Mushtaq Gazdar ( ur, مشتاق گزدر) (1940 – 15 November 2000) was a Pakistani

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, who scripted, directed and produced around 190 short feature films,

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

s and newsreels on subjects including poverty-stricken women, especially those abused, bought and sold in open flesh markets as well as helpless children.

Early life and career

Mushtaq Gazdar was born in 1940 in

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 ...

. He did his MSc. degree in physics from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

. He held diplomas in film-making technique from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, and founded his own production house in Karachi. He also worked as ''Production Assistant'' with the UK-based TV film mini-series, the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winner ''

Traffik ''Traffik'' is a 1989 British television serial about an illegal drug trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Afghan and Pakistani growers, dealers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. ...

'' (1989). He was a founding member of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

. He also wrote articles on social issues for newspapers. Mushtaq Gazdar personally had politically progressive ideology and associated with people like

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

Sibte Hassan Syed Sibt-e-Hasan (Urdu: سید سبط حسن) (31 July 1916 – 20 April 1986) was an eminent scholar, journalist and political activist of Pakistan. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Socialism and Marxism in Pakistan, as well as the mo ...

and

Dorab Patel Justice Dorab Framrose Patel (b. 1924 – d.15 March 1997), was a People of Pakistan, Pakistan jurist of Parsi descent, and lawmaker who served as a former List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakis ...

. He also wrote a voluminous book ''Pakistani Cinema: 1947-1997'', a historical and critical study of Pakistan's film industry, published in 1997 to commemorate Pakistan's 50th anniversary. Before he suddenly died on 15 November 2000, he was elected the honorary secretary of the Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi.

Family

Mushtaq Gazdar was married to Saeeda Gazdar, a short story writer and a poet, and they had a son and a daughter.Profile and obituary of Mushtaq Gazdar
Archived from the original on 10 March 2007, Retrieved 5 July 2021 His daughter, Aisha Gazdar, worked with her father and became a short documentary film maker in Pakistan in 2010.

Books

*''Pakistan Cinema (1947-1997)'' by Mushtaq Gazdar (published in 1997, Oxford University Press)
Retrieved 5 July 2021

Awards and recognition

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.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 ...

for his short documentary films

References

1940 births 2000 deaths Pakistani cinematographers Film directors from Karachi Muhajir people University of Karachi alumni Recipients of the Pride of Performance Nigar Award winners Pakistani documentary film directors {{Pakistan-film-bio-stub