Deeba (; born 1 August 1947) is one of Pakistan's most popular actresses in the 1960s and 1970s. She is best known for her romantic and tragic roles in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and Punjabi films and for her iconic beauty, earning her the nickname the ''Pakistani Mona Lisa.'' Deeba also received two major awards: the Nigar Award and the

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

Early life and career

Named Raheela at birth, Deeba was born in Ranchi,

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British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, on 1 August 1947. In the 1950s, she was living with her married sister near Karachi Cantonment railway station in a slum area of Karachi. She started her career as a child actress in the film ''Miss 56'' (1956) and was nicknamed "Chutanki" as she was still a little girl. She got a breakthrough in '' Chiragh Jalta Raha'' (1962), a Fazal Karim Fazli's film. Her performances in several films, such as ''Milan'' (1964), ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964), ''Aina'' (1966), ''Payal ki jhankar'' (1966), Doraha, ''Sangdil'' (1968), ''Dard'' (1969), ''Sajna Door Diya'' (1970), '' Neend hamarey khuwab tumharey'' (1971), ''Ansoo'' (1971), ''Pardes'' (1972), and ''Seeta Maryam Margaret'' (1978), have won critical acclaim. She played many supporting characters, including the on-screen mother, in several films throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s. She acted in several television plays in the early 2000s.

Personal life

Childhood tragedy

As a child, ''Deeba'' lost her father, and her mother was separated from her during the partition of British India into Pakistan and India. She was taken to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

by her aunt and uncle, not knowing the fate of her mother until she became a film actress. In 1964, during the filming of her movie "''Milan''", her picture was published in a

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

film magazine. Her mother saw that picture and recognized her as her daughter ''Raheela''. The Bengali writer Mohiuddin Nawab, who happened to be a neighbor of Deeba's mother in Dhaka, heard her story and wrote to the magazine. When ''Deeba'' saw an article about her mother in a magazine, she immediately began searching for her and eventually found her in Pakistan. After reuniting, she brought her mother with her to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, where she continued her film career.

Marriage

Deeba married cameraman ''Naeem Rizvi'' in 1971 and left the silver screen for 10 years. However, financial hardships made her join the Pakistani film industry again in 1987 as a supporting actress. She has three children, including daughter Madiha Rizvi, who is also an actress, and son Imran Rizvi, who is an actor.

Pakistani Mona Lisa

Deeba's cheerful, innocent look has earned her the nickname "''the Pakistani

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

."''.

List of television projects

Television series

Telefilm

Filmography

Film

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deeba 1947 births Living people People from Ranchi Pakistani film actresses Nigar Award winners 20th-century Pakistani actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema 21st-century Pakistani actresses Actresses from Jharkhand Actresses in Urdu cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Pakistani television actresses Actresses in Pashto cinema Actresses in Sindhi cinema Muhajir people Recipients of the Pride of Performance Indian emigrants to Pakistan