Pak thespian Zia Mohyeddin dies at 91

ISLAMABAD: Thespian Zia Mohyeddin, the legendary Pakistani actor, producer, director, television broadcaster, and author whose career spanning six decades included memorable roles in Oscar-winning ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘Bombay Talkie’, died of old-age ailments in a Karachi hospital Monday. He was 91.

He was the first Pakistani ever to work in Hollywood—as Tafas, the Arab guide shot by Omar Sharif in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1963), followed by ‘Behold the Pale Horse’ in 1964 with director Fred Zinnemann and the Merchant and Ivory ‘Bombay Talkie (1970). He starred in British director Jamil Dehlavi’s ‘Immaculate Conception’ (1994) and the critically acclaimed mini-series, ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ (1984).

Author of three books, including ‘A Carrot is a Carrot’, he was a master orator who travelled the world reciting Urdu poetry and reading Urdu prose, a genre in which he commanded vast knowledge and respect.

Honoured with Pakistan’s top civilian awards—Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2003 and Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2012—Mohyeddin was a multifaceted genius of the arts, but theatre was his lifetime passion. As the founding chair and later president emeritus of Pakistan’s National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), he mentored some of the country’s biggest acting talents.

“His life was all about theatre, the all-encompassing passion he had for it. It kept him alive,” said popular Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, a NAPA graduate.

Born in 1931 in Faisalabad in Punjab province, Mohyeddin studied theatre at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and made his West End debut as Dr Aziz in ‘A Passage to India’, the stage play adaptation of EM Forster’s book, running 302 performances from April to December 1960.

He returned to Pakistan in the late 1960s, but remained associated with British film and theatre for 47 years. He had dual citizenship, Pakistani and British.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif led the nation in mourning the legendary figure’s death, saying his art was “one of its kind”. “Zia Mohyeddin’s voice will keep resonating in our hearts and minds,” he said.

President Dr Arif Alvi said Mohyeddin’s death was a “personal loss” to him. “He was a giant in the arts, an actor, producer, director and above all an excellent reciter of prose and poetry accompanied by music typically prompting with a pause,” he tweeted.

Former PM Imran Khan said Mohyeddin, a highly cultured person and an institution in the world of entertainment, “will be missed”.


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