Ejaz (Ejaz Durrani)

Background

Ejaz Durrani was born on April 18, 1935, in a village near Jalalpur Jattan in Gujrat District, then part of British India. Jalalpur Jattan lies in the historic Punjabi cultural region that later became part of Pakistan, and Durrani's career remained closely connected with Punjabi-language popular culture.

He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jhelum before entering cinema. His professional name, Ejaz, became the identity under which he was widely known in Pakistani film publicity and credits.

Education

Durrani received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jhelum. His education preceded his entry into Pakistan's expanding post-Partition film industry, which developed through Urdu cinema as well as regional-language production in Punjabi and other languages.

The film sector in Lahore, commonly called Lollywood, became an important center of Pakistani commercial cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Durrani entered this industry during a period when Urdu films were dominant nationally while Punjabi cinema was becoming increasingly influential in western Pakistan.

Career

Durrani began his film career with a supporting role in Munshi Dil's Hameeda in 1956. His first important leading opportunity came with Bara Admi in 1957, after which he worked steadily in Urdu and Punjabi cinema. His early career developed alongside the growth of Lahore's commercial film industry, where actors commonly moved between romantic dramas, family stories, action films, and musical productions.

During the 1960s, Durrani became one of Pakistan's leading film heroes. His screen work included Urdu films such as Shaheed, Azra, Deewana, Chingari, Sawaal, Lakhon Mein Aik, Zarqa, and Dosti, as well as Punjabi films including Mirza Jat, Sheran Di Jori, Lachhi, Tere Ishq Nachaya, and Dilan De Souday. He became particularly associated with romantic and folkloric roles drawn from Punjab's epic love stories.

Durrani's most celebrated performance was Ranjha in the Punjabi film Heer Ranjha, released in 1970 and directed by Masud Pervaiz. The film adapted the famous tragic romance associated with Waris Shah's Punjabi epic and paired Durrani with Firdous as Heer. The production became a landmark of Punjabi popular cinema, and Durrani's performance established the role as the central achievement of his acting career.

He also worked as a producer and participated in film distribution and production management. His producing credits included Heer Ranjha, Dosti, Sholay, and Maula Bakhsh. Dosti became one of the Pakistani films associated with the diamond-jubilee milestone, and Durrani was recognized as the first Pakistani film hero to have a diamond-jubilee film to his credit. He later served as vice president of the Pakistan Film Producers Association.

His career was interrupted by a British drug-smuggling conviction recorded in parliamentary proceedings in 1978. After returning to Pakistan, he remained connected with the film industry and continued producing and appearing in films. His later screen work included Sholay and Maula Bakhsh; his final acting appearances are variously dated to the mid-1980s, with Kaliyar and Jhoomar Chor identified in film records as late-career works.

Durrani died in Lahore on March 1, 2021. He was buried at Miani Sahib Graveyard, one of Lahore's historic burial grounds, where many notable figures from the city's cultural and public life are interred.

Achievements

• Durrani became the first Pakistani film hero associated with a diamond-jubilee film, reflecting his exceptional commercial success in the Urdu and Punjabi cinema of the 1960s and 1970s.

• His portrayal of Ranjha in Heer Ranjha (1970) became one of the defining performances of Pakistani Punjabi cinema and connected commercial filmmaking with the region's classic folk literature.

• Durrani acted in more than 150 Urdu and Punjabi films according to contemporary press accounts, making him one of the most prolific leading actors of Pakistan's classical film era.

Works

• film

  • Heer Ranjha

    (Punjabi adaptation of the classic Heer-Ranjha romance, st...)

    1970

  • Dosti

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor and producer; the...)

    1971

  • Dillan De Soudey

    (Punjabi film title variant appearing in film records; Dur...)

    1969

  • Kaliyar

    (Late-career film identified in film records as one of Dur...)

    1984

  • Sholay

    (Punjabi film produced by Durrani and associated with his ...)

    1984

  • Maula Bakhsh

    (A late production credit associated with Durrani's work a...)

    1988

  • Bara Admi

    (An early leading-role film that helped establish Durrani ...)

    1957

  • Dilan De Souday

    (Punjabi film associated with Durrani's award-recognized w...)

    1969

  • Mirza Jat

    (Punjabi film in which Durrani portrayed the folk hero Mirza.)

    1967

  • Aasoo Billa

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor and producer.)

    1971

  • Hameeda

    (Durrani's film debut, in which he appeared as an actor.)

    1956

  • Bauji

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1968

  • Ishq Na Puchhe Zaat

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Lachhi

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Najo

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Sheran Di Jori

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Tere Ishq Nachaya

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Anwara

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1970

  • Sajna Door Diya

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1970

  • Khan Chacha

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1972

  • Do Pattar Annaran De

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1972

  • Ishtahari Mulzim

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1972

  • Sultan

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1972

  • Ziddi

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1973

  • Banarsi Thug

    (Punjabi film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1973

  • Shaheed

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1962

  • Azra

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1962

  • Deewana

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1964

  • Chingari

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1964

  • Sawaal

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1966

  • Sarhad

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1966

  • Lakhon Mein Aik

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1967

  • Behan Bhai

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1968

  • Main Zinda Hun

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1968

  • Beti Beta

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1968

  • Buzdil

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Dard

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Diya Aur Toofan

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Pak Daman

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Zarqa

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1969

  • Shama Aur Parwana

    (Urdu film featuring Durrani as an actor.)

    1970

Religion

Durrani was a Muslim. His life and work developed within Pakistan's film culture, where Islamic social traditions coexisted with Urdu and Punjabi literary, musical, and theatrical forms.

Pakistani cinema of the 1950s through the 1970s frequently drew on moral narratives, family drama, romance, and regional folklore. Durrani's best-known roles brought Punjabi cultural legends and popular storytelling to the screen, including Ranjha in Heer Ranjha and Mirza in Mirza Jat.

Membership

Durrani participated in the Pakistan Film Producers Association, a professional body representing the interests of film producers and supporting coordination within Pakistan's motion-picture industry. His documented role as vice president placed him in an organizational position beyond his individual acting and producing work.

• Served as vice president.

  Pakistan Film Producers Association , Pakistan

Personality

Physical Characteristics: He was described in film profiles as tall, handsome, and smiling. IMDb lists his height as 1.84 metres.

Quotes from others about the person

• Film-industry colleagues remembered Durrani as an important senior figure whose advice continued to be valued by producers and distributors after he had left regular acting work.

Connections

Durrani married the singer and actress Noor Jehan in 1959. They had three daughters, Hina Durrani, Mina Hasan, and Nazia Ejaz Khan, and their marriage ended in divorce in 1971.

He later married the actress Firdous, who played Heer opposite him in Heer Ranjha. Their professional and personal association linked two of the principal performers associated with the film's enduring place in Punjabi cinema.

Wife:

Noor Jehan

Singer and actress; Durrani's wife from 1959 until their divorce in 1971 and mother of three of his daughters.

Wife:

Firdous

Film actress who played Heer opposite Durrani's Ranjha in Heer Ranjha (1970).

Daughter:

Hina Durrani

Daughter:

Mina Hasan

Daughter:

Nazia Ejaz Khan

References

• Heer Ranjha star Ejaz Durrani passes away Reports Durrani's death, burial at Miani Sahib, career in more than 150 Urdu and Punjabi films, marriage to Noor Jehan, and work as an actor, director, and producer.
  2021
• Ejaz Durrani — Lollywood's favourite Ranjha Discusses Durrani's rise from Hameeda and Bara Admi to leading roles, his work in both Urdu and Punjabi cinema, and his association with Heer Ranjha and Dosti.
  2021
• Veteran film star Ejaz Durrani passes away Documents Durrani's career from 1956 to 1988, his more than 150 film credits, production of Heer Ranjha, and service as vice president of the Film Producers Association.
  2021
• Ejaz Durrani - Film hero, producer Provides film-industry records for Durrani's professional name, debut, active years, major films, family connections, and production career.
• Ejaz Durrani - Biography Provides the exact birth and death dates and places, height, principal acting and producing credits, and marriage information.
• Convicted Persons (Deportation) A United Kingdom parliamentary record identifying Ejaz Durrani among persons convicted at the Old Bailey of smuggling drugs into Great Britain.
  1978