he venue was the Karachi Theosophical Society Hall, where William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet was being staged. The character of Romeo was being played by an Englishman, while the sister-in-law of the director personified Juliet.

Some students from Karachi University were also participating, as they were into acting. The director was a graduate from London’s famous Rada (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), and wanted to give theatre the respectability it deserved. He may have succeeded, but political uncertainty came in the way.

The director was Zia Mohyeddin, who came to Pakistan in 1957 to attend to his ailing father. For the adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in Karachi, Richard Lansdown, a teacher of English Literature at Karachi Grammar School, and Shehrbano were roped in for the title roles, while future heartthrob Waheed Murad played the role of Benvolio.

This was not the only play Zia Mohyeddin directed. He staged many shows in Lahore and the then capital Karachi, but the martial law of 1958 made him roll back his plans. For someone who seldom accepted defeat, Zia had vowed to establish an institution in Pakistan which would provide quality education and rigorous training in the performing arts.

After making a name for himself in Pakistan by becoming the first in his country to appear in Hollywood films — Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Sammy Goes South (1963) and Khartoum (1966) to name a few — and British TV serials, Zia was signed by his namesake, film director Zia Sarhadi for his movie Aakhir-i-Shab in Lahore.

As actor, director, orator, writer, broadcaster and teacher, Zia Mohyeddin, who passed away February 13 at the age of 91, played many parts in his illustrious life — and all to propagate culture

Zia Mohyeddin fractured his foot on the very first day of the shoot, and further Lollywood collaborations were as painful as the fracture. However, Zia managed to find solace on PTV with a show of his own.

The Zia Mohyeddin Show, aired in 1971 and then again in 1973, became a trendsetter, where he brought all his training at Rada into play. The way he signalled the musicians to start before his rap-style song segment — “Lagay theka!” — the fashionable outfits he sported and the flair with which he spoke, became all the rage, and Zia could finally see light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. When he was made the director of an arts and dance academy in 1973, he was on his way to accomplish his desire, but another martial law ruined his plans.

Due to his short stints at Radio Pakistan, Radio Australia and the BBC, Zia became a master orator. Considered to be the greatest from Pakistan, he could bring life to words. Being well-read, he was considered a giant amongst the dwarfs in the entertainment circles of Pakistan. The thespian travelled the world as a compere, offering Urdu poetry and prose recitations, as well as readings of English letters and literature.

A disciple of the Western genre of reading, he introduced Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Noon Meem Rashid, Shaukat Thanvi, Ibn-i-Insha and Patras Bokhari to the younger generation. A magician with words, his mastery over both English and Urdu was a unique gift. In his sophisticated style, he would captivate the audience for the entire duration of his oration.

Zia Mohyeddin returned after democracy (read: normalcy) returned to the country during the mid-80s. He started a tradition that lasted till his death, which Naveed Riaz, the organiser and a close relative of the thespian, was not even aware that he was initiating.

Starting in 1986, Zia Mohyeddin ke Saath Aik Shaam [An Evening With Zia Mohyeddin] would become an annual affair in Lahore, and would continue till 2023. Lahore’s Ali auditorium was packed during every session, which was held without fail in the last week of December, except in 1998 and 2020 (the former being due to a death in the family and the latter because of Covid-19 restrictions).

Zia Mohyeddin’s commitment to correct talaffuz (pronunciation) and diction was unwavering, as he had made an art of reciting master writers’ works. Mind you, if he was conversing, he would stick to the language he started with. Minglish was simply out of the question. He also revived the dying art of marsiya-goyi [reciting the elegiac genre of Urdu poetry] and became a regular voice behind the documentaries that featured trips to Karbala.

With Zia Mohyeddin settled down in Pakistan during the mid-90s, he tried to restructure theatre, which was down in the dumps. Another martial law, this time by Gen Pervez Musharraf, seemed to threaten his dream project, but two negatives did bring out a positive.

Gen Pervez Musharraf, also credited with opening up Pakistan’s media landscape, was aware of Zia Mohyeddin’s contribution and his goal, which made way for a discussion. The paperwork began and, in 2005, the 74-year-old Zia Mohyeddin became the founder of Pakistan’s premier National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa). By 2021, he was elevated to the seat of President Emeritus, which he kept till his death.

He managed to fulfil his lifelong dream and mentored some of the country’s biggest acting talents at Napa. The number of Napa graduates now run into hundreds, and have excelled in various genres. Be it movie-making (Saqib Khan of Ghabrana Nahin Hai fame) and Fawad Khan, acting on local and international fronts (Adnan Jaffar), actors who shuffle between TV, films and theatre simultaneously (Akber Islam, Paras Masroor, Hammad Khan, Uroosa Siddiqi), or those venturing into direction and production (Ahmer Hussain, Mohsin Ali Shah), Napa has been producing notable names in the making.

Zia Mohyeddin passed away on the day his favourite poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born, over a century ago. Zia Mohyeddin has left behind a legacy and his work will continue through his students, in an industry which finally got its due in a society as conservative as ours.

As Shakespeare said: “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” In the case of Zia Mohyuddin, however, as actor, director, orator, writer, broadcaster and teacher, he was a man who had played many parts.

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 26th, 2023