W. Z. Ahmed

W.Z. Ahmed was born in Gujarat in 1916. Between 1942 and 1947, he produced and directed (1942), (1944), Prem Sangeet, Prithaviraj-Samyukta and Meera Bai (1947). Some noted poets and writers of the Progressive Writers' Association were employed by Shalimar Pictures studio including Josh Malihabadi, Krishan Chander, Ramanand Sagar, Akhtar ul Iman and Saghar Nizami. W.Z. Ahmed's last movie produced in India, which depicted Hindu devotee Meera Bai, was met with ferocious criticism along communal lines in Filmindia whose editor Baburao Patel stated that 'Muslim "Meerabai" grossly slanders Hinduism!'. ==Career in Pakistan==

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Ahmed was a prominent cultural personality in Pakistan for a few years, although his cinematic career did not develop well in Pakistan. He established W.Z. Studios in Lahore. Notably Roohi was the first film to be banned in independent Pakistan. It was charged with inciting 'class hatred'. Nevertheless, the ban on Roohi was lifted in 1954. In 1954, W.Z. Ahmed played a prominent role in campaign against imports of Indian films. He was arrested during the agitation but released later. W.Z. Ahmed's ninth movie, Wafa Ki Ada, was never completed nor released. ==Family==

His father had been a prominent police officer in Gujarat, British India. W.Z. Ahmed's first wife was Safia Hidayattullah. He later married Shahida, who had acted in one of his films in Bombay. His only son Fariduddin Ahmed better known as Farid Ahmed, also was a talented filmmaker in Pakistan. He married noted Pakistani television actress Samina Ahmad. Farid Ahmed died an early death in 1993. ==Awards and recognition==

• Nigar Award - Best Director for Waada (1957). ==Death==

W.Z. Ahmed died on 15 April 2007 at age 91. He is buried at Bagh-i-Rehmat graveyard in Lahore, Pakistan. ==References==