Usman Peerzada

Usman Peerzada is a Pakistani actor, director, producer and screenwriter.

He has acted in many Punjabi and Urdu films and serials, including Beyond the Last Mountain and Kahi Un Kahi.

He is best known for portrayal of Prince Salim in drama Nangay Paoon.

Usman was born in Lahore in 1951 into a Punjabi Muslim family involved in the performing arts: His father Rafi Peerzada (1898-1974) was an actor and a playwright who pioneered theatre in Pakistan, his legacy in theatre being continued by Usman's brother Saadaan Peerzada, his other brothers Salmaan Peerzada and Imran Peerzada are both active in cinema and on television as actors and filmmakers, his sister Tasneem Peerzada is a Urdu journalist specialized in culture, while yet another brother, Faizaan Peerzada (1958-2012), was an artist and a puppeteer.

He studied in St. Anthony's High School and then graduated in MA English in 1974 from Government College University (GCU).

Usman started his career from his college in 1974 in different plays and dramatic festivals.

Peerzada married actress and director Samina Peerzada in 1975.

They have two children Anum and Amal Peerzada, Amal being a miniature artist.

And then, in 1976, he got an offer for the lead role in Pakistan's first English-language film, Beyond the Last Mountain.

Usman has directed, produced, written and acted in the Urdu-language movie Nazdeekiyan in 1986 and also directed, produced, written and acted in the Punjabi-language movie Gori Dyan Jhanjran in 1989, both receiving critical acclaim.

In television he directed and wrote the PTV drama Sofia (1992), co-starring his wife Samina and which became popular.

In 2010, he directed and wrote the drama Rangeel Pur for PTV Home, the cast including his niece Yamina Peerzada.

In 2016, he announced that he would adapt his father Rafi Peer's play Namoos into a movie that he would direct.