Her appearance in the 'Lux' advertisement
with the message, 'Aakhir loag hamara chehra
he to deiktay hain', took her fame to the
top.
After a while, she appeared in Mohsin
Shirazi's television play, which was
telecast from Karachi television station.
Barbara was smartly dubbed as Nadia in Anwar
Maqsood's Pakistan television comedy play, 'Nadaan
Nadia'. Cast, Talat Husain, Qurban Jilani,
Latif Kapadia, Durdana Butt.
Born to a middle class family in 1954,
Barbara took considerable interest in show
business as she grew up.
Confident of her acting potential, Shamim
Ara signed her for the film 'Bhool' in 1974.
'Bhool' was scheduled to be directed by
S.Sulaiman.
Prior to 'Bhool', S.Sulaiman had already
signed Barbara for his film 'Intezaar'.
Incidentally, 'Intizaar' was released before
'Bhool'.
Hence, Barbara debuted in the film 'Intezaar'
as supporting actress in 1974.
To set the record straight, both 'Intezaar'
and 'Bhool' were released in 1974.
Barbara's innocent face distinguished her
from other actresses of her time.
Despite her hard work in the above two
films, Barbara had to look for more
opportunities in movies, which did not came
immediately.
In 1975, she appeared as supporting actress,
in director Masood Pervez's film 'Mera naa
patay khan'. Neelo and Shahid played the
lead roles.
Her efforts took on a new intensity and she
proved her worth in the Pakistani cinema.
She worked in director Iqbal Kashmiri's film
'Shareef Budmaash.'
In director Ali Sufyan Aafaqi's film
'Ajnabi'.
In director Nazar Shabab's film 'Naukar'.
An undeterred Barbara, dressed to perform,
played the lead role opposite Ghulam
Mohyedin, in director Wazeer Ali's film
'Masoom'.
In her movies, even ordinary things capture
tranquility.
Her most memorable role came in the super
hit film 'Mera naam hai mohabbat', directed
by Shabab Kiranvi. Barbara and Ghulam
Mohyedin played the lead roles.
Her fame sky- rocketed soon after the
theatrical release of 'Mera naam hai
mohabbat'.
In reality, Barbara became the most sought
after actress from 1976 onwards.
Moreover, the year 1976 was most definitely
the best year for her films as well.
In 1976, she worked in director Pervez
Malik's film 'Talaash'.
In director Shabab Kiranvi's film 'Dewar'.
In director Ali Sufyan Aafaqi's film 'Aag
aur Aansoo'.
Foremost was her sweeping 1976 movie,
'Shabana', directed by Zafar Shabab.
The film successfully completed golden
jubilee, by winning performances turned in
by Barbara, Waheed Murad and Shahid.
In her twenty- three- year film career,
1974-1997, Barbara worked in more or less
one hundred fifty films.
Her auspicious performance in 'Shabana', led
to more successful movies. Below are six
such films:
'Pyar ka wada', 'Manzil', 'Teray bina kya
jeena', 'Daman', 'La jawab', 'Ye zamana aur
hai'.
At the pinnacle of her movie career, Barbara
married actor Shahid. Unfortunately, the
marriage did not last long. It resulted in
their separation.
The success of the above films-bolstered by
later movies like 'Sungdil', 'Wafa' and
'Ka'ainaat', made Barbara a very busy
actress.
After more than two decades of acting, her
name was greater than ever. Below are six
instances of her highly dramatic caliber:
The films 'Aik din bahu ka', 'Maazi haal
mustaqbil', 'Kis naam say pukaroon',
'Shehzada', 'Aj dee taza khabar' 'Haq
mehar'.
Admirers had much more faith in her artistic
talents than they had in her earlier movies.
We have plenty of films to back that up.
Below are three such movies:
'Khuda aur mohabbat', directed by Iqbal
Yusuf. This beautifully produced film
completed golden jubilee. Starring, Barbara,
Waheed Murad, Mohammad Ali.
Director Iqbal Yusuf's silver jubilee film
'Budnaam', released in 1980. Cast, Barbara,
Waheed Murad, Rani, Mohammad Ali.
Director Iqbal Yusuf's silver jubilee film
'Gun man', 1981. Starring, Barbara- Waheed
Murad- Mohammad Ali.
Over the years, she worked her magic
throughout Pakistan.
Her past accomplishments conveys the
tremendous talents of this woman.
Her fame was greater than ever with the
release of the six movies below:
The film 'Hero', directed by Iqbal Yusuf.
Cast,Barbara, Waheed Murad- Mumtaz.
The films 'Paas baan', 'Miss Bangkok', 'Son
of undaata', 'Aangan'.
Director Iqbal Yusuf's film 'Raaz'.
As the years passed, she kept working in
movies.
The 1974 golden jubilee film 'Shama' was,
indeed, her big strike. Directed by Nazar
Shabab. Starring, Barbara, Waheed Murad-
Deeba- Mohammad Ali- Nadeem.
The 1974 silver jubilee film 'Haqeeqat',
exemplifies her absolute dedication to her
role. Director, Nazar-ul-Islam Dada. Cast,
Barbara- Waheed Murad- Mohammad Ali.
Barbara's confidence and exuberance are all
the more evident in the 1976 silver jubilee
film 'Zubeida', director, Aslam Daar.
Starring, Barbara- Waheed Murad- Nisho-
Rangeela.
All her fans that I have come across so far
echoed Barbara's sentiments.
During her association with show business,
she was considered the life of the parties.
Director Zafar Shabab cast her in the 1976
silver jubilee film, 'Waqt'. Cast, Barbara-
Waheed Murad- Kavita- Shamim Ara.
Barbara teamed up with Shahid and Waheed
Murad in the 1981 silver jubilee film 'Dil
nay phir yaad kya', directed by Iqbal
Akhtar.
Likewise, she joined hands with director
Iqbal Akhtar in the 1980 film 'Chotay
Nawab'. Stars, Barbara Waheed Murad- Shahid-
Neelo.
Barbara appropriately captured the
transporting power of love and gentility in
her movies. The heart-felt lyricism also
played a decisive role in her following six
movies:
'Deewanay Do', 'Chakkar', 'Khahish', 'Deikha
jaaye ga', 'Jawani Deewani', 'Mausum hai
Aashiqana'.
She worked with the movie crew as conceptual
artists in all of her films. Quite a few of
Barbara's movies are shrouded in a
melancholy tone that suffuses the whole
performance.
Audiences applauded her effort in the six
movies below:
'Aladin', 'Maa bani dulhan', 'Kaali',
'Insaan', 'Do Dil', 'Qudrat da intiqaam'.
Barbara's sister, Fakhira, also associated
herself in show business. However, she could
not click.
As for Barbara, she took more challenging
roles in her later movies and captured the
spotlight with her roles in the seven movies
below:
'Aik chehra do roop', Mehak', 'Saathi',
'Baaghi haseena', 'Ishq da roag', 'Baarish',
'Duniya.'
Barbara's movies also dealt with individual
sensibilities. People of uncommon craft
directed such films.
Her popularity soared even higher with the
release of the four movies below:
'Aasmaan', 'Aik he raasta', 'Jaan-e-mun',
'Garebaan.'
After a lapse in her career, Barbara
re-appeared for the location shooting of
director Sangeeta's film 'Samaaj'. However,
due to unavoidable reasons, she had to give
up her character in 'Samaaj'.
Barbara's last film was 'Ghayal', in which
she worked opposite Izhar Qazi.
Directed by Hasnain and released in 1997.
She received the Nigar Award eight times in
her movie career. Below are the details:
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Mera Naam hai Mohabbat' in
1975.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Shabana' in 1976.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Sungdil' in 1982.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Miss Colombo' in 1984.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Miss Bangkok' in 1986.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Kundan' in 1987.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Mukhra' in 1988.
Barbara won the Nigar Award for best actress
in the film 'Gori deyaan jhan jharan' in
1990;
She not only saw and felt the difference her
personality made in others lives, she is
still living out that difference after her
retirement from the entertainment industry.
