Biography
Zia Mohyeddin (1931-2023) was a British-Pakistani polymath and actor famed for his voice.
Born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), British India in a Urdu-Speaking family, he spent his early life in Karachi. He 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. His film debut was in Lawrence of Arabia in 1963, 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 1965 BBC television version of A Passage to India.
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 dancer Naheed Siddiqui. However, after difficulties with the regime 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.
He resumed his acting career in Europe, appearing in small roles in various movies and television programs. He traveled the world giving Urdu poetry and prose recitations. In the late 1990s, Zia remarried, 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.
Until his death, Zia was very active among Pakistani media as a speaker and hosted several TV programs both for National and Private Channels. He was also involved in narrating some abstract short films and commercials
Filmography
all 34
Movies 23
TV Shows 11
Narrator 1
Producer 1
Last Remarks (2012)
Ghazi Shaheed (1996)
Doomsday Gun (1994)
Immaculate Conception (1992)
Shalom Salaam (1989)
Partition (1987)
We Are the Children (1987)
King of the Ghetto (1986)
King of the Ghetto (1986)
The Assam Garden (1985)
Nice (1984)
Bergerac (1981)
Minder (1979)
Ashanti (1979)
Bombay Talkie (1970)
The Champions (1968)
Work Is a 4-Letter Word (1968)
The Expert (1968)
Man in a Suitcase (1967)
They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
Deadlier Than the Male (1967)
The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967)
Khartoum (1966)
A Passage to India (1965)
BBC Play of the Month (1965)
The Hidden Truth (1964)
Behold a Pale Horse (1964)
Sammy Going South (1963)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Sir Francis Drake (1961)
The Day of the Fox (1961)
The Avengers (1961)
Some Lover to Some Beloved
Family Pride
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1931-06-20
Deathday2023-02-13 (91 years old)
Birth PlaceFaisalabad, Pakistan
CitizenshipsBritish Raj, Pakistan
Also Known AsZia Moyheddin
AwardsHilal-i-Imtiaz
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
- Zia Mohyeddin
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