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Waheed Murad (; 2 October 1938 – 23 November 1983), also known as Chocolate Hero, was a Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Famous for his charming expressions, attractive personality, tender voice and unusual talent for acting, Murad was considered one of the most famous and influential actors of Pakistan and South Asia.http://e.thenews.com.pk/newsmag/mag/detail_article.asp?magId=11&id=6634|title=Waheed Murad's death anniversary
Murad was born in Sialkot, Pakistan. He graduated from the S. M. Arts College Karachi, and then earned a master's degree in English literature from University of Karachi. He started his film career in a Cameo appearance in 1959 in the film Saathi when he was 21 years old. The film, Armaan, which was produced by him, was the first Pakistani film to complete 75 weeks in cinemas. Murad is the only actor of film industry to secure the highest number of platinum, diamond, golden and silver jubilees. He mesmerized Pakistani nation during 1960s and 1970s more than anyone before or after and is considered to be evergreen chocolate hero of Pakistan's silver screen history. He acted in 125 feature films and earned 32 film awards.
In November 2010, 27 years after his death, the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari posthumously awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third highest honour and civilian award by the State of Pakistan, given in the fields of literature, arts, sports, medicine, or science. President to confer Sitar-e-Imtiaz posthumously to Waheed Murad On 2 October 2019, Google celebrated Murad's 81st birthday with a Google Doodle on its homepage for Pakistan, India and several other countries.
Murad's ancestors had migrated from the Bahmani Sultanate in southern India to Kashmir and eventually settled in Sialkot in the 18th-century. Where Murad's grandfather Zahoor Murad, an advocate and a social activist, adopted the surname "Murad" in 1887. The Murads also claimed Turkish ancestry; claiming that one of their ancestors, Murat, was a soldier of Ottoman Empire-origin serving in the Mughal Army who settled in Punjab.
In 1966, Murad produced and acted in Armaan, whose story was also written by him and directed by Pervaiz Malik. Nasir, the carefree son of a tycoon who switches place with his friend on their tour to Muree. Surpassing all the former box office records at that time by completing 75 weeks in the theaters, Armaan became the first film to celebrate its platinum jubilee at the box office. The film achieved cult status due to its music, composed by Sohail Rana, especially the song "Ko Ko Korina", the first popsong of South Asia. For the film, Murad received two Nigar awards in the categories of best producer and best actor.
Following the success of Armaan, Murad reunited the team for his next production Ehsaan, released in 1967, which was directed by Pervaiz Malik, and featured music by Sohail Rana. In the film, Murad played a psychiatrist who falls for a widow played by Zeba.
In 1967, he appeared as the leading actor in films like Devar Bhabi, Doraha, Insaaniyat and Maan baap. From 1964 to 1968, Murad and Pervaiz Malik made Heera Aur Pathar, Armaan, Ehsaan, Doraha and Jahan tum wahan hum. The combination of Waheed Murad, Pervaiz Malik, Masroor Anwar, Sohail Rana, Ahmed Rushdi and Zeba created a number of films. Waheed Murad brought Malik, Anwar and Sohail Rana under the umbrella of 'Film Arts'. Film Arts broke up and Pervaiz Malik started creating his own projects with new actors. A total of seven films, including two films, i.e., Usey dekha usey chaha and Dushman released after a long gap of 6 years in 1974, were produced with the combination of Waheed and Pervaiz (but not under 'Film Art' Production).
In 1968, Murad started in his production Samandar, co-starring Shabnam. Set in a fishing colony, Samandar explores themes of power struggles, foreign intrusion, and the complexities of relationships between different groups, marking a significant departure from Murad's earlier films. Murad made his debut as a singer in the film by singing "Saathi Tera Mera Saathi Hai" with Masood Rana. The film was a mediocre success at the box office.
In 1969, Murad made his directorial debut with Ishaara, for which he wrote the story and also produced. In the film, Murad played the role of a struggling artist, and sang the song "Jaise Taise Beet Gaya Din" with Deeba. The film also starring Rozina Qureshi, Aliya and Agha Talish, was commercially unsuccessful. Murad received another Nigar award in the best actor category for the film.
In his 25-year career, Murad paired with many actresses like Zeba, Shamim Ara, Rani, Naghma, Aaliya, Sangeeta, Kaveeta, Aasia, Shabnam, Deeba, Babra Sharif, Rukhsana, Bahar Begum and Neelo. He acted in a total of 124 films (two were released after his death), of which 38 were black and white and 86 were in colour. He also appeared in six films as a guest star including his first and shortest appearance in 1959's Saathi. He acted in 115 Urdu films, 8 Punjabi language films and 1 Pushto film, and earned 32 film awards including ones for best producer and for best actor.
In 1986, Zalzala, co-starring Rani, was released, marking Murad's last film as an actor.
As a director, he had directed as well as produced Ishaara (1969) with co-star Deeba.
In August 2018, Coke Studio produced a remake of Ahmed Rushdi's first South Asian pop song "Ko Ko Korina", originally lip-sync by Waheed Murad in the 1966 film Armaan, in the voices of Mustehsan and Ahad Raza Mir. Their rendition of this Pakistani classic was widely criticized. Within a few days of the video being released on YouTube, it became the most-disliked video in the music show's 11-year history. Waheed Murad's son Adil Murad also reacted to the outcry by apologizing to the song's fans for the controversial remake. In 2022, "Ko Ko Korina", featured in the opening scene of American series Ms. Marvel and won top ratings.
In 1983, Anwar Maqsood, a TV writer and anchor and a close friend, invited Waheed to his TV comedy show Silver Jubilee.. Retrieved on 2008-12-09
Babra Sharif, revealed that during the filming of a scene of Hero, Waheed lost his balance while walking toward her and fell down. He took several minutes to catch his breath prior to standing up on his feet again.
In July 1983, Waheed was driving his car too fast and struck a tree. He was left with a scar on his face. A few days after the accident, Waheed asked his friend Pervez Malik for a role. Malik said, "Get better and you will be the lead in my next film." He replied, "You give me the role and I will get better". He was going to Karachi to get the scar fixed to complete the last few scenes of Hero when he met the chief editor, Ilyas Rasheedi, of the film magazine 'Nigar' at the airport. Rasheedi wrote in his magazine:
By chance a famous film producer was also present in the waiting area and Waheed put him on the spot by asking if he had a role for him for Javed Sheikh's father in his movie. The producer had a difficult time dodging Waheed.
The Government of Pakistan named a street and intersection after him in Lahore on 16 August 2021.
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