Jamal Shah

Jamal Shah (Pashto: جمال شاہ, born 1 March 1956) is a Pakistani actor, director, musician, writer, sculptor, painter, and social activist. He has also served as the Federal Minister of Culture in Kakar cabinet.^[1] In 2021, Shah was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture.^[2]

Shah was born into a Pashto speaking Syed family in 1956 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. His paternal uncle Aziz Jan Agha was an artist and would serve as his early role model.^[3]

Shah's family opposed it as an unviable line of profession and wanted him to be a doctor, so he applied for admission to Bolan Medical College and did well enough to get in but he told his family he hadn’t made it and went for a BSc in Geology instead.^[3] He then received a Master's degree in English literature from the University of Balochistan in 1978, graduated from the National College of Arts in Lahore in 1983, and later obtained a Master's degree in fine arts from the Slade School of Fine Art in London, United Kingdom.^[4]

He married actress Faryal Gohar which ended after nine years in divorce. Shah described the contrast in their personalities as cause of their divorce.^[5]

Shah began his association with television in 1976 as a singer and composer. He remained actively involved in Pashto musical programming for approximately 15 years, during which he became a widely recognized and respected performer. His music continues to be well regarded among Pashto-speaking audiences in Pakistan and Afghanistan.^[6]

In 1984, Shah established the Fine Arts Department at the University of Balochistan and headed it until 1986.^[7] In 1985, he founded the Artists Association of Balochistan and also was appointed the first Chairman of the Artist Association of Pakistan.^[4]

He founded the Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts in Islamabad in 1992^[7] and later became a Telenor Pakistan brand ambassador doing television productions under the banner of Hunerkada Productions.

In 2007, Shah became the executive director of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad, Pakistan, and then was appointed its Director General in October 2016. His tenure at PNCA ended on 22 September 2019 with him stating in an interview with Alyan Khan that he "did not want any extension".^[8][7][9] In 2019, Shah was the President and Chief Curator of the first Islamabad Art Festival.^[10]

In 2022, he sculpted a bronze bust of Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam, which was unveiled by the director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano at IAEA's 61st general conference.^[11][12]

During his time at the NCA, Jamal Shah undertook limited work for Pakistan Television (PTV), primarily in music-related programming. After returning to Quetta, he began acting in PTV drama serials. He appeared in Band Galli, written by Ashfaq Ahmed, and also authored a stage play on coal miners titled Kohkan. Much of Jamal Shah's work during this period consisted of PTV drama productions that addressed socially and politically sensitive themes, including political intrigue in Tapish and the subject of AIDS in Kal.^[3]

During the 1980s he began to have an international recognition, being called "the next Omar Sharif" and getting a role in the 1989 Channel 4 television serial Traffik, but he refused most of these offers as they clashed with his Islamic values.^[13]

In 1991, Shah made his feature film debut in the film K2, directed by Franc Roddam, and since then, he has appeared in many other movies and TV dramas.^[14]

Shah made his directorial debut with the 2016 film Revenge of the Worthless.^[15][16][17]

• Pakistan National Council of the Arts
• Artist Association of Pakistan
• Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Traffik
• List of Lollywood actors

• Jamal Shah at IMDb
• Jamal Shah on Facebook