Izhar Qazi
| Izhar Qazi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Izhar Qazi 1955 Khadda Market, Karachi, Pakistan 
|
| Died | 24 December 2007 Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi, Pakistan
|
| Resting place | Model Colony graveyard, Karachi, Pakistan
|
| Occupation | actor, singer |
| Years active | 1982-2005 |
| Awards | Nigar Award (2 times), National Award, Graduate Award, Bolan Award |
Izhar Qazi (Urdu: 1955 – December 23, 2007) was a famous two time Nigar award winning, Pakistani film and television actor and a playback singer, perhaps best known for his resemblance to the Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan. Among his peers he was known for his modest lifestyle and honesty. His most famous movies are Love In Nepal, Aalmi Jasoos, Khazana and Sar Kata Insaan.
Izhar Qazi was born in Khadda Market, Karachi. By profession he was an engineer and worked at a respectable position at Pakistan Steel Mills until he was spotted by the manager Admin of Pakistan Steel Syed Abdul Munim and introduced him to the famous TV drama writer Fatima Suraiyya Bajia, who subsequently called for audition. Fatima Suraiyya Bajia was looking for a new face for television at that time and Izhar's striking resemblance with Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan immediately caught her attention.
Izhar Qazi made his showbiz debut in 1982 by starring in Fatima Surraiyya Bajia's family television drama serial Ana. In one of the middle episodes of Ana in which he appeared for the first time, Izhar didn’t deliver a single dialogue. But his mere appearance on the screen and resemblance with Amitabh Bachchan caught the eyes of every viewer in Pakistan. Debuting alongside another newcomer, Mehreen Ilahi, as the young romantic lead and proving his mettle opposite veteran television performers Shakeel and Ghazala Kaifi, Izhar became a household name through his first TV serial. His credentials were further strengthened by excellent acting in the serial Daira and Gardish, again standing out in presence of Shakeel and the late Pakistani actor Saqi.
Qazi's last acting role before his retirement was in the private TV serial, Pani Pe Naam, aired on PTV for which he received a nomination in the best actor category of Lux Style Awards in 2004.
Soon after achieving moderate television success, Izhar Qazi played a gamble by leaving his job and venturing into films and remarkably again achieved instant Lollywood stardom.
Izhar Qazi made his film debut in 1986 by starring in Nazar Shabab's Ruby, as the lead actor, which was an instant hit. He excelled in the film despite the presence of veterans Mustafa Qureshi, Shafi Mohammad, Sabeeta and Rangeela. Although Javed Shiekh was cast initially for the lead role, his sudden disappearance from the cast (due to his visit to India with Salma Agha), forced the film distributor Satish Anand to send Izhar Qazi to fill the gap left by Javed Sheikh. During this time Jan Mohammad, another Pakistani film director, grew fed up with Javed and replaced Javed's role with Izhar for his film Bangkok ke chor. In only his third moview, Izhar acted opposite Shabnam (Pakistan's top film actress at that time) in a unique young-to-old character role. Most of his films were in Urdu but he also appeared in double version Urdu-Punjabi films, besides acting in his only Pushto film, Ghunghru do Kalashankoff, opposite Salma Agha.
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