Ejaz Durrani (18 April 1935 – 1 March 2021), known mononymously as Ejaz, was a Pakistani film actor, director and producer active from 1956 to 1984. He was married to legendary Pakistani actress-singer

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

. He is mostly remembered for his portrayal of Ranjha in the film ''Heer Ranjha'' (1970). He was especially known for portraying

Punjabi culture Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements along the five rivers (the name ''Punjab'', is derived from two Persian words, ''Panj'' meaning "Five" and ''Âb'' meaning "Water") which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the anc ...

folk heroes in epic love stories such as

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

and

Mirza Sahiban ''Mirza Sahiban'' ( pa, ਮਿਰਜ਼ਾ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਂ, , ') is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are ''Heer Ranjha'', ''Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''Sassi Punnun''. There are five other popular folklor ...

Life and career

He was born in a village in

Jalalpur Jattan Jalalpur Jattan ( pnb, , ur, ) is a city in Gujrat District in the province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It is the centre of Jalalpur Jattan Tehsil and about 50 km from Azad Kashmir, Kashmir. History When Alexander the Great ...

Gujrat District Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1935. He was married to

(21 September 1920 – 23 December 2000) in 1959.Melody Queen Noor Jehan being remembered today
Samaa TV News, Published 21 September 2013, Retrieved 16 February 2020 and had three daughters with her. His three daughters with Noor Jehan are Hina, Shazia and Nazia. They eventually divorced. Noor Jehan got the custody of their daughters and raised them on her own. He later married film actress Firdous.

Legal troubles

Ejaz was detained for smuggling canabis at the

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...

. He was arrested and subsequently spent a few years in prison for it.

Career

As an actor

As a producer

Some of his hits as a producer are ''Heer Ranjha'' (1970), ''Dosti'' (1971), ''Sholay'' (1984) and ''Maula Bakhsh'' (1988)

Other activities

He was elected as the vice president of the Pakistan Film Producers Association in Pakistan.

References

External links

* 1935 births 2021 deaths Pakistani male film actors Pakistani film producers Punjabi people Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom Nigar Award winners {{Pakistan-film-bio-stub