novel was rediscovered and republished in 2024 by a group of literary scholars and activists, sparking renewed interest in Shahid’s contributions to literature.

Film career

Riaz Shahid was introduced as a story and dialogue writer to the Pakistani film industry by his friend, actor Allauddin, in film ''Bharosa'' (1958). In 1962, Riaz started his film career as a director for the film ''Susraal'' (1962 film). Collaborating with the noted progressive poet,

, he went on to write or direct several films like '' Zarqa'' (1969),

Shaheed ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acqui ...

(1962), ''Farangi'' (1964), ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) and '' Yeh Aman'' (1971). Riaz Shahid was married to then famous actress Neelo and had three children. The first child was a daughter and was named ''Zarqa'' followed by two sons Shaan, who is now a well-known Pakistani film actor and Sarosh, who also worked in a couple of Pakistani movies.

Death and legacy

Riaz Shahid died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on 1 October 1972 at Lahore, Pakistan. A noted Pakistani film actress and director Sangeeta is quoted as saying, "Riaz Shahid was a visionary. Whatever is happening in Kashmir today, he showed it well in the 60s. He was the top director of his period and we should be proud that such people were once a part of our industry". Another film producer Choudhry Ejaz Kamran reportedly said, "Riaz Shahid stood out for not just his craft but his contribution to meaningful cinema. Cinema that was both political and imppressive. Shahid directed super hit films that are now considered guide books for upcoming film-makers. While he dabbed into a variety of genres, he always preferred to do films based on serious and revolutionary ideas".

Filmography

Awards and recognition

Nigar Awards

Best Script Writer

*Neend (1959) *Shaheed (1961) *Khamosh Raho (1964) *Zarqa (1969) *Bahisht (1974) *Haider Ali (1978)

Best Dialogues/Screenplay

*Shaheed (1961) *Shikwa (1963) *Firangi (1964) *Yeh Aman (1971) *Bahisht (1974)

Best Director

*Zarqa (1969)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahid, Riaz 1927 births 1972 deaths Film directors from Lahore Pakistani male journalists Nigar Award winners Kashmiri people Deaths from leukemia in Pakistan Government Islamia College alumni 20th-century Pakistani screenwriters 20th-century Pakistani male writers 20th-century journalists Pakistani film directors Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Muslim socialists