LAHORE: Veteran actor Shujaat Hashmi passed away in Lahore on Friday due to a heart attack.

He had been facing breathing problems since early hours of Friday, his son Daiam Muhammad Hashmi told Dawn.

Hashmi was primarily a TV and film artiste.

In one of his interviews, Hashmi said he started his acting career from theatre at the Gordon College when he was a student of the Intermediate where his teachers were Prof Nasrullah Malik and Agha Ziaullah. Izhar Kazmi took him to Radio Pakistan where he was trained by Noor Ahmed. He did MA in English literature from Gordon College.

Hashmi started his TV career in Kuhar, a play written by Anwar Kamal Pasha and directed by Yawar Hayat on PTV. His second play on TV was Rihaai, written by Munnu Bhai. This was followed by Saya, a play directed by Raana Sherwani, a series Razia Anwar. After this he moved to Lahore and continued TV and films. He gained popularity by playing the role of Mauladad in Amjad Islam Amjad’s hit TV drama Waris (1979-1980). After the success of Waris, he played a lead role in the 1979 Urdu film Khaak Aur Khoon, directed by Masood Parvez. He was also known for his role in the films Wadda Khan and Do Ziddi.

Hashmi did a political PTV play, Zard Dopehr, in the mid-1990s. The play was written and directed by Shahid Nadeem. He played the lead role of a politician who rose in politics from the Walled City of Lahore. It was considered a depiction of Nawaz Sharif and his ‘trajectory’ in the country’s politics. According to some reports, the play was now allowed production during Nawaz’s tenure in the government but when Benazir Bhutto became prime minister for the second term, the play was produced and telecast on PTV.

Shujaat Hashmi was honoured with the Pride of Performance Award in 1994.

His debut film Chhad Buray Di Yaari was released in 1975. He did 72 films in total. Veteran TV producer Agha Qaiser said Hashmi was a Sufi kind of a person and a great artiste. According to Qaiser, Shujaat was born in Rawalpindi. He was 78 years old. Hashmi started his career from Radio Pakistan Rawalpinid station after doing Masters in History from Gordon College, Rawalpindi. He said Hashmi was given the role of Mauladad by Yawar Hayat who was considered a mentor by the late actor.

Remembering Hashmi, actor Mohsin Gillani said he met the late actor at the Radio Pakistan Lahore where they did many programmes together and Hashmi acted in many plays written by Gillani. He said that he and Hashmi also did theatre at Tamaseel for a long time and acted in plays such as Janam Janam Ki Maili Chadar, Ye Teray Kamal Kay Banday and Yeh Qurbatain, Yeh Faslay. However, he regretted that owing to lobbies and politics, Hashmi was not given the status he deserved as an artiste.

Hashmi acted in many TV Serials such as Ya Naseeb Clinic, Makoos Rabtay, Zard Dopehr, Niqab and many others. His films included Chad Buray Di Yari, Sahab Jee, Lajawab, Dostana and many others. He also did stage plays at Alhamra Art Centre as well as Open Air Theatre back in 1981 in Wo Rahay Wazoo Kartey, a play directed by Farooq Zameer.

The funeral prayers for the actor were held after Isha prayers at Jamia Naeemia, Garhi Shahu and he was laid to rest at Mian Mir Graveyard.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2026