Well known for her tragic roles in Pakistani films, Deeba was born in 1942. Her real name is Raheela. She is the sister-in-law of director Baqar Rizvi. Her ever-smiling face and her innocent looks, made her the Pakistani Mona Lisa.
She was one of the leading film actresses during the 1960s and 1970s, well known for her romantic and tragic roles in Urdu and Punjabi films. 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.
Many of her hugely successful films touched on the themes of romance in one way or another. Given the mood of their times, the movie goers could hardly ignore those themes. The stories of those films ring true even today:
The film ‘Aansoo’, director S. A. Bukhari’s film ‘Do Aansoo’, the film ‘Hum Dono’ (director: Al- Hamid, released in 1966, popular ghazal:
‘Unki nazroan say mohabbat ka jo paigham mila’, sung by Runa Laila, pictured on Deeba, starring: Deeba – Kamal) the films ‘Zameer’, and ‘Sajda’.
It is a signal of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation. Deeba is living proof of that moderation. She played many supporting characters, including the on-screen mother, in several films throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s. She acted in several television plays in the early 2000s.
Staying resilient through the challenges of life, she worked even harder in another spate of films. Deeba, whose life has been a long, exciting trip in the film world, came up with more interesting movies like the following:
‘Phir chand niklay ga’, ‘Perdais’, ‘Kaun dilan diyan janay’, ‘Meri mohabbat teray hawalay’, ‘Aik raat’, ‘Bhola sajan’, ‘Nasha jawani da’, ‘Subha ka tara’, ‘Sajan rang rangeela’.
Deeba, worked with the best people, who made her look good by helping her display more of the full range of her acting talent. In the final phase of her acting career, she appeared in more movies. Seven of them are listed below:
‘Umar Mukhtar’, ‘Karam Daata’, ‘Deewanay teray pyar kay’, ‘Barsaat ki raat’, ‘Nikah’, ‘Saheb jee’ and the mega hit film ‘Chooriyaan’.
She earned the Nigar Award for best actress in the film ‘Sajna dooor deyan’ in 1970.
Sources:
https://anisshakur.tripod.com/id68.html
https://www.app.com.pk/showbiz/renowned-film-actress-deeba-turns-69/