Mohammad Ali

Mohammad Ali (; 19 April 1931 – 19 March 2006) was a Pakistani actor. He was known as Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat , meaning The Emperor of Emotions. A versatile performer, he acted in dramatic, romantic, and historical movies. He was voted among 25 of the greatest actors of Asia in a 2010 CNN poll.

Early life Mohammad Ali was born in Rampur, United Provinces, British India on 10 November 1938. He was the son of Maulana Syed Murshid Ali, an Islamic scholar. He was the youngest of two brothers and two sisters. After his birth the family migrated from Rampur to Rohtak, and from there to Hyderabad, finally settling in Multan shortly after the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

Film career Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari, Director General, Radio Pakistan introduced him to the film producer Fazal Ahmed Kareem Fazli.

Mohammad Ali was the lead actor and 'hero' in 94 films. His first lead acting credit was Shararat (1963) and his last movie as a lead actor was Aaj Ki Raat (1983). Another movie was Mohabbat ho to Aeisi (1989) and the last movie of his career was Dum Mast Qalander (1995).

Playback singers Ali was most often voiced by Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi. Mehdi Hassan sang 115 songs for Ali in 88 movies. Rushdi sang 100 songs in 57 movies for Ali. Masood Rana sang 34 songs for Ali in his 23 films. Others who provided their voice were Akhlaq Ahmed, Ghulam Abbas, Rajab Ali and Mujeeb Aalam.

Personal life Ali met Zeba for the first time in 1962 during the filming of their debut film Chiragh Jalta Raha (1962). The couple got married four years later, on 29 September 1966, during the filming of Tum Mile Pyar Mila and remained married until Ali's death in 2006. The marriage was described as a love marriage by the couple.

They did not have any children together. However, Mohammad Ali legally adopted Samina, Zeba's daughter from her previous marriage, giving her the name Samina Ali.

Political and social activism Mohammad Ali and his wife Zeba both had close relations with different political regimes in the country. At the International Moscow Film Festival, he wore a black dress in protest against India holding 93,000 POWs after the 1971 war. In Nawaz Sharif's government, he also served as the cultural minister and introduced new policies to improve the condition of Pakistani film Industry.

Filmography