Naghma (Pakistani actress)

Naghma Begum, or just Naghma (born 25 March 1945), is a Pakistani film and television actress.

She has worked in more than 350 Urdu and Punjabi movies from 1960 to 2018. In 2000, she was honoured with the "Lifetime Achievement Nigar Award" for her 50 years long acting career. For her contributions towards the television industry, she was honoured by the Government of Pakistan with the Pride of Performance Award in 2023.

Early life
Naghma was born as Zubaida Begum on 25 March 1945 in Lahore, Punjab, British India.

Career
She first acted in director M.J. Rana's Punjabi film Rani Khan released in 1960. She did not get a major role in that film, but she got an identity through it. Naghma's second film was "Chaudhri", directed by Muzaffar Tahir. This film was also in Punjabi language and she starred as the heroine in the film. That film was released on 12 May 1962.

Naghma's first Urdu film was director Shabab Kiranvi's Mehtab, which was a super hit. In that film, Nayyar Sultana and Habib played the lead roles. A song from the movie "Gol Gappay Wala Aya Gol Gappay Laya" in the voice of Ahmed Rushdi became very popular. Meanwhile, her second Urdu film "Maan Ke Ansu" was released in 1963. The director of this film was also Shabab Kiranvi. The hero of the film was Habib and the heroine was Nayyar Sultana. Naghama played the role of a side heroine in this film. She was paired with actor Roshan and the song "Saman Jab Piyara Piyara Ho" picturized on them was very popular those days. Afterward, her career kept flourishing and she was a 'busy actress' during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

From 1968 to 1974, Naghma was at peak of her film career. During that period, she was among the top film actresses along with Firdous, Rani, and Rozina. Naghma and Habib's was one of the most popular romantic screen duos. After 1974, Naghama's career declined and she was replaced by Aasia, Sangeeta, Mumtaz and Najma. Being in the film industry for the past sixty years, she has worked in more than 350 films. She then worked in a Punjabi film Dikar Gujjar Da which was released in 2018. After working in films for many years, she started working in TV dramas such as Mil Ke Bhi Hum Na Mile, Jackson Heights, Sadqay Tumhare and Preet Na Kariyo Koi.

In 2023, she was honoured by the Government of Pakistan with the Pride of Performance Award for her contributions towards the film and television industry.

Personal life
Naghma first married filmmaker and cameraman Akbar Irani but the marriage was not successful. Then, she married actor Habib in 1972, but divorced him after 16 years of marriage in 1988. Both had a daughter Zarina. In the later years of her career, Naghma faced some financial issues.