Jamal Shah

Jamal Shah
جمال شاہ
Federal Minister of National Heritage and Culture
Caretaker
In office
17 August 2023 – 4 March 2024
Prime MinisterAnwaar ul Haq Kakar
Shehbaz Sharif
Preceded byMarriyum Aurangzeb (as Minister of Information & Broadcasting)
Succeeded byAttaullah Tarar (as Minister of Information & Broadcasting)
Personal details
Born (1956-03-01) 1 March 1956 (age 68)
Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan
Spouse(s)
​
(div.)​

Amna Shah
EducationSlade School of Fine Art
National College of Arts
University of Balochistan
Occupation
  • Actor
  • director
  • singer
  • painter
  • sculptor
AwardsOrdre des Arts et des Lettres

Jamal Shah (Pashto: جمال شاہ) is a Pakistani actor, director, musician, writer, sculptor, painter, and social activist. He has also served as the Federal Minister of Culture in Kakar cabinet.[1]

Early life and education

Shah was born into a Pashto speaking Syed family in 1956 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.

Shah received a Master's degree in English literature from the University of Balochistan in 1978. He graduated from the National College of Arts in Lahore in 1983. He later obtained a Master's degree in fine arts from the Slade School of Fine Art in London, United Kingdom.[2]

Personal life

He married actress Faryal Gohar which ended after nine years in divorce. Shah described the contrast in their personalities as cause of their divorce.[3]

Career

In 1984, Shah established the Fine Arts Department at the University of Balochistan and headed it until 1986.[4] In 1985, he founded the Artists Association of Balochistan and also was appointed the first Chairman of the Artist Association of Pakistan.[2]

During the 1980s he began to have an international recognition, being called "the next Omar Sharif" and getting a role in the 1989 BBC television serial Traffik, but he refused most of these offers as they clashed with his Islamic values.[5]

In 1991, Shah made his acting debut in the film K2, directed by Franc Roddam, and since then, he has appeared in many other movies and TV dramas.[6]

He founded the Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts in Islamabad in 1992[4] and later became a Telenor Pakistan brand ambassador doing television productions under the banner of Hunerkada Productions.

In 2007, Shah became the executive director of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad, Pakistan, and then was appointed its Director General in October 2016. His tenure at PNCA ended on 22 September 2019 with him stating in an interview with Alyan Khan that he "did not want any extension".[7][4][8] In 2019, Shah was the President and Chief Curator of the first Islamabad Art Festival.[9]

Shah made his directorial debut with the 2016 film Revenge of the Worthless.[10][11][12]

In 2021, Shah was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture.[13]

In 2022, he sculpted a bronze bust of Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam, which was unveiled by the director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano at IAEA's 61st general conference.[14][15]

Filmography

Year Film Role Actor Director Producer Writer Notes
1991 K2[6] Malik Yes Debut acting role
2016 Ho Mann Jahaan[16] Manizeh's father
Revenge of the Worthless[17] Zarak Khan Yes Yes Debut direction
Hijrat[18]

Television

Year Name Role Opposite Network
1990 Madar Inspector Zark Khan PTV
1991 Parosi NTM
1989 Traffik Fazal Channel 4
1990 Palay Shah (Palay Khan)[19][20] Palay Khan PTV
1993 Baarish Kay Baad Huma Mir, Mishi Khan PTV
2010 Chunri Babar Ali, Syed Mohsin Gillani, Farah Shah, Asma Abbas PTV Home
2014 Aag[11] Raja Safraz
2016 Saya-e-Dewar Bhi Nahi[21][22] Shahab Shah Ahsan Khan, Naveen Waqar, Irfan Khoosat, Sonia Khan Hum TV
2023 Tere Ishq Naam[23] Zaviyar, Syed Mohsin Gillani, Hiba Bukhari, Asma Abbas PTV Home

See also

References

  1. ^ "په کراچۍ کې د پښتون هنرمند د انځورګرۍ نندارتون" (in Pashto). Voice of America. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b Profile of Jamal Shah on Clifton Art Gallery website Retrieved 30 October 2019
  3. ^ "Jamal Shah Reveals The Reason Behind His Divorce With Faryal Gohar". Bol News. 18 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "New horizons: One step at a time". The Express Tribune. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ^ Alavi, Omair (22 November 2015). "'I refused to act in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag': Jamal Shah". The News International.
  6. ^ a b Alan Goble. "Filmography of Jamal Shah on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website". Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  7. ^ @SydJamalShah (8 January 2020). "I am not the DG, PNCA anymore. My 3 years tenure ended on 22 nd September and I did not want any extention [sic]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "'Films can help spread message of change'". The Express Tribune. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ^ "First-ever International Islamabad Art Festival 2019 to start from Nov 18: Jamal Shah". Daily Times. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Jamal Shah takes a swipe at filmmaking". The Express Tribune. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b Khan, Sheeba (8 January 2016). "Jamal Shah talks about TV, Films, and his upcoming 'Revenge of the Worthless'". HIP. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ Alavi, Omair. "Revenge of the Worthless". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Pakistani actor Jamal Shah gets award from French Ministry of culture". Daily Jang. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ^ PYT (13 February 2022). "THE GRAPEVINE". dawn.com. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Jamal Shah's sculpture is a brilliant take on Dr Abdus Salam". The Express Tribune. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  16. ^ Anwer, Zoya (26 March 2015). "Ho Mann Jahaan — the next big thing in Pak cinema is coming soon". dawn.com. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Here are the nominees for the 47th Nigar Film Awards". The Express Tribune. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  18. ^ Salman, Peerzada (9 April 2016). "35mm evokes seriousness: Hijrat's Farooq Mengal explains staying old-school in a digital world". Images. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  19. ^ Azam, Aiza. "Jamal Shah: Actor, Singer, Legend". www.youlinmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2024. Jamal also wrote the script for and had the lead role in Palay Shah, a drama series about the famed Baloch freedom fighter Palay Khan Khosti, who fought against the British Raj.
  20. ^ "Palay khan (1990) - IMDb". IBDb.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Watch Saya-E-Dewar Bhi Nahi - 2016 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  22. ^ Khan, Saira (19 January 2017). "'Saya-e-Dewar Bhi Nahi' continues to keep us engaged". HIP. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  23. ^ Nadeem, Syed Omer (27 April 2023). "Tere Ishq Ke Naam | Be grateful, nothing lasts forever". ARY Digital. Retrieved 13 February 2024.