Zia Mohyeddin

Zia Mohyeddin (Zia Mohi-ud-din)
Born	Zia Mohyeddin (1933-06-20) 20 June 1933 Lyallpur, British India (Now Faisalabad, Pakistan)
Nationality	United Kingdom Pakistan
Occupation(s)	actor, producer, director and television broadcaster
Years active	1954-2012
Spouse	Azra Mohyeddin
Relatives	Alia Mohyeddin (daughter) Ainy Jaffri (niece) Meher Jaffri (niece)

Zia Mohiuddin (Zia Mohyeddin) (Urdu: ضیاء محی الدین; born 20 June 1933) is a Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and British cinema throughout his career.

Early life and career

He was born in Lyallpur, now called Faisalabad, British India (now in Pakistan). He spent his early life in Kasur and Lahore. He was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London from 1953-1956. After stage roles in Long Day's Journey Into Night and Julius Caesar, he made his West End debut in A Passage to India in 1960. He made his film debut in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), playing the role of Tafas (the Arab guide who is shot by Omar Sharif for drinking water from the wrong well). He then made numerous TV and film appearances, and starred as Dr. Aziz in the BBC's television version of A Passage to India (Play of the Month, 1965). His first wife was known as Sarwar Zamaan or Sarwar Mohyeddin and with her, he had 2 sons.

Return to Pakistan and later career

He returned to Pakistan in the late 1960s. There he founded and ran the PIA Arts and Dance Academy, and hosted his own TV talk show. Around this time, he met and subsequently (in 1973) married the classical Kathakali dancer Naheed Siddiqui. However, after difficulties with the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq, Mohyeddin returned to England in the late 1970s, shortly followed by his wife. During the 1980s Zia worked in Birmingham, Great Britain, where he produced Central Television's flagship multicultural programme Here and Now by Central Independent Television.

He has since traveled the world giving Urdu poetry and prose recitations, and is considered the foremost reader of Urdu literature. In addition, he is also famed for his readings of English letters and literature. In the late 1990s, Mohyeddin remarried the third time, and had a daughter with his wife, Azra. In February 2005 President Pervez Musharraf invited Mohyeddin to act as Chairman of the new National Academy of Performing Arts in Karachi.

Despite his old age, Zia is still active among Pakistani media as a speaker and hosts several TV programmes both for National and Private Channels. He is also involved in narrating some abstract short films and commercials

Films

• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
• Sammy Going South (film) (1963)
• Behold a Pale Horse (1964)
• Deadlier Than the Male (1966)
• Khartoum (1966)
• They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
• Work Is a Four-Letter Word (1968)
• Bombay Talkie (1970)
• Mujrim Kaun (1971)
• Ashanti (1979)
• The Assam Garden (1985)
• Immaculate Conception (1992)

Selected TV

• The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake (7 January 1962 episode "Visit to Spain").
• Danger Man (1966)
• The Avengers (1966)
• Adam Adamant Lives! (1967)
• Jackanory (1967)
• Man in a Suitcase (1968)
• The Champions (1969)
• Hadleigh (1969)
• Detective (12 October 1969 episode Inspector Ghote Hunts the Peacock as Inspector Ghote)
• Z-Cars (1978)
• Gangsters (1978)
• Death of a Princess (1980)
• Minder (1980)
• The Jewel in the Crown (1984)
• Bergerac (1984)
• Family Pride (1991–92)
• Dhun Hamari Tumharay Naam Hui (1999)

Awards and recognition

• Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award, [(Crescent of Excellence) Award] in 2012 by the President of Pakistan

See also

• List of Lollywood actors

External links

• Zia Mohyeddin at IMDb, Filmography of Zia Mohyeddin on IMDb website, Retrieved 21 March 2016