‘Heer Ranjha’ star Ejaz Durrani passes away

LAHORE: Actor Ejaz Durrani, ex-husband of late Madam Noor Jehan and father of three of her children, passed away here on Monday. He was 85.

His funeral prayers were held after Zuhar prayers in Garden Town on Monday which was participated by a large number of people and his fans and he was laid to rest here in Lahore. People from different walks of life, including Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, expressed their grief over his demise and extended heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the bereaved family.

Ejaz Durrani had been ill for quite a long time. He was a film actor, director and producer who remained active from 1956 to 1984.He was one of the most prominent stars of the Pakistani film industry and known for hits such as Heer Ranjha in which he played the titular Ranjha in 1970. His first film was Hameeda in 1956 but it wasn’t until 1957 that he got a break with the lead role in Bara Admi, directed by Humayun Mirza.

He also performed in film Mirza Sahiban. After a very successful career as an actor, Durrani turned to distribution and also remained involved in filmmaking. He was one of the producers Sholay and Dosti.

The actor was born in a village in Jalalpur Jattan in Gujrat district in 1935. He remained married to singing icon Madam Noor Jehan from 1959 to 1971 and the couple had three daughters Hina, Shazia and Nazia.

They parted and he later married superstar Firdous who had also been his lead co-star in the epic ‘Heer-Ranjah’. Their marriage didn’t last long either.