Rahat Kazmi

Rahat Kazmi (Urdu: راحت کاظمی; born 30 June 1946) is a Pakistani actor, screenwriter, TV news presenter, anchor, and an academician. He has worked in several TV serials for PTV such as in 1967 with Mayaar, rose to prominence in 1974 with Qurbatain aur Faaslay (his own adaptation of Turgenev's 1862 novel Fathers and Sons) and also starred in 1976 in Pakistan's first coloured and classical serial Parchaiyan. Later, he worked in PTV's many other TV dramas such as Teesra Kinara (his own adaptation of Ayn Rand's 1943 novel The Fountainhead), and Ehsaas (both in 1980), and Dhoop Kinare (1987).

Rahat Kazmi was born in Shimla, on 30 June 1946. Rahat's father was a lawyer by profession, and he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Rahat completed his high school education in Rawalpindi from Gordon College. He successfully completed and received his law degree (LLB) in Lahore. Additionally, Rahat received his master's degree in political science from Government College University, Lahore and a master's degree in English literature from Punjab University before clearing the prestigious Central Superior Services (CSS) exam but left the civil service to pursue a career in showbiz. He had joined the civil service in 1968 as an Information Officer and left in 1976.

Rahat began his acting journey during his Bachelor's studies at Government College, Lahore, with his first TV appearance in 1965 on a university program. He worked for Pakistan Television Network and appeared in famous drama serials such as Qurbatein Aur Faslay, Teesra Kinara, Parchayian, Dhoop Kinaray, Raghon Mein Andhera, Ehsas, Zikar Hay Kayi Saal Ka, Nangay Paon, Saraab and others.

Rahat began his film career with Aaj Aur Kal in 1976, a box-office hit, and despite the early success in films he preferred television due to the "loud and exaggerated acting required for the big screen."

Rahat became known for adapting major literary works for television drama serials. A notable example is his television adaptation of Fathers and Sons, the novel by Ivan Turgenev, first published in 1862. The Urdu adaptation, titled Qurbatain aur Faaslay, was broadcast by Pakistan Television from Rawalpindi in 1974. In the serial, Rahat Kazmi portrayed the character Ghazanfar, inspired by the novel’s protagonist Bazarov. Kazmi was also involved in the television serial Teesra Kinara, broadcast in 1980, which was adapted from themes and characters drawn from the work of Ayn Rand, most notably her novel The Fountainhead, first published in 1943.

He also teaches English Literature and Drama to A-level students at LAS, Karachi. Rahat Kazmi is also a director at the National Academy of Performing Arts. He has previously taught at Avicenna School and Hamdard University (Clifton Campus, Karachi) in 2001. Currently Rahat is working as an administrative director for L'ecole for Advanced Studies (LAS), an academic institute in Karachi.

In 1974 Rahat married actress Sahira Kazmi, the daughter of actress Mumtaz Qureshi (Taji) and actor Shyam. They first met on the sets of PTV in 1971. They have a son, Ali Kazmi, an actor, and a daughter, Nida Kazmi, a former actress.

Due to projects such as Dhoop Kinare, Rahat was popular in India as well, especially in northern India and in western India, the Indian public having access to his series through pirated videotape cassettes, and a 1988 India Today report said of Rahat that "his looks are a mix of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajendra Kumar, but close your eyes and he sounds uncannily like Dilip Kumar."