Shahid Mahmood Nadeem ( ur, ; born 1947) is a Pakistani journalist, playwright, screenwriter, theater and television director, and a human rights activist. He served as the general manager, program director, and deputy managing director of the

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

. He is currently director of the

Ajoka Theater Ajoka Theatre (Urdu: , literal translation of ''Ajoka'': "today/present") is a Pakistani not-for-profit arts organization based in Lahore, Punjab, with focus on producing and performing social theatrical stage productions, founded in 1984.Singh B ...

and director of the

PTV Academy PTV Training Academy ( ur, ) or Pakistan Television Academy ( ur, ) ) is a public television institution and a professional training institute based in Islamabad, Pakistan. It was established in 1988 by the Government of Pakistan. The institute ...

Early life

Shahid Nadeem was born to a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family in 1947, during the partitioning of British India, in

Sopore Sopore, known as Suyyapur in antiquity, is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east from the city of Baramulla. Sopore Town has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale m ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, to a well-known doctor; the family later settled in

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. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Career

Nadeem began his career as a human rights and social activist in Lahore. During the era of

Muhammad 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 ...

, he was imprisoned three times in 1969, 1970, and in 1979 for his political activism. In 1980, he was forced to go abroad and moved to London where he worked for

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

between 1980 and 1988, from 1991 to 1993 in Hong Kong, and then in Los Angeles. Nadeem has directed and written plays for the theater as well as a number of TV series, most of them for PTV. The majority of his plays are written in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi. He has adapted a few English plays. Nadeem writes for newspapers, among them ''

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Interna ...

''. In 1995, Nadeem directed and wrote two television serials for the

including ''

Neelay Hath Neelay Hath ( ur, , lit=Blue Hands) is a 1989 Pakistani television series written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Muhammd Azeem. The drama was aired during Benazir Bhutto's government. The series also got popular in India. Synopsis The stroy ...

''. One of them is the political drama ''

Zard Dopehar ''Zard Dopehar'' ( ur, زرد دوپہر, ) is a fourteen episodes Pakistani television melodrama serial, first aired on PTV Home in 1995. It portrayed rise of a bald, middle-class Lahori politician, Malik Mehrban Ali (which at that time, was ...

'' which aired on PTV and starred Shujaat Hashmi and

Samina Peerzada Samina Peerzada (, Punjabi, ) is a film and television actress, producer and director from Pakistan. Personal life Samina was born into an educated Kashmiri Butt family in Lahore, but was raised in Karachi, Sindh Pakistan. After graduating in ...

. The story centres around a corrupt politician who grew up in a typical middle-class family. The other, ''

Uraan Uraan may refer to the following television series from Pakistan: * Uraan (2010 TV series) * Uraan (2019 TV series) * Uraan (2020 TV series) ''Uraan'' is a Pakistani television series, produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi under thei ...

'', aired in the same year on PTV and was very popular. It focused on the culture and management at

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

(PIA). It was shot mostly at the

Jinnah International Airport Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017 ...

, Karachi, but some of it was filmed in Kathmandu, London, Nairobi, New York City, and Paris.

Shakeel Yousuf Kamal (born 29 May 1938), better known as Shakeel Yousuf, is a Pakistani actor best known for his roles in PTV drama serial Uncle Urfi (1972), as 'Mehboob Ahmed' in PTV's Aangan Terha (1984) and as ''Taimoor Ahmad'' in Ankahi (1982). H ...

played the lead as a PIA aircraft captain and

Faryal Gohar Faryal Gohar is a Pakistan actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Waris'', ''Uraan'', ''Chaandni Raatain'', ''Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and ''Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain''. Early life F ...

as a senior flight purser. Nadeem wrote a hit comedy television series ''Janjaal Pura'' for PTV during the 2000s. The serial was directed by Tariq Jamil and starred

Savera Nadeem Savera Nadeem ( pa, ) is a Pakistani actress, producer and director. Primarily known for her work in television, she also acted in theatre and films. Nadeem is the recipient of a Lux Style Award for Best Television Actress out of five nomin ...

Mehmood Aslam Mehmood Aslam is a Pakistani television and stage actor. He has appeared in classic drama series such as ''Andhera Ujala'', ''Payas'', '' Din'', ''Janjaalpura'' and is commonly known for his role in ongoing comedy series ''Bulbulay''. Some of ...

and

Naseem Vicky Naseem Vicky (born 18 July 1967) is a television and film actor and also a stand-up comedian, born in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. In 2000, he migrated to Lahore because of his career. He was in '' Family Front'' (1997), a Pakistan Television Co ...

. On 23 August 2008, the Alhamra Arts Council hosted the launch of ''Selected Plays'' published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(OUP) with the help of Ajoka. The book contains seven of his famous plays: ''Teesri Dastak'', ''Barri'', ''Aik Thi Nani'', ''Kala Meda Bhes'', ''Dukhini'', ''Bulha'' and '' Burqavaganza''. The book was also launched at the

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Pakistan National Council of the Arts ( ur, , or PNCA) was set up to spearhead the development of arts in Pakistan by an Act of Parliament in 1973. It aims to build a robust arts ecosystem by creating an environment conducive to the flourishi ...

(PNCA), Islamabad on 25 August 2008 with the help of the

Pakistan Academy of Letters The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout th ...

. Two collections of his Urdu and Punjabi plays have been published. In 2012 Nadeem wrote a play ''Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh'', directed by

Madeeha Gauhar Madeeha Gauhar (; 21 September 1956 – 25 April 2018) was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in theat ...

, which was first performed at the

Alhamra Arts Council Alhamra Arts Council (also known as the Alhamra Hall, Alhamra Cultural Complex, Alhamra Art Gallery and Lahore Arts Council National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

(NSD) in New Delhi but was cancelled due to security concerns. In February 2013, ''Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh'' was performed at

Nishtar Hall Nishtar Hall is a cultural centre and music venue in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was established to promote and represent the Pashtun culture and music. Hall was established in 1985. It is an only and large entertainment venue in Peshawar with a capacity ...

, Peshawar by Ajoka. In 2013, Nadeem started writing the script for the television serial ''

Main Manto ''Manto'' is a 2017 Pakistani television biographical drama series, directed by Sarmad Khoosat who also played the titular role in the series, produced by Babar Javed and Asif Raza Mir under banner A&B Entertainment. The other cast includes San ...

'' based on the life of

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing ma ...

. The series is directed by

Sarmad Sultan Khoosat Sarmad Sultan Khoosat (born May 7, 1979) is a Pakistani actor, film/TV director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the super-hit TV dramas ''Humsafar'' and ''Shehr-e-Zaat''. He is considered to be one of the best South Asian fi ...

, with Sarmad Khoosat playing the lead; he is supported by

Mahira Khan Mahira Hafeez Khan (; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani actress. She started her career as a VJ in 2006. Khan is best known for portraying the role of Khirad Hussain in the romantic-drama '' Humsafar'' for which she received numerous acc ...

and

Saba Qamar Saba Qamar Zaman (born 5 April 1984), known professionally as Saba Qamar, is a Pakistani actress who works predominantly in Urdu films and television. She has won several accolades including Lux Style Awards and Hum Awards. Qamar is one of Pak ...

. The film screened all over Pakistan to critical acclaim.

Personal life

Nadeem has a daughter,

, from his first marriage who is a television actress. Later Nadeem married

and has two sons, Sarang and Nirvaan, the latter being a TV, film and theatre actor/director, who has also written columns for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. Nadeem and Gauhar first met in London when Shahid was working at

and Gauhar was on a study scholarship from the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Books

*''Selected Plays''. Oxford:

, 2008 .

Filmography

Films

Plays

Television

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadeem, Shahid Pakistani male journalists Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Pakistani screenwriters Pakistani television writers Pakistani theatre directors Pakistani television directors Pakistani human rights activists Punjabi people 1947 births Writers from Lahore Journalists from Lahore Pakistani prisoners and detainees Living people Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Male television writers