Tahira Wasti طاہرہ واسطی | |
---|---|
Born | Tahira Shah 1944 |
Died | 11 March 2012[1] | (aged 67–68)
Nationality | British Indian (1944–1947) Pakistani (1947–2012) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1964 - 2012 |
Spouse | Rizwan Wasti (husband)[2] |
Children | Laila Wasti (daughter) Rehan Wasti (son) Adnan Wasti (son) |
Relatives | Maria Wasti (niece) Fahad Rehmani (son-in-law) |
Tahira Wasti (Punjabi, Urdu: طاہرہ واسطی) (1944 – 11 March 2012) was a well-known Pakistani writer and television actress.[3] She was one of the leading actresses of Pakistan Television Screens.[4] She was one of the most popular actress of her time and was one of the most successful actress of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[5][4] She is best known for portrayal of Isabella of Castile in the TV drama Shaheen.[1]
Tahira was born in 1944 at Sargodha, Punjab, (British India) now in Pakistan.[6] She received her early education from Sargodha and later she moved to Lahore for higher education then Karachi.[6]
Tahira Wasti started her career with writing articles in a magazine at the age of 16 and she also worked as an English newscaster on PTV News in 1964.[1][7] Tahira started working at Pakistan Television Corporation in 1968 by acting in a TV drama serial Jaib Katra based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto.[1][8][9] She appeared in a number of TV dramas from 1968 until the 1990s, most of them have become classics of PTV such as Kashkol, Jaangloos and Daldal.[10][11][12] Her prominent personality made her famous for playing regal roles suitable for representing royal, feudal or upper-class families, as in TV plays like Tipu Sultan: The Tiger Lord, Shaheen and Aakhri Chatan.[13][14][8]
She also wrote plays for television and showed special interest in science fiction.[6]
She was the wife of TV actor and English language newscaster Rizwan Wasti and was mother of TV actress Laila Wasti.[1][15] Maria Wasti a famous TV actress is her niece.[9]
Tahira had developed heart ailments, depression because of her husband's death and diabetes.[6] She died of natural causes on 11 March 2012, in Karachi, at the age of 68.[1][16]
In 2021 on 16 August the Government of Pakistan named a street and intersection after her in Lahore.[19]
Year | Award | Category | Result | Title | Ref. |
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2005 | 1st Indus Drama Awards | Best Writer | Nominated | Bheegi Palkain | [20] |