Tahira Wasti

Tahira Wasti
طاہرہ واسطی
Born
Tahira Shah

1944
Sargodha, Khushab, Punjab, British India
Died11 March 2012(2012-03-11) (aged 67–68)[1]
Karachi, Pakistan
NationalityBritish Indian (1944–1947)
Pakistani (1947–2012)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Writer
  • Newscaster
Years active1964 - 2012
SpouseRizwan Wasti (husband)[2]
ChildrenLaila Wasti (daughter)
Rehan Wasti (son)
Adnan Wasti (son)
RelativesMaria Wasti (niece)
Fahad Rehmani (son-in-law)

Tahira Wasti (Punjabi, Urdu: طاہرہ واسطی) (1944 – 11 March 2012) was a well-known Pakistani writer and television actress.[3] She was one of the most popular Pakistani TV actresses of her time as well as one of the most successful actresses of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.[4][5] She is best known for her portrayal of Isabella of Castile in the TV drama Shaheen.[1]

Early life

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Tahira was born in 1944 in Sargodha, Punjab, (British India), now in Pakistan.[6] She received her early education from Sargodha, and later moved to Lahore for higher education, then Karachi.[6]

Career

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Tahira Wasti started her career with writing articles in a magazine at the age of 16, and also worked as an English newscaster on PTV News in 1964.[1][7] Tahira started working as an actor in the 1968 Pakistan Television Corporation in 1968 drama serial Jaib Katra based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto.[1][8][9] She appeared in a number of TV dramas from 1968 until the 1990s, most of them have become classics of PTV, such as Kashkol, Jaangloos ,and Daldal.[10][11][12] Her prominent personality made her famous for playing regal roles suitable for representing royal, feudal, or upper-class families, as in TV plays like Tipu Sultan: The Tiger Lord, Shaheen ,and Aakhri Chatan.[13][14][8]

She also wrote plays for television and showed a special interest in science fiction.[6]

Personal life

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She was the wife of TV actor and English language newscaster Rizwan Wasti; they are the parents of TV actress Laila Wasti.[1][15] Maria Wasti, a famous TV actress, is her niece.[9]

Illness and death

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Tahira had developed heart ailments, diabetes and had been deeply affected by her husband's death in January 2011.[6] She died of natural causes on 11 March 2012, in Karachi, at the age of 68.[1][16]

Filmography

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Television series

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Telefilm

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  • Operation Dwarka 1965[18]
  • Uss Ki Biwi (a telefilm)[3]
  • Karwat

Film

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As a writer

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  • Deemak (Long play)
  • Parsa (screenplay writer)
  • Hazaron Saal (co-writer)
  • Bheegi Palkain (writer)

Honour

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In 2021 on 16 August the Government of Pakistan named a street and intersection after her in Lahore.[19]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Title Ref.
2005 1st Indus Drama Awards Best Writer Nominated Bheegi Palkain [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Renowned TV actress Tahira Wasti dies at age 68, Dawn (newspaper), Published 11 March 2012, Retrieved 14 June 2017
  2. ^ "Actor Rizwan Wasti is dead". Dawn News. 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d TV artist Tahira Wasti dies at 68, Dunya News website, Published 11 March 2012, Retrieved 14 June 2017
  4. ^ "معروف اداکارہ طاہرہ واسطی کا انٹرویو". TV Times Magazine: 218.
  5. ^ "تاریخی کرداروں سے غیرمعمولی شہرت حاصل کرنے والی اداکارہ طاہرہ واسطی کی برسی". ARY News. 23 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "BBC Urdu - فن فنکار - پاکستانی فنکارہ طاہرہ واسطی انتقال کرگئیں". BBC News website. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Veteran actress Tahira Wasti remembered". Daily Times. 23 January 2021.
  8. ^ a b Tahira Wasti passes away, Daily Times newspaper, Published 12 March 2012, Retrieved 14 June 2017
  9. ^ a b "TV actress Tahira Wasti passes away". The Nation newspaper. 12 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  10. ^ South and Southeast Asia Video Archive Holdings, Issue 5. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 81.
  11. ^ Third World International, Volume 12. S. J. Iqbal. p. 39.
  12. ^ Third World International, Volume 12. S. J. Iqbal. p. 40.
  13. ^ Pakistan TV actress Tahira Wasti passes away, Times of Ummah (Newspaper), Retrieved 14 June 2017
  14. ^ Globe. A. Mahmood. p. 82.
  15. ^ "Geo Urdu - ٹی وی فنکارہ طاہرہ واسطی انتقال کرگئیں". Geo TV website (in Urdu language). 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Veteran television actor Tahira Wasti passes away". The Express Tribune. 11 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Inmemoriam: Nusrat Thakur (1937-2009)". Dawn News. 4 July 2021.
  18. ^ Globe. A. Mahmood. p. 86.
  19. ^ "Lahore streets, intersections to be named after famous personalities". Dawn News. 25 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Best writer serial". daily motions. Indus TV Network. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
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