Asha Posley

Sabira Begum better known as Asha Posley (Punjabi, ) (1927 – 25 March 1998) was the first heroine of Pakistani films.

Early life
Asha Posley was born as Sabira Begum in Patiala, Punjab, British India in 1927.

Asha Posley was the daughter of music composer Inayat Ali Nath, who worked with HMV in Delhi, and the sister of renowned film playback singer Kausar Parveen and another sisters Rani Kiran and Najma Begum. She started singing at the age of four and used to sing in children's radio programmes at All India Radio in Dehli. Asha's younger brother Shamsher Ali was a musician. She started performing in theatres plays and dramas in Urdu and Punjabi. During that time her theatres dramas became very popular and she was trained in singing by her father Inayat Ali Nath. She was skilled in singing ghazal, geet, tappe, thumri and dadra.

In 1940 she moved from Delhi to Lahore along with her family. She accompanied her father to the studios to watch the shooting of director B. R Sethi's 1942 film Gawandhi and he offered her a role in the film which she accepted.

Career
She made her debut as a supporting actress in Lahore-made Punjabi film Gawandi (1942), then the lead role in Hindi film Champa (1945), filmed in British India. She was given her professional name Asha Posley by the renowned music director Ghulam Haider. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, she migrated with her family to the newly created Pakistan.

She was the heroine of the first-ever released film in Pakistan in Urdu language, Teri Yaad (1948). She played the female lead opposite Nasir Khan, famous Indian actor Dilip Kumar's brother, who played the male lead in the film. After playing the female lead role in just a few films, she was cast mainly in supporting roles especially opposite comedian actors Nazar and Asif Jah in most of her films. She acted in 129 films during her film career spanning over 3 decades.

Later she transitioned to television and worked in numerous drama serials by appearing in various character roles in television dramas. In 1995 she appeared in drama Red Card which was written by Rimsha it aired on both PTV and STN.

Personal life
Posley's younger sister Kausar Parveen was playback singer in 1950s and 1960s. Her other younger sister Najma was the leading actress of Urdu and Punjabi films in 1970s. Asha's younger brother Shamsher Ali was a musician.

Death
Asha Posley died on 26 March 1998 at Lahore, Pakistan at age 70.