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 most popular Pakistani TV actresses of her time as well as one of the most successful actresses of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.[4][5] She is best known for her portrayal of Isabella of Castile in the TV drama Shaheen.[1]
Early life
Tahira was born in 1944 in Sargodha, Punjab, (British India), now in Pakistan.[6] She received her early education from Sargodha, and later moved to Lahore for higher education, then Karachi.[6]
Career
Tahira Wasti started her career with writing articles in a magazine at the age of 16, and also worked as an English newscaster on PTV News in 1964.[1][7] Tahira started working as an actor in the 1968 Pakistan Television Corporation in 1968 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 a special interest in science fiction.[6]
Personal life
She was the wife of TV actor and English language newscaster Rizwan Wasti; they are the parents of TV actress Laila Wasti.[1][15]Maria Wasti, a famous TV actress, is her niece.[9]
Illness and death
Tahira had developed heart ailments, diabetes and had been deeply affected by her husband's death in January 2011.[6] She died of natural causes on 11 March 2012, in Karachi, at the age of 68.[1][16]
