Ahmad Bashir (Urdu: احمد بشیر) (March 24, 1923 – December 25, 2004) was a writer, journalist, intellectual and film director from Pakistan....
Ahmad Bashir (Urdu: احمد بشیر) (March 24, 1923 – December 25, 2004) was a writer, journalist, intellectual and film director from Pakistan. He was the father of leading television artiste Bushra Ansari and poetess Neelam Bashir. Begum Parveen Atif, also an Urdu short story writer, is his sister, and his wife Mehmooda is his partner from the 1947. He was a close friend of famous Urdu writers Mumtaz Mufti and Ibn-e-Insha.
Early life
Ahmad Bashir was born in Aimanabad near Gujranwala (British India) on March 24, 1923. He did his BA from Srinagar and went to Bombay for a career in acting but soon started writing for film magazines. After partition, he came to settle permanently into Pakistan.
After partition, Ahmad Bashir worked for several newspapers in Pakistan, however, he is remembered for his days at Daily Imroze with particular fondness. He was taken as a sub-editor in Imroze where he introduced feature writing for the first time in Urdu press. He also obtained training in film direction from Hollywood on state scholarship.
Ahmed Bashir also worked for the Department of Films & Publications and later for National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC). He resigned after General Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law in the country. He faced bitter hardships during this period in which he was never allowed to write columns in newspapers.
Ahmad Bashir was also a portrait writer. His notable book Jo Milay Thay Raaste Mein contains pen sketches of eminent literary personalities like Mumtaz Mufti, Krishan Chandar, Meeraji, Chiragh Hasan Hasrat, Hasrat Mohani and Kishwar Naheed. He also wrote an autobiographical novel Dil Bhatkey Ga.
In 1969, Ahmad Bashir directed and produced an Urdu film Neela Parbat. The film was Pakistan's one of the earliest experimental feature films. However, the film proved to be too much of alternative genre of his times and flopped on box-office. After the failure of Neela Parbat, Bashir never ventured in to film making or production.
Ahmad Bashir died of pancreatic cancer on December 25th, 2004 in Lahore.
Works
After partition, Ahmad Bashir worked for several newspapers in Pakistan, however, he is remembered for his days at Daily Imroze with particular fondness. He was taken as a sub-editor in Imroze where he introduced feature writing for the first time in Urdu press. He also obtained training in film direction from Hollywood on state scholarship.
Ahmed Bashir also worked for the Department of Films & Publications and later for National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC). He resigned after General Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law in the country. He faced bitter hardships during this period in which he was never allowed to write columns in newspapers.
Ahmad Bashir was also a portrait writer. His notable book Jo Milay Thay Raaste Mein contains pen sketches of eminent literary personalities like Mumtaz Mufti, Krishan Chandar, Meeraji, Chiragh Hasan Hasrat, Hasrat Mohani and Kishwar Naheed. He also wrote an autobiographical novel Dil Bhatkey Ga.
In 1969, Ahmad Bashir directed and produced an Urdu film Neela Parbat. The film was Pakistan's one of the earliest experimental feature films. However, the film proved to be too much of alternative genre of his times and flopped on box-office. After the failure of Neela Parbat, Bashir never ventured in to film making or production.
Death
Ahmad Bashir died of pancreatic cancer on December 25th, 2004 in Lahore.
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