LAHORE May 26: Adeeb, the ‘bad man’ of the Pakistani silver screen, died here on Friday after serving the industry both in India and Pakistan for more than five decades.

Adeeb died at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology where he was admitted last week after he suffered a heart attack. He was responding well to the treatment but his condition deteriorated on Friday evening. He was 72.

Muzaffar Ahmed, his real name, worked in more than 500 films since his debut in 1956 when leading producer S. M Yusuf introduced him in his film Pak Daman. He was the main villain in this movie which set for him his future role as a bad man of films which he performed throughout his life.

Adeeb was born in Kashmir in 1934. His parents soon moved to Bombay where his father started a timber business. But Adeeb was more interested in art and culture than his father’s business. He was educated in Bombay and he did his masters in Urdu from a university in Maharashtra. His first choice was script writing for which he joined the Indian National Theatre as the company’s employee to look after scripts for films. It was in the same company that he also learned the art of direction. He was the assistant of S. M. Yusuf when he worked in his film to start his career as an actor.

Adeeb worked in films Rambo, Zabak, Sampooran Narayan and Mehndi in the next two years. He was also the main villain in Insaan, produced by Prithvi Raj Kapoor who was Adeeb’s friend in 1960.

Adeeb migrated to Pakistan in 1962 and settled in Karachi to start his career with Pakistan silver screen. His first film in Pakistan was Daal Mein Kala produced and directed by Iqbal Yusuf, the son of S. M. Yusuf. In fact, Adeeb was the tutor of Iqbal Yusuf when he was still in Bombay.

Adeeb worked both in Urdu and Punjabi films. Some of his important films were Maula Jutt, Wehshi Gujjar, Ailaan, Dil Aur Duniya, Ansoo Ban Gaye Moti, Naaz, Shireen Farhaad, Hatim Tayee, Baghi Sardaar, Balwant Kaur, Qabeela, Sipah Salar, Naya Sawera, Zulm Da Badla, Jhuk Gaya Asmaan, Hong Kong Ke Shohlay, Kaneez, Eid Mubarak, Teesri Kasam, Geet Kahin Sangeet Kahin, Zameen Ka Chaand, Sakhi Lutera and Haider Ali. — Correspondent