Waheed Murad: Chocolate Hero of Lollywood

WEB DESK: Several actors have performed in the Pakistani film industry, but the position that Waheed Murad holds is second to none.

Waheed Murad’s film career spanned only two decades, but in those twenty years, he showed a new path to the film-makers and became so ingrained in the hearts of fans that even today, on November 23, his fans are remembering him.

37 years ago the star Waheed Murad left his fans forever but his movies, songs filmed on him, and above all his hairstyle is still being admired.

So many stars who came after Murad have left for their eternal journey, but the death of ‘Chocolate Hero’ will never be forgotten by his fans.

Early Life

Waheed Murad was born on October 2, 1938, in film producer and distributor Nisar Murad’s house.

He did his Master’s in English from Karachi University.

Before stepping into acting, he produced two films.

Waheed not only appeared in Urdu films as a lead but also directed one film and was a producer of 11 films.

He also appeared in one Pashto and eight Punjabi films as an action hero.

His debut movie as a producer, ‘Insaan Badalta Hai’ was a hit at the box office while the next movie ‘Jab Say Daikha Hai Tumhain’ failed, despite the popular songs.

Courtesy: Pinterest

At the age of 25, he produced and appeared along with actress Zeba as a lead in “Heera aur Pathar”.
Sohail Rana composed the music for the film which became a hit even before its release.

Director Pervaiz Malik, poet Masroor Anwar, actor Waheed Murad, and composer Sohail Rana became hit names for the film’s success.

After the success of ‘Heera aur Pathar’, the crew made super hit films like ‘Arman’ and ‘Ehsan’ with Waheed Murad and Zeba.

‘Arman’ proved to be the first platinum jubilee film of Pakistan due to the songs and its unique story.

Later, the duo of Murad and Zeba could not work together for various reasons, but their work is still remembered by everyone, especially the film ‘Arman’ which was a hit like no other movie was.

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The songs of this film Akaily Na Jana’ and ‘Koko korina’ not only became popular but even after fifty years, people are still singing these songs.

Before Waheed Murad, heroes wearing suits in a decent manner were trending in the movies or the characters in tragic roles were a hit.

Most of the actors adopted the 1950s style even in the 1960s.

Career

With the debut of Waheed Murad, the Pakistani film industry was blessed enough to get an actor who was not only up-to-date but also reflected the younger generation.

Waheed Murad knew how to dress in Western and Eastern clothes, whose style was liked by boys and girls and was excelled in romantic acting.

In the sixties, many youngsters tried to join Lollywood and be ‘ like Waheed Murad, but it remained a bumpy ride for all except actor Nadeem in presence of Waheed Murad.

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Waheed Murad worked with all the heroines of his time, but the most popular pairing was with Zeba Begum, the pair gave hits like Heera Aur Pathar ‘,’ Kanir ‘,’ Eid Mubarak ‘,’ Arman ‘, ‘Ehsan’, ‘Maa Baap’, ‘Rishta Hai Pyar Ka’ and ‘Insaniyat’.

After getting married to actor Muhammad Ali, Zeba Begum did not work with any other hero.

However in ‘Shama’, ‘Jab Jab Phool Khilay’, and ‘Phool Mairy Gulshan Ka’ she acted alongside Waheed Murad and Nadeem.

While in the films ‘Dushman’, ‘Mohabbat Zindagi Hai’, ‘Gonj Uthi Shehnai’ and ‘Aapka Khadim’ Zeba performed on screen with Waheed Murad and Mohammad Ali.

Waheed Murad also made several films with actresses Rani, Shamim Ara, Babra Sharif, Shabnam, Diba, Sangeeta, Nishu, Nelo, and Rozina, which were also hits but the duo like Waheed Murad, Zeba was the one beyond replacement.

In the 1970s, actor Shahid and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din joined the film industry, while Waheed, Mohammad Ali, and Nadeem’s career bloomed.

Like black and white films, Waheed Murad also excelled in color films, action, romance, along with comedy.

He also played negative roles in a few films, including ‘Shama’ and ‘Glass House’.

Courtesy: Daily Times

His most successful film ‘Shabana’ and the platinum jubilee film ‘Awaaz’ released in 1976 and 1978, but from then on, Waheed Murad’s acting career started sinking.

The 1980s did not go well for Waheed Murad and many of his films flopped at the box office.

During his career, he had acted in many Punjabi films, but the kind of Punjabi films that had begun was not his genre.

It was just a matter of time and his fans didn’t want to see him performing in such films, yet he acted in Asif Khan’s film ‘Kala Dhanda Gore Log’ and its Pashto version ‘Pakhtun Pa Wilayat Kamba’.

The film was shot in England and Indian actress Samina Singh was pairing him.

Even the relatively good performance of this film at the box office remained an abortive attempt for Waheed Murad’s sinking career.

Despite the arrival of handsome actors like Ayaz Naik, Faisal Rehman, and Asif Raza Mir, Waheed Murad has not changed his style.

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The actor, who was considered a hero of the younger generation, got into obscurity instead of growing up with the age and demand of the audience.

When Mohammad Ali changed his character role and Nadeem changed his hairstyle, Waheed Murad should have done the same but time did not give him any respite.

Demise

He died at the age of 45 in Karachi on 23 November at the home of his sister Mumtaz Ayub.

His last unfinished production ‘Hero’ was released in 1985 and the last film to be completed in his life ‘Zalzalah’ was released in 1987.

Waheed Murad had won more than 30 awards in his life, while in 2010 he was posthumously awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz by former President Asif Ali Zardari.

Adil Murad, the son of Waheed Murad, also acted in a few films while working as a producer and actor on TV, but could not get the position he deserved.