Written By: Mohammed Rizwan Memon

Waheed Murad (October 2, 1938 - November 23, 1983) was a legendary Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Born to a successful film distributor and producer Nisar Murad in Karachi, Waheed Murad got his early education from the Marie Calaco School. He graduated in arts from S.M. Arts College in Karachi and then obtained a Master’s degree in English Literature from the Karachi University later. He was the only son of the famous Pakistani film distributor Mr. Nisar Murad and Mrs. Shireen Murad.

Waheed was very inspired by the film and music industry since his childhood. In his

childhood, he used to wear a guitar around his neck and was famous as a good dancer among his friends. In his school life he played parts in several plays, which made him more popular. Since childhood he was being given an exposure to famous actors who used to visit his father regularly and inspired him to pursue an acting career. A strong educational background placed Waheed Murad at an advantage compared to other film producers and actors of his time

Waheed was the first Rock n' Roll dancing star in South Asia. He was distinctively known as the 'Chocolate Hero' and 'Lady Killer’ due to his attractive personality. He is well-known for his charming expressions, tender voice and unusual talent for acting in films. His romantic style of acting made him popular as well as controversial, as it was the very early stage of Pakistani cinema where such bold and romantic characters were not much-admired. His dressing style, the hair style, dialogues and songs used to be liked and followed by people of mostly teen and adult ages. Waheed's hair cut was very popular among the young and was called the 'Waheed Murad cut', which was the very first “trend” in haircuts in Pakistan.

During the 60’s era of Pakistan, films were dominated by middle-aged actors in lead roles. Waheed not only changed that but also turned around the style of dressing, acting and most importantly, the picturisation of songs. He enlivened the silver screen with his extraordinary talent in acting and picturisation especially in romantic songs. Some of the songs that still turn many nostalgic, are Tumhain kaisay bata doon, Kuch log rooth kar bhi, Dil tumko dey diya, Koko korina, Jhoom aye dil wo dera jaan-e-bahar aye ga, Beetay huway khuch din aisay hain tanhai jinhain duhrati hey, Mujhe tum nazar say gira to rahay ho, Yun kho gaiy teray pyar mein hum, Socha tha piyar na karan gain, Khamosh hein nazaray, Aye abre karam aaj itna baras and many more.

Waheed was a very prominent and successful actor in his times. Apart from doing his most famous romantic roles, he also played roles of an action hero in Jab Jab Phool Khilay, dual role in Hill Station, a suspicious husband role in Shabana and a villain in Sheeshay Ka Ghar. He played the romantic roles in films like Armaan, Doraha, Ehsaan, Devar Bhabi, Insaniyat, Andaleeb, Afsana, Bewafa, Anjuman, Mulaqat, Mohabbat Zindagi Hai, Apne Huay Paraye, Aawaz and Behan Bhai.

One of his block buster films is Armaan, which was his own production, made a pivotal impact on the sub-continental film industry such that the Pakistani film industry was considered as the rising sun after Indian film industry. Armaan made him a superstar overnight and as equal to the Indian film titans such as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Ashok Kumar and Prithviraj Kapoor. Another hit was Heera Aur Pathar which provided the ‘chocolate hero’, as he was affectionately called, the memorable big break as an actor. He produced and wrote the film himself and was instrumental in giving a break to his friends, namely director Pervez Malik, poet Masroor Anwar and musician Sohail Rana. The famous playback singer, Ahmed Rushdi, gave his voice to Waheed in the film and the two became inseparable since then, until his death in 1983. So he was not alone in his remarkable journey of cinema and film industry. His team included Pervez Malik, Masroor Anwar, Sohail Rana and Ahmed Rushdi, who gathered one hit after another like Armaan, Doraha, Ehsaan, Ussay Dekha Ussay Chaha and others.

He produced a couple of films as well like Insan Badalta Hai and Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhain through his father’s production house called Film Arts and later ventured into acting as a young and promising actor. Under his own Film Company, Waheed produced nine outstanding and super hit films. Heera Aur Patther (1964), Armaan (1966), Ehsaan (1967), Samandar (1968), Ishara (1969), Naseeb Apna Apna (1970), Mastana Mahi (1971), Jaal (1972) and Hero (1983) were the films which provided an excellent base for Pakistani cinema to thrive upon.

Although Waheed paired successfully with Rani, Shamim Ara, Shabnam, Deeba, Babra Sharif, Nisho and Rozina, it was with Zeba that he enjoyed the most hits, including Heera Aur Pathar, Eid Mubarak, Kaneez, Armaan (Pakistan’s first Platinum Jubilee film), Insaanyat, Maa Baap, Ehsaan and Rishta Hai Pyar Ka (first film to be shot abroad).

Waheed was married to Salma, a daughter of Karachi based industrialist. Their marriage took place on Thursday, September 17, 1964. The wedding ceremony was arranged at Nisar Murad's house in Tariq Road, Karachi. They had two daughters Aaliya and Sadia (died in infancy) and one son Adil.

Waheed Murad acted in a total of 124 films (2 films were released after his death) of which 38 were black and white and 86 were in colour. He acted in 115 Urdu films, 8 Punjabi films and 1 Pushto film. As an actor, Waheed achieved 4 Nigar awards in the best actor's category for the films Heera aur pathar, Armaan, Andleeb and Mastana Mahi.