Ilyas Rashidi

Ilyas Rashidi
Born1925 (1925)
Delhi, British India
Died1997[1]
Karachi, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Other namesBaba-e-Filmi Sahafat (Pioneer of Film Journalism) in Pakistan[1]
OccupationFilm journalist[1]
Years active1948 – 1997
Known forFounder of Nigar Awards (founded 1957) and Nigar (magazine) (a weekly film magazine in Urdu language (founded 1948)[1]
RelativesAslam Ilyas Rashidi (son of Ilyas Rashidi and current 'flag-bearer and custodian' of Nigar Awards[2]

Ilyas Rashidi (Urdu: اِلیاس رشیدی) was a Pakistani publisher and editor who founded the film magazine Nigar, dedicated to films and film personalities, in 1948 and the historic and prestigious Nigar Awards on 17 July 1957.[3][1][2]

Born in Delhi in 1925 he worked with his brothers, Mohammad Usman Azad and Mohammad Umar Farooqi, for the Delhi-based Urdu newspaper Anjum (owned by Umar) which shifted to Karachi after partition. He launched Nigar from there, modelling it after the Indian film magazine Filmfare. Ilyas had purchased a children's magazine Monthly Nigar from his friend Ibne Hassan Nigar, and re-branded it as a weekly film magazine.[4]

The Ilyas Rashidi Lifetime Achievement Gold Medal is presented annually at the Nigar Awards ceremony and event. In January 2017, a press conference was held at a local hotel in Karachi to announce the scheduled date of 16 March 2017 for the 47th Nigar Awards.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rafay Mahmood (12 January 2012). "Baba-e-Filmi Sahafat: The return of Nigar Awards". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Reviving the industry's annual award show". Daily Times (newspaper). 21 January 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  3. ^ "COVER STORY: Trouble in tinsel town". Dawn (newspaper). 17 December 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Reviving the industry's annual award show". Daily Times. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2019.