Deeba

For other uses, see Deeba (name).

Deeba (Urdu: دِیبا; born 1 August 1947) was one of Pakistan's most popular actresses in the 1960s and 1970s. She is best known for her romantic and tragic roles in Urdu 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.^[4][5]

Deeba
دِیبا
Born	Raheela Begum (1947-08-01) 1 August 1947 (age 77) Ranchi, Bihar,(present-day Jharkhand), British India
Other names	Pakistani Mona Lisa[1]
Occupations	Film actress TV Actress
Years active	1956 – present
Spouse	Naeem Rizvi ​ (m. 1971⁠–⁠2016)​
Children	Madiha Rizvi (daughter) Imran Rizvi (son)
Relatives	Hassan Noman (son-in-law)
Awards	Pride of Performance (2020)[2] Nigar Award: Special Award for Sajna Door Diya (1970)[3]

Early life and career

Deeba (Birth name:Raheela) was born in Ranchi, Bihar, British India, on 1 August 1947. In the 1950s, she was living with her married sister near Karachi Cantt. Station (a railway station) in a slum area of Karachi.^[4] 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.^[4]

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.^[5][4] 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 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 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, where she continued her film career.^[6][7]

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.^[4] She has three children, including daughter Madiha Rizvi, who is also an actress, and son Imran Rizvi, who is an actor.^[8]

Pakistani Mona Lisa

Deeba's cheerful, innocent look has earned her the nickname "the Pakistani Mona Lisa.".^[1][9]

List of television projects

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Network
1999	Boota from Toba Tek Singh	Zohra Begum	PTV
2004	Moorat	Sughra	ARY Digital
2005	Riyasat	Shahnawaz's wife	ARY Digital
2006	Manzil	Mahjabeen	ARY Digital
2007	Khuda Gawah	Saman's mother	ATV
	Sarkar Sahab	Shahi	ARY Digital
2012	Saheliyan	Nani	PTV

Telefilm

Year	Title	Role
2004	Mother of Desert	Shabbir's mother

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Language
1956	Miss 56	Urdu
1959	Faisla	Urdu
1962	Chiragh Jalta Raha	Urdu
	Dosheeza	Urdu
	Mehboob	Urdu
1963	Jab Say Dekha Hay Tumhen	Urdu
	Sazish	Urdu
1964	Milan	Bengali
	Chingari	Urdu
1965	Riwaj	Urdu
	Dil Ke Tukre	Urdu
	Sartaj	Urdu
	Ham Matwalay Nojawan	Urdu
	Zamin	Urdu
1966	Payal Ki Jhankaar	Urdu
	Aina	Urdu
1967	Phir Subah Hogi	Urdu
1968	Sangdil	Urdu
	Behan Bhai	Urdu
1969	Ishara	Urdu[10]
	C.I.D.	Urdu
	Tumhi Ho Mehboob Meray	Urdu
	Dard	Urdu
	Ghar Damaad	Urdu
	Aneela	Urdu
	Buzdil	Urdu
1970	Afsana	Urdu
	Sajnan Door Dia	Punjabi
	Anjuman	Urdu
1971	Neend Humari Khawab Tumharay	Urdu[11]
	Aansoo	Urdu
1972	Zindgi Ek Safar Hai	Urdu[12]
	Ek Raat	Urdu
1974	Shama	Urdu
	Haqeeqat	Urdu
1975	Saajan Rang Rangeela	Urdu
	Haku	Punjabi
	Jageer	Urdu
	Ajj Di Gall	Punjabi
	Shikwa	Urdu
	Nakabandi	Punjabi
	Ajnabi	Urdu
1976	Koshish	Urdu
1977	Sadqay Teri Mout Tun	Punjabi
1978	Amber	Urdu
	Seeta Maryam Margaret	Urdu
1979	Goga Sher	Punjabi[13]
	Nishana	Urdu
1980	Zamir	Urdu
	Double Cross	Urdu
	Nahin Abhi Nahin	Urdu
1981	Qurbani	Urdu
	Athra Tay Jeedar	Punjabi
1983	Aakhri Dushman	Punjabi
1984	Chor Chokidar	Punjabi
1985	Da Veenay Daray	Pashto
1987	Mera Insaf	Urdu
1988	Sakhi Daata	Punjabi
	Dushman Dada	Pashto
	Roti	Punjabi
1989	Kraye Kay Qatil	Urdu
	Miss Allah Rakhi	Punjabi
	Mera Challenge	Punjabi
	Inteqam Ham Lain Gay	Urdu
1990	Sarmaya	Punjabi
1991	Watan Kay Rakhwalay	Punjabi / Urdu
1992	Muhib Sheedi	Sindhi
1993	Mr. Charlie	Urdu
	Khuda Gawah	Punjabi / Urdu
	Daku, Chor, Siphai	Punjabi / Urdu
	Ilzam	Punjabi / Urdu
	No Baby No	Punjabi / Urdu
	Mr. Tabedar	Urdu
1994	International Luteray	Punjabi / Urdu
1995	Jeeva	Urdu[14]
	Gabhar Singh	Punjabi
	Main Nay Pyar Kiya	Punjabi / Urdu
	Sargam	Urdu
	Panah	Urdu
1996	Hawaen	Urdu
1997	Karam Data	Punjabi / Urdu
	Deevanay Teray Pyar Kay	Urdu
1998	Deewaren	Urdu
	Nikah	Urdu
	Dulha Lay Kay Jaun Gi	Urdu
	Choorian	Punjabi
1999	Nikki Jei Haan	Punjabi
	Ik Pagal Si Larki	Urdu
	Jazba	Urdu
	Pal Do Pal	Urdu
2000	Angaray	Urdu
	Yaar Badshah	Punjabi
	Pehchan	Urdu
	Meri Touba	Punjabi
2001	Khoye Ho Tum Kahan	Urdu
	Aaj Ki Larki	Urdu
	Sapnay Apnay Apnay	Urdu
2002	Kon Banay Ga Karorpati	Urdu
	Fire	Urdu
2008	Zill-e-Shah	Punjabi

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Result	Title	Ref.
1970	Nigar Award	Special Award	Won	Sajna Door Diya	[3]
2020	Pride of Performance	Award by the President of Pakistan	Won	Herself	[2][15][16]

See also

• List of Pakistani actresses

References

1. "Fame and fidelity". Dawn (newspaper). 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
2. "Veteran Actors Ghulam Mohiuddin and Deeba to Receive Pride of Performance Award". Box Office. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
3. "Pakistan's "Oscars"; The Nigar Awards". Desi Movies Reviews. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
4. "Profile of Deeba". Pakistan Film Magazine website. 17 August 2004. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
5. Omair Alavi (1 August 2017). "Happy Birthday Deeba - Samaa TV". Samaa TV News website. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
6. "الفاظ کا دیوتا: محی الدین نواب – ڈاکٹر عبدالحی". Adbi Miras. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
7. "فلمی و ادبی شخصیات کے سکینڈلز۔ ۔ ۔علی سفیان آفاقی". Roznama Pakistan. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
8. "Flashback: The Face that Launched a Thousand Films". Dawn News. 23 June 2022.
9. "لالی وڈ کی مونا لیزا کہاں ہے؟". Roznama Duniya. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
10. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 263. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
11. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 269. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
12. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
13. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 294. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
14. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 341. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
15. "Deeba Rizvi Received Pride Of Performance Award". Reviewit.pk. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
16. Ibne Safi, Fehmida Riaz among 116 recipients of civil awards Dawn (newspaper), Published 14 August 2019, Retrieved 5 December 2021

External links

• Deeba at IMDb