Zeba Bakhtiar (Urdu: زيبا بختيار; born 5 November 1962[1]) is a Pakistani film/TV actress and a television director. She is known for her TV drama Anarkali (1988), the Bollywood romantic drama Henna (1991), and the Lollywood movie, Sargam (1995). She produced and directed a movie Babu in 2001. Zeba won the best actress Nigar Award for the movie Sargam in 1995.

Zeba Bakhtiar
زيبا بختيار
Born (1962-11-05) 5 November 1962 (age 62)[1]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
  • director
Known forHenna (1991)
Sargam (1995)
Spouse
Salman Valliani
(m. 1985; div. 1986)
(m. 1989; div. 1990)
(m. 1993; div. 1996)
ChildrenAzaan Sami Khan (son)
ParentYahya Bakhtiar (father)
RelativesSultana Zafar (aunt)
Huma Akbar (sister-in-law)

Early life and family

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Zeba is the daughter of Yahya Bakhtiar, a lawyer, politician and pre-independence Muslim League activist who served as the Attorney General of Pakistan, and also played a key role in framing Pakistan's current constitution.[2][3] Her father belonged to Quetta,[2] while her mother Eva Bakhtiar was an English woman born to Hungarian parents.[4][3] Her father died in 2003,[2] and her mother died in 2011.[5] Her parents met in the UK in the early 1940s and married, with her mother eventually settling in Pakistan in 1949 after graduating from the University College London.[4][5] Zeba has two brothers, Salim and Karim, who are both doctors, and a sister, Saira.[2] She was raised in Quetta,[5] and moved to Karachi later.[2]

Career

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Zeba made her television debut with a Pakistan Television drama, Anarkali in 1988. Her melancholic romantic role in Anarkali was widely appreciated. Then, she signed a Bollywood movie Henna in 1991 under the direction of Randhir Kapoor. Henna made Zeba a household name in the subcontinent. Later, she worked in more Bollywood movies like Mohabbat Ki Arzoo (1994), Stuntman (1994), Jai Vikraanta (1995), and Muqadama (1996). But her career in Bollywood didn't make any progress after Henna. Then she came back to Pakistan and worked in Syed Noor directed film Sargam (1995). Her other Lollywood movies include Chief Sahib (1996), Qaid (1996), and Musalman (2001). She produced and directed movie Babu in 2001, and produced a movie Mission 021 in 2014.
Apart from big screen, Zeba also appeared in some popular TV dramas like Tansan, Laag, and Pehli see mohabbat.[6][7]

Personal life

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Marriages

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Bhaktiar married thrice. Her first husband was Salman Valliani whom she married in the year 1985.[8] She married to Indian actor Jaaved Jafferi In 1989 and got divorce after one year. She came in the limelight because of her marriage to singer and music composer Adnan Sami. Zeba and Adnan got divorced in 1997. They have a son named Azaan Sami Khan[9]

Health

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Zeba was diagnosed with diabetes before her second marriage.[10] She now participates in the diabetes awareness campaigns on different forums.[11][12]

Social work

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She is involved in women's association football in Pakistan as chairwoman of Karachi-based Diya W.F.C.[13]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Language
1991 Henna[14] Henna Hindi
1994 Mohabbat Ki Aarzoo Poonam Singh Hindi
1994 Stuntman Reena B. Tiwari Hindi
1995 Jai Vikraanta Nirmala Verma Hindi
1995 Sargam[2] Zeb-un-Nisa Urdu
1996 Muqadama Chanchal Singh
1996 Chief Sahib Urdu
1999 Qaid Khushboo
2001 Babu
2001 Musalmaan
2014 O21[2] as Producer
2015 Bin Roye Maliha Shafiq

Television

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Accolades

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Year Ceremony Category Work Result Ref(s).
1992 Filmfare Awards Best Actress Henaa Nominated
Best Female Debut Nominated
1995 Nigar Awards Best Actress Sargam Won [15]
2004 Lux Style Awards Chairperson's Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to Pakistani entertainment industry
2006 Best TV Director (Terrestrial) Masoori Nominated
2015 Best Film O21 [16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Interview given to Aamna Haider Isani (Jul-2023), published on YouTube (Zeba Bakhtiar On Life Survival Hacks I Six Pack at 60 I How To Overcome Depression I AHI).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Yahya Bakhtiar dies". Dawn. 28 June 2003. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "'My hero': Zeba Bakhtiar shares a memorable picture". ARY News. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020. Her father Yahya Bakhtiar was a lawyer and Attorney General of Pakistan who played a key role in the framing of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. Zeba's mother was a Hungarian woman.
  4. ^ a b "Azaan Sami Khan discusses relation with father, Adnan Sami Khan". The News. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020. Speaking about family dynamics, Azaan first revealed, "My mother's mother was English; her parents were Hungarian. My grandfather met her in the early 1940s," he revealed.
  5. ^ a b c "Yahya Bakhtiar's wife dies". Dawn. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Zeba-bakhtiar". Profiles of Famous Pakistanis. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. ^ "زیبا بختیار نے بھارتی فلم حنا سے فنی سفر کا آغاز کیا". express news. 20 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Zeba Bakhtiar Biography | IMDB". www.imdb.com.
  9. ^ Hafeez, Zara Nasir (19 May 2014). "The buzz: In conversation with Zeba Bakhtiar". tribune.com.pk. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Zeba joins JJ diabetes care". The Nation. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Zeba Bakhtiar and Johnson and Johnson aspire towards better diabetes care". Asianet Pakistan. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Adnan Sami married the star, not person: Zeba Bakhtiar". Zee News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  13. ^ "A football victory for girls' rights in Karachi". United Nations Pakistan Newsletter Issue No. 2 (2016). 20 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  14. ^ "RIP Rishi Kapoor: 'Henna' will be remembered forever". DeccanHerald. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  15. ^ "List of Nigar awards from 1957 to 1971". The Hot Spot Online. 17 June 2002. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Nominations for Lux Style Awards 2015 announced". Daily Times. Karachi. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015.
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