Veteran Pakistani actor Ejaz Durrani passes away at 85

Veteran Pakistan film actor, director, and producer Ejaz Durrani passed away in Lahore on Monday. He was 85 years old.

The ex-husband of Madam Noor Jehan with whom he shared three daughters, was reportedly suffering from a prolonged illness.

Born in Jalalpur Jattan in 1935, Durrani shot to fame in Pakistan after appearing in Hameeda in 1956, after which he found his first lead role in Humayun Mirza’s Baara Adhmi in 1957. He not only explored the acting field but also donned the producer as well as the director’s hat through the course of his decades-long career.

Perhaps his best-known film, Durrani was the driving force behind 1970’s Heer Ranjha which he directed and also starred in as the titular Ranjha.

Durrani was married to Noor Jehan for 12 years, from 1959 to 1971, after which he married his co-star from Heer Ranjha, Firdous begum who essayed the role of Heer in the film.

Ranjha #ejazdurrani إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ pic.twitter.com/CzaNILbYMn

— Faysal Quraishi (@faysalquraishi) March 1, 2021

Actor Faysal Qureshi took to Twitter to offer his condolence on Durrani’s sorrowful demise, as did Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.