Mustafa Qureshi (born 11 May 1938) is a Pakistani film and television actor.

Mustafa Qureshi
ﻣﺼﻄﻔﯽٰ قریشی
Born (1938-05-11) 11 May 1938 (age 86)
Occupation
  • Actor
Years active1957–present
Known forPlaying Noori Natt
WorksFilmography
Political partyPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse
(died 2022)
ChildrenAamir Qureshi (actor-singer)
AwardsNigar Awards in 1979, 1981 and 1983
HonoursPride of Performance Award in 1988

He has acted in more than 600 movies, in Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi languages.[1]

He is best remembered for playing the antagonist Noori Natt in Maula Jatt (1979).[2]

He was born into a Sindhi family despite his later work mainly in Punjabi cinema.

Qureshi won Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Lal Aandhi (1979). He then won his first Nigar Award for Best Actor for 1981 film Sher Khan. He won his third Nigar Award and second in best actor category for his role in Rustam Te Khan (1983).

He was awarded Pride of Performance in 1988.

He has voiced Germander in the Commander Safeguard animated series.[3]

Early life and career

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Qureshi was born in Hyderabad, Sindh, on 11 May 1938,[1] and received primary education in Hyderabad, combining both modern and religious studies, later on gaining a Master of Arts degree in Islamic history from Sindh University, being particularly influenced by the scholars Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi and Ali Muhammad Rashidi, while after his graduation he began his professional career as a host on Radio Pakistan's Sindhi programme Assan Jo Pakistan (Sindhi: اسان جو پاڪستان; "Our Pakistan"), in 1957.[4]

One day he went to see the shooting of the film Aag Ka Darya (1966) and was spotted by cameraman and future film director Raza Mir, who asked him to act as a villain in his upcoming film, Laakhon Mein Ek (1967). Qureshi initially could not see himself becoming an actor, so he had to be convinced by Mir. Eventually Qureshi agreed to do the film, which became a box-office hit. As of 2016, his film career has spanned 45 years.[1]

Personal life

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Family

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He met his wife Rubina Qureshi (d. 2022), a Sindhi folk singer,[5] while both were working for Radio Pakistan, as she was a prominent singer who "sang about 10,000 songs and the total recording time of her songs was more than 50 hours."[6]

Actor and musician Aamir Qureshi is his son.[7]

Politics

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Having been associated with the Pakistan Peoples' Party since he met Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, describing himself as an "ideological worker" and at one point even becoming head of PPP’s culture wing, over the decades, like many Bhutto loyalists, he eventually became disillusioned with how the party evolved,[8] and has since 2018 been associated with Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.[9]

Selected filmography

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Notable films

Awards and recognition

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Nigar Awards

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  • Won – Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actor – Lal Aandhi (1979)[3]
  • Won – Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actor – Sher Khan (1981)[3]
  • Won – Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actor – Rustam Te Khan (1983)[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Interview: The actor par excellence (Mustafa Qureshi's biography and interview)". Dawn (newspaper). 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Paracha, Nadeem F. (19 October 2014). "Maula Jatt: the secret history". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Nigar Awards (1972 - 1986)". The Hot Spot Online website. 5 January 2003. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. ^ Mustafa Qureshi pays rich tributes to Dr Amir for promoting education (10 January 2015), The News International (newspaper), Retrieved 3 July 2021
  5. ^ Nusrat Amin (2 April 2018), "Cross border music mergers", The News International. Retrieved 31 January 2019
  6. ^ Mustafa Qureshi, wife receive accolades (17 June 2012), Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 2 July 2021
  7. ^ Ahmed Sarym (4 August 2016), ""I know I'm not hero-material," says Aamir Qureshi", hip. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  8. ^ Sher Khan (14 April 2013), "No hope for PPP but some for the industry, says Mustafa Qureshi" The Express Tribune. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ "'Nawan Ayan Ae Sonhia': Veteran actor Mustafa Qureshi to join PTI" (30 May 2018), The News International (newspaper). Retrieved 3 July 2021
  10. ^ Adnan Lodhi (17 August 2016). "'Shor Sharaba' enters post-production". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 3 July 2021.
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