Ahad Raza Mir

Ahad Raza Mir was born on 29 September 1993 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. He is the son of Asif Raza Mir, a veteran actor and producer of the Pakistani film and television industry; and Samra Raza Mir, a homemaker. His paternal grandfather, Raza Mir, was a filmmaker who also served as cinematographer for the first ever Pakistani film, Teri Yaad (1948).[4][5] He has a younger brother, Adnan Raza Mir.[6] Fellow actor and singer, Haroon Shahid, is his first cousin.[7] Mir attended a Performing Arts High School, and graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[8][9]

Mir started his career in 2010 at age 17, playing a brief role as the son of Sania Saeed and Faisal Rehman in the Hum TV's romantic drama Khamosiyan.[10] In Canada, he began his bachelors in BBA but later changed his major to BFA to pursue his career in acting, he explained, "for as long as I can remember, acting is the only career that I've wanted to pursue in my life, although I was enjoying BBA but I realized half way through that I wasn't internally happy. I discerned that when you have a plan A, there's no point of having a plan B. There should be one plan and it should be your only goal, that's when I decided to make the switch and changed from BBA to BFA in the University of Calgary."[11] Mir started his career on stage, performing, directing and writing in several musicals and plays across Canada. Mir wanted to move to Toronto, but instead decided to go back to Pakistan to work in films and television,[12] "It was one fine morning when I got this wild idea of moving to Pakistan as I had not been back for over a decade. Ever since that decision, I've been quite lucky and very grateful to be accepted as an actor."[11]

In 2017, he started auditioning for Hum TV's production house MD Productions and was cast as a leading role in Yaqeen Ka Safar and a supporting role in the social drama Sammi opposite Mawra Hocane, the latter went into production early but he gained a wider recognition and fame with the former where he played a grief-stricken brother as Dr. Asfand Yaar, alongside Sajal Aly and Hira Mani.[13][14][15] His performance earned him Lux Style Award for Best Actor, and won three Hum Awards including the Hum Award for Best Actor.[16] He attributes his success to producer and filmmaker Momina Duraid, Mir said in an interview, "Momina Duraid has followed my career closely for the longest time. I was in Canada when she called me to offer the part. The goal has been to do a film since I was very young, and so I knew that I had to pack my bags and come to Pakistan right away."[17]

Coming from an influential filmmaking family, Ahad was accused of nepotism to which his father said it is very "natural of people to make that comment" and acknowledged that "to some extent it was easier because there was a reference" but has also said "regardless of his family name, and he’s been able to overcome this, proving his mettle on his own."[18] Responding to such claims Mir said, "People kept telling me I was a star-kid, but I spent most of my time not knowing that. I was oblivious. I wanted people to take me, as an actor, very seriously. I'm not a social media celebrity, I'm not here to become famous; I’'m here to give Pakistan some good cinema and TV."[18] Talking about the difference in Canadian and Pakistani film exposure he said, "my vital years were spent in Canada and after moving here I feel I am very lucky that I got so much. But the adjustments I had to make were about life, like getting used to the weather, the way people worked and their punctuality here."[19] He further said, "Here in Pakistan, you need to have connections, your looks matter, how many followers you have etc. Talent, I feel, comes right at the end and sadly I feel Pakistan has more celebrities and less actors."[20]

Mir made his Coke Studio (2018) debut as a featured artist in its eleventh-season, where he performed the song "Ko Ko Korina" with Momina Mustehsan. The director and producer of the series Zohaib Kazi said, "we saw something akin to it on Instagram. Not exactly like it but we saw Ahad Raza Mir singing a little and playing the guitar on Instagram. When we saw that, we thought he had something. To be able to play right while singing is an art in itself. We decided we should talk to him."[21] Their rendition of the classic song was widely criticized. Within a few days of the video being released on YouTube, it became the most-disliked video in the music show's history.[22][23] That same year, Mir made his film debut with Haseeb Hassan's military-drama Parwaaz Hay Junoon, co-starring Hamza Ali Abbasi and Hania Amir, which was released on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.[24] Mir replaced Osman Khalid Butt in a role of Flight Lieutenant Saad, who opted out due to his other commitments.[25][26]

Mir reunited with Sajal Aly and Mawra Hocane in Hum TV's Mohammed Ehteshamuddin-directed period drama Aangan (2018-2019), where he played a poet, Jameel.[27] About the character, Mir said, "Jameel is the most confusing character I have ever played. He is a poet, he is a politician, he’s somebody who is on a journey of what love means, what family bonds mean, somebody who is actually quite relatable to everyone out there."[28]

The Shakespeare Company in a joint production with Vertigo Theatre in Canada had signed Mir to play Hamlet in their 2019 production.[29][30][31][32] He is the first South Asian actor to play the role professionally in Canada.[33] For his performance he won the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama.[34][2] He has turned executive producer for the upcoming movie Kalasha, revolving around the culture of the Kalash people of the Chitral Valley.[35]