Zia Mohiyuddin: Legendary actor, performer and voice over artist
Zia Mohiyuddin, who introduced Sadakari/Parhnat as a genre of speech, is one of the prominent personalities of Pakistani arts. Zia Mohiyuddin’s pronunciation, accent, impression of conversation or pronunciation of words in Urdu is unmatched. His words add life to dialogue or poetry as if you are talking to the poet and the character.
Zia Mohiyuddin was born on June 20, 1931 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. His father, Khadim Mohiuddin, was a playwright, musician and poet who remained associated with various theaters. He received his basic training in the arts at home, while in the 50s he received formal training in acting from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He is one of the few Pakistanis who went abroad and were associated with film and theater. In 1956 he received training as a director in England. From the beginning of his work in the theatre, he got an opportunity to act in the famous play ‘Julius Caesar’. From where he was selected by London’s most famous theater West End, where he showed his skills of acting and voice by playing the role of Dr. Aziz in the play based on the novel “A Passage to India”.
In 1962, he got an opportunity to work in the film Lawrence of Arabia, while playing a memorable role in the film. He hosted the popular TV talk show ‘The Zia Mohiyuddin Show’ from 1969 to 1973 on Pakistan Television which set new popularity records in Pakistan. Mohiyuddin played the role of hero in the Lollywood movie “Mujrim Kon”. He also performed as voice over artist for various documentaries films in Urdu language, which were very popular among the public. He held the charge of the Director of PIA Arts Academy from 1973 to 1977, while in February 2005 he was elected as the President of NAPA when the National Academy of Performing Arts was founded in Karachi.
Zia Mohiyuddin was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 2003 and the Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in 2012, while in 2017 he was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pakistani community based in Dubai.
He passed away on February 13, 2023 in Karachi after a short illness, but his voice still echoes in hearts of his fans.
