The once reigning deity of Punjabi
films, Aasia was born Firdous in 1951, in
Punjab, India. She migrated to Pakistan along
with her family, while still in her teens. She
proved her versatility as an artist at a young
age.
Aasia made her film debut in 1970, with
director Riaz Shahid's historical movie, 'Gharnata'
(popular song: 'Mein hoon yahan, tu hai wahan',
singer: Mehdi Hasan).
She was an instant hit as a young girl
for her great looks and her enormous talents.
Hence, the pumped-up and over-flowing
cinema crowds greeted Aasia on her first movie.
Initially a novice, she was eager to learn and
quickly mastered acting.
Aasia's second movie was the super hit
film, 'Insaan Aur Aadmi'(1970, directed by
Shabab Kiranvi, starring: Mohammad Ali, Zeba,
Aasia, Talat Husain, Aslam Pervez, popular song:
'Tu jahan kaheen bhi jaaye, mera pyar yaad
rakhna', recorded in Noor Jehan's voice and
pictured on Zeba)
Aasia was dubbed as Zeba's daughter and
the latter took all necessary measures to
protect her from the villain, Aslam Pervez.
The film 'Insaan Aur Aadmi' was so
consistently involving because the excellent
cast delivers their lines with the kind of utter
conviction not seen in this category of movie
for a while.
Besides, it put Aasia on the road to
fame.
In reality, 'Insaan Aur Aadmi' was
released before 'Gharnata'.
Events unfolded rapidly as Aasia
developed as an actress.
Moreover, she had stepped into the
showbiz at a time, when almost every new movie
brought her new triumphs.
The year 1971. Enter director-producer
Rangeela, who seemed to have been born to direct
the film 'Dil Aur Duniya'(cast: Aasia, Rangeela,
Habib)
The scope of the story was vast and it
was creatively crafted.
The results left movie-buffs in awe.
Aasia, cleverly dubbed as a poor, blind
girl, made her living by selling flowers on the
streets. She had this message on her lips,
fraught with sadness: 'Ruk jaao babu jee.'
'Champa Aur chambeli, ye kalyaan naye
naveli, tohfa phuloan ka ye unmoal, lay tay
jaana babu jee bin moal.'
From those sad lyrics, sprang the
soulful stirring and poignant pining of the
blind girl's tragic life.
Rangeela takes great interest in the
blind girl, who, in turn, falls in love with the
eye surgeon, who brings back her sight.
Aasia's superfluous performance, as a
helpless girl and then as a lover, is still
fresh in the minds of her innumerable fans. Some
were inspired by the sheer magnitude of it all.
Also, she was eminently suitable for her
side roles in the following films, as well:
'Road To Swat', 'Yaadain', 'Paraye Aag'.
She garnered more fame for her
magnificent role in the film 'Pyar he pyar'
(1974, starring: Waheed Murad, Aasia, Shazia,,
Munawwar Saeed)
Aasia owes her rocket-like rise to the
highly skilled movie-crew of her time.
She was fortunate to work with highly
articulate artists like Mohammad Ali and Waheed
Murad in the golden jubilee film 'Tum salamat
raho'( 1974, director: M.A.Rasheed).
Both Mohammad Ali and Waheed Murad were
interested in Aasia. The latter sacrificed his
love for the sake of his friend.
Popular song: 'Kartay hain mohabbat sub
he magar, her dil ko sila kab milta hai',
singer: Ghulam Ali, pictured on Waheed Murad.
The following two films, which magnified
Aasia's popularity, are a testament to her
exceptional performances:
The film 'Mehboob mera mastana'(1977,
starring: Waheed Murad, Aasia, Sangeeta,
director: Saqlain Rizvi).
The film 'Wada' (1977, cast: Waheed
Murad, Aasia, Deeba, Saiqa,director: Aslam Daar,
status: Silver jubilee).
She gripped the heart of her adorers in
the following films:
'Do taswerain', directed by Sibtain
Fazli.
'Imaan Daar', directed by S.T.Zaidi.
'Haseena maan jaaye gee' directed by
Nazrul Dada.
She showed tremendous confidence and
exuberance on the location shooting of the
following films:
'Truck Driver', directed by Sheikh
Hasan.
'Suhaag tera, lahu mera', directed by
Aslam Daar.
'Baray meyaan diwanay', directed by
Aslam Daar.
The following films managed to evoke
interest to date:
'Goga', directed by Aslam Daar.
'Anokha Raaj', directed by Aslam Daar.
'Ghulam' directed by Khalifa Saeed.
Given here below are the movies, which
reminds us of her glittering film career:
'Rawal', Director: Khalifa Saeed.
'Mein bhi to insaan hoon', Director:
Zafar Shabab.
'Paazaib', 'Shart.'
The celebratory movie, 'Sehray kay phool',
echo us the sentiments of her fans to this day.
The Punjabi film 'Jogi' further
exemplifies her dedication to the films' ('Jogi',
1975, golden jubilee, directed by Haider
Chaudhry, starring:
Waheed Murad, Aasia, Munawwar Saeed).
Aasia's magnificent acting will always
be remembered in the mega-hit movie, 'Maula Jat',
directed by Yunus Malik.
The following Punjabi films are also
worth mentioning:
'Wehshi Jat', directed by Hasan Askari,
starring: Sultan Rahi, Iqbal Hasan, and Aasia.
'Jeera Blade' directed by Iftikhar Khan,
starring: Aasia, Munawwar Zareef.
Aasia won the Nigar Award, for best
actress, in the film 'Qanoon' in 1977, directed
by Hasan Askari.
Aasia won the Nigar Award, for best
supporting actress, in the film 'Aag' in 1979,
directed by Hasan Askari.
Aasia, who worked in the movies for a
decade (1970-80), retired from the filmdom in
1980.
She got married to an entrepreneur, and
settled in the United States.
Today, 179 movies (mostly Punjabi) and
23 years later, her fame is greater than ever.
Speaking of Aasia, in the past two
decades, she has visited Pakistan more than
once.
She strongly desires to invest her time
and effort in her children 's lives.
Last but not least, the acting, which
she embodied, propagated and imposed a clear
discipline and aesthetic in her own innovative
art.
