Tahira Wasti
Tahira Wasti was a well-known Pakistani writer and television actress. She was one of the most popular Pakistani TV actresses of her time as well as one of the most successful actresses from the 1960s to the 1990s. She is best known for her portrayal of Isabella of Castile in the historical TV drama Shaheen.
Early life
Tahira was born in 1944 in Sargodha, Punjab,, now in Pakistan. She received her early education from Sargodha, and later moved to Lahore for higher education, then Karachi.Career
Tahira Wasti started her career with writing articles in a magazine at the age of 16, and also worked as an English newscaster on PTV News in 1964. Tahira started working as an actor in the 1968 Pakistan Television Corporation in 1968 drama serial Jaib Katra based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto. She appeared in a number of TV dramas from 1968 until the 1990s, most of them have become classics of PTV, such as Kashkol, Jaangloos, and Daldal. Her prominent personality made her famous for playing regal roles suitable for representing royal, feudal, or upper-class families, as in TV plays like Tipu Sultan: The Tiger Lord, Shaheen, and Aakhri Chatan.She also wrote plays for television and showed a special interest in science fiction.
Personal life
She was the wife of TV actor and English language newscaster Rizwan Wasti; they are the parents of TV actress Laila Wasti. Maria Wasti, a famous TV actress, is her niece.Illness and death
Tahira had developed heart ailments, diabetes and had been deeply affected by her husband's death in January 2011. She died of natural causes on 11 March 2012, in Karachi, at the age of 68.Filmography
Television series
AfshanDaldalFishaarJaib Katra - 1968JaangloosPyas - 1989Kashkol - 1990sShaheenRaatAndhera UjalaShikayatain HakayatainTipu Sultan: The Tiger LordHarjaiFanooni LateefayDil, Diya, DehleezMaamta ShanakhtMoorat DorahaRaat GayeStarNiteChotay Baray LoagDeewanaHarjaeeAakhri ChatanAawazainChand GrehanDil Ki Dehleez ParNadan NadiaKhaleejShaam Se Pehlay Noori Jam TamachiHeer Waris Shah Bushra BushraDamad HouseParsa- ''Pukaar''
Telefilm
Operation Dwarka 1965Uss Ki Biwi- ''Karwat''
Film
As a writer
Deemak Parsa Hazaron Saal- ''Bheegi Palkain''