ISLAMABAD (APP) - The 40th death anniversary of Lollywood 'Chocolatey Hero'‚ producer and scriptwriter Waheed Murad is being observed today (Thursday).
Waheed Murad was a legendary actor who won wide acclaim. Known as a chocolate hero, Waheed Murad performed in hundreds of movies, most of them were considered blockbuster movies of that time.
Murad was born on Oct 2, 1938, in Sialkot, before migrating to Karachi to complete his studies, electronic channels reported.
He commenced his film career as a producer by joining the company established by his father, Nisar Murad. His first production was titled Insaan Badalta Hai, made in 1961.
In 1966, he acted in Armaan under his production which was directed by Pervaiz Malik. Armaan broke all the box office records at that time and completed 75 weeks in theatres. The film was a romantic and melodious love story.
The songs like Koko Korina, Akele Na Jana, Betaab Ho Udhar Tum and Zindagi Apni Thi Ab Tak were sung by singer Ahmed Rushdi.
He received two Nigar awards for the categories best producer and best actor for the film Armaan. During the same year, he starred in another film Jaag Utha Insaan with co-star Zeba.
In 1967, he appeared as leading actor in films like Devar Bhabi, Doraha, Insaaniyat and Maan Baap. The story of Devar Bhabi is based on Indo-Pak’s unjust social thoughts and norms. Insaaniyat he played a role of a dedicated doctor.
Waheed Murad delivered a smashing performance as an ‘action’ hero more than ‘once’ in an enduring career. Unlike many others, he enveloped himself in the characters he played, which earned him admiration across the board. His acting style is being taught in Indian and Pakistani film institutions. He is considered as one of the pioneering Rock n’ Roll stars of Pakistan. Due to his romantic and alluring style of acting, he became known as the ‘Chocolaty Hero’ and ‘Lady Killer’.
His hair cut, dressing style and even his conversation style were very popular among the youth. One can say that he was becoming the cultural icon of the Pakistani Film Industry.
His 25-year-old acting career saw Murad work in about 125 films which included all Urdu, Punjabi and Pashto productions. Besides this, he also produced 11 films and directed one titled Ishaara.
He won around 32 prestigious awards including Sitara-e-Imtiaz before passing away on Nov 23, 1983, in Karachi, aged 45.