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Shehzadi

Shehzadi

Civilizations express themselves through art. When one talks about Sindh, the mind is filled with the memory of many brilliant artistes. Amongst them, Shehzadi was definitely one of the best, whose dedication, good nature and artistic potential is still considered a standard in itself. I believe that like all the other media concerned with the screen, television has also been a little unjust to the women, and detailed characters are very hard to come by. More so, after the 1990s, where glamour seems to be the only gauging element for competence. I feel that tremendous artistes like Shehzadi and Roshan Ata have been unfairly treated in the drama section of TV. They were capable of much more expressive performances than were asked of them. Despite that, they showed their class in quite a few productions, specially the Sindhi plays and serials. Shehzadi died few years ago. She had cervical cancer. With her departure the PTV became poorer, because it cannot bring forth such a performer so soon. Her husband had died 32 years back, and she alone ran the household with guts and hard work. She has a daughter, who will now probably look after the garments business, which the late Shehzadi was managing very capably.

Shehzadi, a charming actress blessed with soulful eyes, began her career from Radio Pakistan, Hyderabad, in 1965. She belonged to Sukkur, and had that truly all encompassing vitality and inner warmth that is given to people, who belong to small towns and villages. Conversing with her was a pleasure, when she talked about the older artistes, either with happy memories or sad recalls. The same is the case with Qaiser Naqvi, and it is a pleasure whenever you talk to her. Shehzadi’s vocal strength was as awe inspiring as her facial expressions. Radio Pakistan gave her the Excellency Award 2001 for the Best Radio Voice, while she also got an award for her acting in Jashn e Tamseel in 1999. Her introduction with the silver screen was in 1969, when she came to Karachi for the shooting of her first film, Punnu Aaqil. The film was directed by S. M. Naseem, and was released in 1970, to become a hit. So, Shehzadi established herself in this field too. In 1970, Shehzadi was cast with another angel faced Sindhi artiste, Ghazala Rafiq, and that absolutely brilliant artiste, Qurban Jillani, in a Sindhi TV serial, Zeenat, by Abdul Karim Baloch. Zeenat proved to be one of the most powerful serials on the small screen.

Wherever she went, on whichever media, she made her mark with memorable performances. One of the most popular programs that she did was Guldasto, which was written by Qamar Shehbaz. She did the role of a clever chatterbox with such deftness that even today, people remember that role. Her special punchline, `Chakh!’ was literally a proverb in those days. Who can forget Shehzadi’s smashing performance as the Waderi in that masterpiece of PTV, called Jungal, by the brilliant writer, Noorul Huda Shah. Her grace and the command of the head lady of the landlord family was something that is undoubtedly unmatched till today, although many actresses have done such a role after her. She also did well in Deewarein, which was again a towering drama serial in the 1980s. Both, Jungal and Deewarein were done by Haroon Rind. She worked in a Sindhi serial, Rishtey Natey and an Urdu serial, Fasley too. Shehzadi did quite a few films, probably around 15 to 20, some of which were not released. Amongst those that are still well known are Dharti Dilwaran Jee, Nadir Gohar, etc.

While venturing to the foreign lands, Shehzadi impressed the people too. She went to China with the auspices of the National Academy of Pakistan. There, on stage, she played the role of the mother of the groom in a famous stageplay, which was much appreciated. She also danced and presented the Sindhi dances, which are generally done in connection with the marriage ceremonies. These cultural dances were immensely liked by the Chinese audiences, and Shehzadi became a known figure in China. She also went to North and South Korea and performed famously there, on stage.

Khalid Saeed Butt, the famous artiste and cultural executive, said on television once that during these tours, Shehzadi received the most adulatory letters and messages.

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