Mohammad Ali ( ur, مُحمّد علی ; 19 April 1931 – 19 March 2006) was a Pakistani actor. He was known as ''Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat'' ( ur, شہنشاہِ جذبات), meaning ''The Emperor of Emotions''.Remembering Mohammad Ali – the legend of Pakistani films
Daily Times (newspaper), 21 March 2018, Retrieved 8 May 2022 A versatile performer, he acted in dramatic, romantic, and historical movies. He was voted among 25 of the greatest actors of Asia in a 2010

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

poll.

Early life

Mohammad Ali was born in Rampur, United Provinces,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 19 April 1931. He was the son of Maulana Syed Murshid Ali, who was an Islamic scholar. He was the youngest of two brothers and two sisters. After his birth the family migrated from Rampur to

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the National ...

, and from there to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, finally settling in

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

shortly after the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947. He attended the Millat High School, Multan. He further studied in Government Emerson College, Multan. In 1954, he moved to

to pursue higher studies and obtained a BA from City College, Hyderabad.

Career

Start of career from Radio Pakistan

Muhammad Ali joined

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

station as a broadcaster in 1956, where his elder brother Irshad was already working as a drama artist. After a while, he moved to the

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

radio station and eventually to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

where its then Director General

Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari often abbreviated as Z. A. Bukhari (Urdu:ذوالفقار علی بخاری) (July 6, 1904 – July 12, 1975) was a broadcaster of British India and later Pakistan. He is notoriously remembered for being the reason Bade G ...

became his mentor for his acting career.Mohammad Ali passes away
Dawn (newspaper), Published 20 March 2006, Retrieved 8 May 2022

Film career

Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari, Director General,

introduced him to the film producer Fazal Ahmed Kareem Fazli. So Mohammad Ali started his film career with Fazal Ahmad Karim Fazli's film ''Chiragh Jalta Raha (1962)''. ''Chiragh Jalta Raha'' was premiered by

Fatima Jinnah Fatima Jinnah ( ur, ; 31 July 1893 – 9 July 1967), widely known as Māder-e Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), was a Pakistani stateswoman, politician, dental surgeon and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. She was the younger sister of ...

on 9 March 1962 at Nishat Cinema,

. He then appeared as a villain in director Munawwar Rasheed's film ''Bahadur'', director Iqbal Yusuf's film ''Daal Mein Kala'', and director Javed Hashmi's film ''Dil Ne Tujhay Maan Liya''. His first film as a hero was ''Mr. X'' but Movie ''Shararat (1963)'' was released earlier than film ''Mr. X''. Later, he moved to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and worked in the movie ''Khandan'' (1964). But his breakthrough was from the film ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964). In 1989, he had an extended cameo in the

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

''. Mohammad Ali was the lead actor and 'hero' in 94 films. His first lead actor movie was ''Shararat (1963)'' and his last movie as a lead actor was ''Aaj Ki Raat'' (1983). Another movie was ''Mohabbat ho to aisi'' (1989) and his last movie of his career was titled ''Dum Mast Qalander'' (1995).

Playback singers

Ali was most often voiced by

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

and

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place =Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = , ...

. Mehdi Hassan sang 115 songs for Ali in his 88 movies. Rushdi sang 100 songs in 57 movies for Ali.

Masood Rana Masood Rana ( ur, , 6 August 1941 – 4 October 1995) was a Pakistani film playback singer. He began his singing career in 1962 with the film ''Inqalab'', became one of the top male singers in both Urdu and Punjabi films for more than th ...

sang 34 songs for Ali in his 23 films. Others who provided their voice were

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed ( ur, ; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a Pakistani film playback singer and still considered one of the leading voices of the film industry. Early life and career He was born in Delhi in 1946 and started as a stage ...

, Ghulam Abbas, Rajab Ali and

Mujeeb Aalam Mujeeb Aalam (2 September 1948 – 2 June 2004) was a Pakistani playback singer who had a short film career. His singing style was a mixture of Mehdi Hassan and Ahmad Rushdi's style. He sang dozens of hit songs in late 1960s. However, he l ...

Marriage to actress Zeba

Ali met

Zeba Shaheen Bano (born 10 September 1945), known professionally as Zeba ( ur, ), is a Pakistani actress. She was one of the top stars of the Pakistani film industry in the 1960s and the early 1970s.

Political and social activism

Mohammad Ali and his wife Zeba both had close relations with different political regimes in the country. He protested by putting up black dress in International Moscow Film Festival against India for holding 93,000 POWs after the 1971 war. In

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

's government, he also served as Cultural Minister and introduced new policies to improve the condition of Pakistani film Industry.

Ali-Zaib Foundation

Muhammad Ali along with Shahid Ali Zaidi founded Ali-Zaib Foundation in 1995 to help the Thalassemia patients. The foundation built hospitals in

Sargodha Sargodha ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as ...

Sahiwal Sahiwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both ...

Jhang Jhang (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the List of most populous c ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

, Okara with Foundation's ''Head Office'' in

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

Retirement from films and his death

After his retirement from films, when Mohammad Ali was asked in a television show about his disassociation from the films, he said: "The atmosphere in which I was accustomed to work for films and the way films are made now, have entirely changed, hence I called it quits." He was very generous and warm towards his fans. One of the best Pashto poets Zahir Shah Zahir has dedicated all his poetry to Mohammad Ali which includes more than ten books. The poet used to visit his house and have long discussions about the social welfare of people and Pakistani society. Mohammad Ali died on 19 March 2006 due to a heart attack in

., on Pak Tribune website

Awards and recognition

He won 10

Nigar awards The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards a ...

in his long film career starting from 1964 to 1984. *

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards a ...

for Best Supporting Actor in film ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) * Nigar Award for Best Actor in film '' Kaneez'' (1965) * Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Aag Ka Darya'' (1966) * Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Saiqa'' (1968) * Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Insaan Aur Aadmi'' (1970) * Nigar Award for Best Actor for ''Wehshi'' (1971) * Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Aas'' (1973) * Nigar Award for Best Actor for film ''Aaina Aur Soorat'' (1974) * Nigar Award for Best Actor for film ''Haidar Ali'' (1978) * Special Nigar Award in 1984 for films ''Doorian'' and ''Bobby'' *

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Zia ul Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

in recognition of his lifelong services to the entertainment industry of

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 ...

. Later, he was also honoured with

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

(Medal of Excellence), the second highest civilian award in Pakistan. He received many honours and special awards like the Millennium Legend Star Graduate Award in 2000, Ilyas Rasheedi

Gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

1998, Nigar Lifetime Achievement Award 1998, Nigar Millennium Award 2000, Lifetime Excellency Award 1997, Pakistan Best Personality Award 1997. He received Bolan Awards, Screen Light Awards, National Academy Awards, Critics Award, Cultural Award from Punjab University and an Asian Academy Award. He received the first foreign award Al-Nasr Award in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

1984. He was also awarded the Naushad Award of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Mohammad 1931 births 2006 deaths Pakistani male film actors Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Recipients of the Pride of Performance Nigar Award winners Muhajir people Male actors from Lahore People from Hyderabad, Sindh People from Hyderabad District, Pakistan Government Emerson College alumni