Javed Sheikh: One man’s story

By Anis Ahmed Shakur

The streets between M.A. Jinnah Road, and Waheed Murad Road, Karachi, were once popularly known as Plaza quarters or plaza. A very pious, and straightforward person, Sheikh Rehmat Ali, resided in the above neighborhood in the 1960s.

Sheikh Rehmat Ali had absolutely nothing to do with Show business. Hence, no one in his right frame of mind could have imagined even in his dreams, that his children would one day become celebrated Pakistani film actors.

Therefore, the public was amazed when his eldest son, Javed Sheikh, who was smitten by acting at a tender age, was cast as a child star in the film ‘Insaan badalta hai’, in 1961. Though perspicuous observers had noticed the hidden talents of this promising kid at the time.

From 1968 onwards, Javed Sheikh frequented stage shows and Radio Pakistan programs. Perhaps, it was then, that the seeds of an artistic revolution were sown. Javed Sheikh debuted as lead actor in director Qamar Zaidi’s film ‘Dhamaka’, opposite Shabnam in 1974.

Bad luck, ‘Dhamaka’ did not succeed and Javed Sheikh vanished from the movie scene for nine years, until 1983. Courageous, as he was, Javed Sheikh did not lose heart. Instead, he joined hands with Pakistani television and appeared both in television plays and commercials.

Probably the experience that leaves the deepest and most indelible impression is the super hit television drama serial, ‘Shama’. Javed sheikh and Ghazala Tabassum, who later came to be known as Ghazala Kaifi, played the lead romantic roles in ‘Shama’. ‘Shama’ is one of the most consistently popular drama series in Pakistani television history.

Javed Sheikh also played a key role alongside Shafi Mohammad and Ruhi Banu, in the television drama, ‘Kala Daira’. Additionally, he played the character of Amir in Pakistani television drama serial, ‘Chandni Raatain’.

Javed Sheikh, who is full of life and vigor, attained maturity and professional recognition rapidly. As mentioned earlier, he re-appeared in films in 1983 and worked opposite Shabnam in director Nazar Shabab’s golden jubilee film ‘Kabhi alwida na kehna’.

As time passed, he became a household name and a media darling. With that said, let us glance at three movies of Javed Sheikh:

 Director, Zafar Shabab’s golden jubilee film ‘Shadi magar Aadhi’, 1984, in which Javed Sheikh- Shabnam played the lead roles.

Director Zafar Shabab’s golden jubilee film ‘Teray ghar kay Saamnay’, 1984, cast included Javed Sheikh- Shabnam.

Director Nazar Shabab’s golden jubilee film ‘Bobby’, 1984, starring, Javed Sheikh- Mohammad Ali- Sabeeta. In ‘Bobby’, Javed Sheikh appeared with Mohammad Ali for the first time.

Winners visualize the rewards of success. As for Javed sheikh, his true- life story is an instance of human excellence and personal success. What is unique about the three movies below is that their stories are so profound:

Director Waheeda Khan’s golden jubilee film ‘Kiraye kay gorillay’, 1984, cast included Javed Sheikh- Laila.

Director Shamim Ara’s platinum jubilee film ‘Miss Colombo’, 1984.

Director K. Khursheed’s film ‘Benazir Qurbani’, 1985, stars included Javed Sheikh- Shabnam.

Javed Sheikh confirms through his hard work that he is more than just the sum of his characters—not that we ever really doubted that. His versatility is reflected in the three movies below:

Director Pervez Malik’s film ‘Halchal’, 1985, starring, Javed Sheikh- Nazaan Saanchee- Shabana

Director Jan Mohammad Jaman’s film ‘Honk Kong kay sholay’, 1985, cast included Javed Sheikh- Barbara Sharif.

Director Sangeeta’s film ‘Jeenay naheen doon gee’, 1985, stars included Javed Sheikh- Sangeeta.

Javed Sheikh, who loses himself in his profession, is all praise for the Nigar film magazine. According to him, he has been perusing it since 1960. Moreover, he maintains that the founder of Nigar Awards, the late Ilyas Rashdi, was his mentor and an incessant source of inspiration throughout his life. Below are six movies, whose stories managed to evoke interest in cine-goers:

Director Nazar Shabab’s film ‘Nadia’, 1985, Javed Sheikh- Sabeeta played the lead characters.

Director Hasan Askari’s film ‘Hum aur tum’, 1985, cast included Javed Sheikh- Salma Agha.

Director Altaf Husain’s Punjabi film ‘Mehendi’, 1985, first Punjabi film of Javed Sheikh, stars included Javed Sheikh- Anjuman.

Director Pervez Malik’s film ‘Zanjeer’, 1986, starring, Javed Sheikh- Nazaan Saanchee.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Hum aik hain’, 1986, cast included Javed Sheikh- Salma Agha.

Director Mohammad Javed Fazil’s film ‘Faisala’, 1986.

As a result of his focused concentration, Javed Sheikh became a successful actor. His story illustrates that there is no limit to where your dreams can take you. The transporting power of love and gentility were magnificently captured in the three movies below:

Director Hasnain’s movie ‘Aik he raasta’, 1986.

Director Sharif Nayyar’s movie ‘Jhoomar chore’, 1986.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s movie, ‘Damoro intiqaam’, Pushto, stars, Javed Sheikh- Salma Agha.

As the years passed he kept working in movies. He divorced his wife, Zeenat Manghi, in order to marry Salma Agha. Too bad, his marriage to Salma Agha could not thrive and it resulted in their separation. Later, he fell in love with actress Neeli and both of them used to appear together in public gatherings. In times due course, cracks appeared in Javed Sheikh and Neeli’s relationship as well.

However, Javed Sheikh’s most successful movies were the ones in which he was paired off with Salma Agha and Neeli. His true caliber is evident in the seven movies below:

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Rangeelay jasoos’, starring Javed Sheikh- Neeli.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Zakhmi aurat’, cast included Javed Sheikh- Nadira.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film, ‘Raja’, stars included Javed Sheikh- Nadira.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Bakhtawar’, starring Javed Sheikh- Neeli.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Haseeno ki Baraat’, cast included Javed Sheikh- Saima.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Sheida tali’, in which Javed Sheikh teamed up with Neeli.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Saat khoon ma’af’, in which Javed Sheikh worked opposite Neeli.

He worked zealously to keep the viewer engaged in the romantic story. A man of many projects, Javed Sheikh was also behind movies like the three below:

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Yaad gaar’, stars included Javed Sheikh- Neeli.

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s Punjabi film ‘Naghra gori da.’

Director M.A. Rasheed’s film ‘Khoon da qarz’ in which Javed Sheikh paired off with Neeli.

After thirty years Javed Sheikh is still one of the most cherished artists in Pakistani entertainment. The scripts of his film are so cleverly conceptualized one finds him self simply admiring the formula. His role in the three films below is worth applauding:

Director M.A. Rasheed’s film ‘Panah’, starring, Javed Sheikh- Nadeem- Sahiba.

Director M.A. Rasheed’s film ‘Qatiloan kay qatil’ stars included Javed Sheikh- Salma Agha.

Director Haider Chaudhry’s film ‘Paani’, starring, Javed Sheikh- Kavita.

The credit goes to the salutary Javed Sheikh to have acted in films that gripped the heart of moviegoers. Excellence of his tremendous acting potential, are quite conspicuous in the six movies below:

Director Haider Chaudry’s film, ‘Nangi talwaar’, in which Javed Sheikh teamed up with Gori.

Director Haider Chaudry’s film ‘Hoshiyaar’ in which Javed Sheikh paired off with Kavita.

Director Nazar-ul-Islam Dada’s film ‘Kalay chore’ starring, Javed Sheikh- Neeli.

Director Nazar-ul-Islam Dada’s film ‘Nargis’ stars included Javed Sheikh- Madiha Shah.

Director Jan Mohammad Jaman’s film ‘Mohabbat kay saudagar’ cast included Javed Sheikh- Neeli.

Director Aslam Daar’s film ‘Daagh’ stars included Javed Sheikh- Salma Agha.

His movie personality, fluency and flexibility made him one of the most sought-after actors, in the 1980s and the 1990s. The three movies below are bodacious and therefore worth watching:

Director Nazar Shabab’s movie ‘Aik say barh kar aik’ with Salma Agha.

Director Nazar Shabab’s movie, ‘Tufani bijliyaan’ with Neeli.

Director Hasnain’s movie, ‘Allah Shehanshah’ with Neeli.

So far, Javed Sheikh has made his presence felt in one hundred plus movies. He continues to influence his adorers through his performance. Below are three movies, which were his crowning achievement:

Director Hasnain’s film ‘Farishta’ with Saima.

Director Altaf Husain’s film ‘Baarish’ with Barbara Sharif.

Director Altaf Husain’s film ‘Jhutay Raees’ with Reema.

In reality, it was the team -work of a dedicated movie crew, which made his films a huge success. Virtual inclusion of finer feelings played a decisive role in the success of the three films below:

Director Altaf Husain’s film ‘Hum naheen ya tum naheen’, with Neeli.

Director Syed Noor’s film ‘Jeewa’ with Resham.

Director Syed Noor’s film ‘Uqaboan ka nasheman.’

Moviegoers have been watching him for a while. He became etched in their minds in the three films below:

Director Sangeeta’s film ‘Sahab bibi aur tawaif.’

Director Iqbal Kashmiri’s film ‘Mohallat’.

Director Javed Fazil’s film ‘Aag he Aag.’

Javed Sheikh did a series of outstanding movies and his popularity continued to grow. He also showed a knack for tapping into the moods of the times with movies such as the three below:

Director Javed Fazil’s movie ‘Ustadoan ka ustaad.’

Director Nazar-ul-Islam Dada’s movie ‘Madam Bawry.’

Director Pervez Malik’s movie ‘Ghareboan ka Badshah.’

His superb voice, good looks and impressive style in films appealed to the masses. The vibrancy of his profound presentation in the three films below brought laurels from everywhere:

Director Zafar Shabab’s film ‘Saas meri saheli.’

Director Jamshed Naqui’s film ‘Hum say na takrana.’

Director Zahid Shah’s film ‘Choroan ka dushman.’

Nowadays, Javed Sheikh has become the defining voice for quality films and excellence in movie production. An adept actor, he worked in the three films below with confidence and ease:

Director Shahid Rana’s film ‘Lahori Badmash.’

Director Zahoor Husain Geelani’s film ‘Badmash thug.’

Director Masood Butt’s film ‘Khuda gawah.’

Pakistani cinema’s hero, Javed Sheikh, is a man, whose characters in movies express his aspiration toward taste and sophistication. Below are three examples:

Director Javed Fazil’s film ‘Zamana.’

Director Mumtaz Ali Khan’s film ‘Ilaqa ghair.’

Director Javed Fazil’s film ‘Mala kharo’, Sindhi version of the Punjabi film ‘Akhara.’

Having attained his ambition as an actor, Javed Sheikh moved on to another realm, direction. He was really tuned into the rhythm of this particular genre—direction. All through these times, his admirers knew that Javed Sheikh is more than an actor. A director, producer, and a famous television artist, he has put his stamp on several movies and television plays in his remarkable career that still flourishes to this day.

Below are six movies, which were directed by Javed Sheikh:

The hit films ‘Mushkil’, ‘Chief Sahab’, ‘Yes Boss’, ‘Kaheen pyar na ho jaye’, ‘Mujhay jeenay do.’

In the film ‘Ye dil Aap ka hua’, the cast includes Saleem Sheikh- Moammar- Sana. The movie is based on the grand theme of love.

Most recently, Javed Sheikh was directing the film ‘Khulay Aasmaan kay neechay.’ He has filled his movies with characters, which have become Pakistani entertainment icons. His entire life is filled with challenges.

Javed Sheikh’s younger brother, Saleem Sheikh, occasionally appears in the Pakistani films and television as an artist. Further, Behroze Sabswari is the brother-in-law of Javed Sheikh.

Javed Sheikh’s most telling accomplishment are reflected in the six movies below, which earned him the Nigar Award:

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Ghareboan ka Badshah’ in 1988.

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Baarish’ in 1989.

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Ustadoan ka ustaad’ in 1990.

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Kalay chore’ in 1991.

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Zamana’ in 1993.

Javed Sheikh won the Nigar Award for best actor in the film ‘Mushkil’ in 1995.

Javed Sheikh is amongst a few artists to take bold steps to promote Pakistan’s image abroad. His admirers have always been, are, and hopefully will be, praying for his success.