Shahid Mahmood Nadeem ( ur, ; born 1947) is a Pakistani journalist, playwright, screenwriter, theater and television director, and a human rights activist.
He served as the general manager, program director, and deputy managing director of the
Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
...
. He is currently director of the
Ajoka Theater and director of the
PTV Academy.
Early life
Shahid Nadeem was born to a Muslim family in 1947, during the partitioning of British India, in Sopore
Sopore, known as Suyyapur in antiquity, is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east from the city of Baramulla.
Sopore Town has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale ...
, Kashmir, to a well-known doctor; the family later settled 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 ...
, Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
.
Career
Nadeem began his career as a human rights and social activist in Lahore. During the era of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law i ...
, he was imprisoned three times in 1969, 1970, and in 1979 for his political activism. In 1980, he was forced to go abroad and moved to London where he worked for Amnesty International between 1980 and 1988, from 1991 to 1993 in Hong Kong, and then in Los Angeles.[
Nadeem has directed and written plays for the theater as well as a number of TV series, most of them for PTV.][ The majority of his plays are written in and Punjabi. He has adapted a few English plays.][ Nadeem writes for newspapers, among them '']The Express Tribune
''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Intern ...
''.
In 1995, Nadeem directed and wrote two television serials for the Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
...
including '' Neelay Hath''. One of them is the political drama '' Zard Dopehar'' which aired on PTV and starred Shujaat Hashmi and Samina Peerzada
Samina Peerzada (, Punjabi, ) is a film and television actress, producer and director from Pakistan.
Personal life
Samina was born into an educated Kashmiri Butt family in Lahore, but was raised in Karachi, Sindh Pakistan. After graduating in ...
. The story centres around a corrupt politician who grew up in a typical middle-class family.
The other, '' Uraan'', aired in the same year on PTV and was very popular. It focused on the culture and management at Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
(PIA). It was shot mostly at the Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017 ...
, Karachi, but some of it was filmed in Kathmandu, London, Nairobi, New York City, and Paris. Shakeel
Yousuf Kamal (born 29 May 1938), better known as Shakeel Yousuf, is a Pakistani actor best known for his roles in PTV drama serial Uncle Urfi (1972), as 'Mehboob Ahmed' in PTV's Aangan Terha (1984) and as ''Taimoor Ahmad'' in Ankahi (1982). H ...
played the lead as a PIA aircraft captain and Faryal Gohar as a senior flight purser.
Nadeem wrote a hit comedy television series ''Janjaal Pura'' for PTV during the 2000s. The serial was directed by Tariq Jamil and starred Savera Nadeem
Savera Nadeem ( pa, ) is a Pakistani actress, producer and director. Primarily known for her work in television, she also acted in theatre and films. Nadeem is the recipient of a Lux Style Award for Best Television Actress out of five nomin ...
, Mehmood Aslam
Mehmood Aslam is a Pakistani television and stage actor. He has appeared in classic drama series such as ''Andhera Ujala'', ''Payas'', ''Din'', ''Janjaalpura'' and is commonly known for his role in ongoing comedy series ''Bulbulay''. Some of ...
and Naseem Vicky
Naseem Vicky (born 18 July 1967) is a television and film actor and also a stand-up comedian, born in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. In 2000, he migrated to Lahore because of his career. He was in ''Family Front'' (1997), a Pakistan Television Cor ...
.
On 23 August 2008, the Alhamra Arts Council hosted the launch of ''Selected Plays'' published by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
(OUP) with the help of Ajoka.[ The book contains seven of his famous plays: ''Teesri Dastak'', ''Barri'', ''Aik Thi Nani'', ''Kala Meda Bhes'', ''Dukhini'', ''Bulha'' and '']Burqavaganza
''Burqavaganza'' (Urdu: برقع وگینزا) is a controversial satirical play written by Shahid Nadeem about the '' burqa'' worn by conservative Muslim women, staged in Pakistan in 2010 by the Ajoka Theater Company.
Ajoka Theatre
Ajoka Theat ...
''. The book was also launched at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts
Pakistan National Council of the Arts ( ur, , or PNCA) was set up to spearhead the development of arts in Pakistan by an Act of Parliament in 1973. It aims to build a robust arts ecosystem by creating an environment conducive to the flourishi ...
(PNCA), Islamabad on 25 August 2008 with the help of the Pakistan Academy of Letters
The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout t ...
. Two collections of his Urdu and Punjabi plays have been published.[
In 2012 Nadeem wrote a play ''Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh'', directed by ]Madeeha Gauhar
Madeeha Gauhar (; 21 September 1956 – 25 April 2018) was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in theat ...
, which was first performed at the Alhamra Arts Council
Alhamra Arts Council (also known as the Alhamra Hall, Alhamra Cultural Complex, Alhamra Art Gallery and Lahore Arts CouncilNational School of Drama
National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indep ...
(NSD) in New Delhi but was cancelled due to security concerns. In February 2013, ''Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh'' was performed at Nishtar Hall Nishtar Hall is a cultural centre and music venue in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was established to promote and represent the Pashtun culture and music. Hall was established in 1985. It is an only and large entertainment venue in Peshawar with a capac ...
, Peshawar by Ajoka.
In 2013, Nadeem started writing the script for the television serial '' Main Manto'' based on the life of Saadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan.
Writing main ...
. The series is directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, with Sarmad Khoosat playing the lead; he is supported by Mahira Khan
Mahira Hafeez Khan (; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani actress. She started her career as a VJ in 2006. Khan is best known for portraying the role of Khirad Hussain in the romantic-drama '' Humsafar'' for which she received numerous acco ...
and Saba Qamar
Saba Qamar Zaman (born 5 April 1984), known professionally as Saba Qamar, is a Pakistani actress who works predominantly in Urdu films and television. She has won several accolades including Lux Style Awards and Hum Awards. Qamar is one of Pak ...
. The film screened all over Pakistan to critical acclaim.
Personal life
Nadeem has a daughter, Savera Nadeem
Savera Nadeem ( pa, ) is a Pakistani actress, producer and director. Primarily known for her work in television, she also acted in theatre and films. Nadeem is the recipient of a Lux Style Award for Best Television Actress out of five nomin ...
, from his first marriage who is a television actress. Later Nadeem married Madeeha Gauhar
Madeeha Gauhar (; 21 September 1956 – 25 April 2018) was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in theat ...
and has two sons, Sarang and Nirvaan, the latter being a TV, film and theatre actor/director, who has also written columns for ''The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. Nadeem and Gauhar first met in London when Shahid was working at Amnesty International and Gauhar was on a study scholarship from the British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...
.
Books
*''Selected Plays''. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
, 2008 .
Filmography
Films
Plays
Television
Awards and nominations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadeem, Shahid
Pakistani male journalists
Pakistani dramatists and playwrights
Pakistani screenwriters
Pakistani television writers
Pakistani theatre directors
Pakistani television directors
Pakistani human rights activists
Punjabi people
1947 births
Writers from Lahore
Journalists from Lahore
Pakistani prisoners and detainees
Living people
Recipients of the Pride of Performance
Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent
Male television writers