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Zeba
A
tribute to the Queen of silver screen
by
Anis Ahmed Shakur
anisshakur@hotmail.com
A gorgeous, graceful, girl, Shaheen, popularly known as Zeba, impressed the enthused movie-goers in her debut movie, ‘Chiragh jalta raha’, directed by Fazal Ahmed Karim Fazli, released on March 9, 1962.
Fame did not came over-night to her. On the contrary, she had to work real hard, day in and day out to prove her worth.
She marked her presence gracefully in her second movie, ‘Jab say dekha hai tumhay’ opposite Darpan.(producer: Waheed Murad, director: Munawwar Rasheed, released on March 29, 1962)
Her acting was both convincing and charming.
Zeba’s illustrious film career moved on and she paired off with Waheed Murad in the mega-hit movie ‘Heera aur pathar.’ (Producer: Waheed Murad, director: Pervez Malik, released on December 11,1964, completed 68 weeks, golden jubilee)
‘Heera aur pathar’ undoubtedly established her as an actress of high repute.
Name, fame and acclaim soon followed.
In the vast array of super-hits were movies with powerful scripts such as ‘Eid Mubarak’ (producer: M.A. Sarwar, director: S.M. Yusuf, released on July 2, 1965, completed 26 weeks, silver jubilee, starring: Zeba, Waheed Murad)
Next in line was a movie, with a magnificent story, ‘Kaneez’ in which Zeba did her job in an admirable fashion. (Producer: Ali Sufyan Afaqi, director: Hasan Tariq, released on November 26, 1965, completed 67 weeks, golden jubilee, starring: Zeba, Mohammad Ali, Waheed Murad)
After ‘Kaneez’ came the all time favorite ‘Armaan’, Zeba’s No. 1 movie in her entire career, the first platinum jubilee film of Pakistan and, to date, one of the greatest movie of all time. (Producer: Waheed Murad, director: Pervez Malik, released on March 18, 1966)
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Zeba’s sheer sadness in the movie from the beginning to the end will long be remembered.
Much adored Zeba teamed up with Waheed Murad in film ‘Josh’ (producer: Waheed
Murad, director: Iqbal Yusuf, released on April 2, 1966, completed golden jubilee)
Zeba once again joined hands with Waheed Murad in film ‘Jaag utha
insaan’ (producer: Habib-ur-Rehman, director: Sheikh Hasan, released on May 20, 1966)
Successive films continued to attain credibility and super-performer,
Zeba, appeared in ‘Insaniyat’ whose theme was both moralistic and impressive. (Producer:
Habib-ur-Rehman, director: Shabab Kiranvi, released on February 24, 1967, completed golden jubilee)
Perhaps one of the most dramatic instance of Zeba’s career is film ‘Ehsaan’ (starring:
Zeba, Waheed Murad, producer: Waheed Murad, director: Pervez Malik, released on June 30, 1967, attained silver jubilee)
Zeba’s performances were enhanced with her tragic appearance in ‘Ehsaan’, which, in turn, invoke the memories of her diehard fans. Thus, it is no wonder that her name which had been stamped with success, had become a staple of Pakistani film scores.
By far, the most prominent actress of her times, super-star Zeba, appeared in film ‘Maan
Baap’ opposite Waheed Murad. (Producer: Ata ullah Shah Hashmi, director: Khaleel
Qaiser, released on September 22, 1967, completed silver jubilee)
As the lead actress opposite Waheed Murad in such superb film as ‘Rishta hai pyar ka’, she came up to the expectations of her myriad admirers. (Producer: Iqbal Butt, director: Qamar
Zaidi, released on October 16, 1967, completed silver jubilee)
In spite of stiff competition, Zeba’s decisive role in numerous movies is commendable.
Her memorable role in director S. Sulaiman’s movie, Baaji’ opposite
Darpan, in director M.S. Dar’s movie ‘Sameera’ opposite Ratan Kumar, in director S. Sulaiman’s Punjabi film ‘Mehendi walay hath’ opposite Sultan, in director
S.A. Hafiz’s film ‘Tauba’ opposite Kamal, in director S.M Yusuf’s film ‘Aashiana’ and
‘Suhagan’, Zeba performed brilliantly in movies like ‘Baalam’, ‘Noori’ and ‘Mohabbat rang laye gee’.
One gets nostalgic as one remembers Zeba’s performance in movies opposite actor-husband, Mohammad Ali: ‘Teri soorat meri
Aankhein’, ‘Aag’ (Ali-Zeb production, ‘Jaisay jantay nahi’
(Ali-Zeb production)
Zeba’s presence in the following movies gave new dimensions to the highly popular tragic roles:
‘Gumrah’, ‘Ilzaam’, (director S. Sulaiman), ‘Ik phool ik
pathar’, ‘Insaan aur Aadmi, ‘Insaaf aur Qanoon’, ‘Afsana zindigi ka’, ‘Dil ik
Aa’ena’, ‘Daman aur chingari’, ‘Aarzoo’ (director: Raza Meer),
‘Adalat’, ‘Anjaan’, ‘Dil diya dard liya’, ‘Mehel’, ‘pakeeza’ (director: Luqman),’Phool merey gulshan ka’, ‘Mohabbat zindigi
hai, ‘jab jab phool khiley’, ‘ Paalki’, ‘Aap ka khadim’, ‘Baaghi
sepahe’, ‘Koh-e-noor’, ‘Najma’, ‘Aansoo bahaye patharoan nay’, ‘Bharosa’
‘Shama’, ‘Naukar’, ‘Esaar’, ‘Yaadain’, ‘Waqt ki pukar’, ‘Bahu
Rani’, ‘Goonj uthi shehnai, ‘Shireen Farhad’,’Aurat ik paheli’, ‘Riwaj’ and ‘Sabaq’
Her last film as lead actress was ‘Mohabbat ho tau aisi’.
Zeba won the Nigar award thrice:
In 1966 for best actress in film ‘Armaan’
In 1970 for best actress in film ‘Insaan aur Aadmi’
In 1972 for best actress in film ‘Mohabbat’
During her thirty year acting career, Zeba’s star never set in Pakistan..
Moreover, her participation in movies as a means of transport to entertainment was recognized years ago.
Over and above, her highly sentimental role in ‘Armaan’ and her representation of the tragic scenes are truly encapsulated in the movie in such a way that she was revered for her refined style thirty eight years ago and she will continue to receive applause from the enthusiastic Pakistani audience in the foreseeable future.
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