Neelo Begum (born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes; née Abida Riaz; 30 June 1940 – 30 January 2021) was a Pakistani veteran film actress. She made her film debut in 1956 with Hollywood film Bhowani Junction. She was known as The Queen of Romance and The Princess of Romance for her portrayal of romantic roles. She worked in more than one hundred and thirty-four Pakistani films including Urdu and Punjabi language films.
She was the recipient of numerous awards, including Nigar Awards, she earned recognition after appearing in a song "Aaye Mausam Rangilay Suhanay" from the film Saat Lakh and after playing lead role in Zarqa.
Early life
Born into a Catholic family, she adopted a Muslim name, Abida Riaz after marrying a Pakistani filmmaker, Riaz Shahid in 1965. She is the mother of film actor Shaan Shahid.
Neelo was born on 30 June 1940 in Bhera, British India. She did her primary schooling at Kinnaird High School, Lahore.
Controversies
In 1965, at the peak of her popularity, she was summoned by Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan, then Governor of West Pakistan, to dance on stage for the Shah of Iran during his official visit to Pakistan; but she refused to do it for her own reasons. Harassed and threatened, Neelo faced dire consequences for refusing to obey official orders. She was allegedly gang molested and attempted suicide on the way to the Governor's house and was taken to a hospital instead, where the doctors saved her life.
News of the incident generated widespread public backlash against the Nawab. The renowned leftist poet Habib Jalib, on hearing of the incident, expressed his anguish in his poem over her attempted suicide: "Tu kay nawaqif-e-aadab-e-ghulami hae abhi...raqs zanjeer pehan ker bhi kya jata hae" (meaning: "unaware art thou yet of the rites of enslavement...dance can be performed even while enchained".) Later this poem was used in the film Zarqa (1969) with slight changes in the words and ended up becoming a super-hit film song in Pakistan. The film song became much more relevant, effective, and popular because it was picturised on Neelo herself and was based on similar real-life events in Neelo's life. She also won the Best Actress Nigar Award for film Zarqa (1969). It had superb music by Wajahat Attre and was sung by Mehdi Hassan. Film Zarqa (1969) was produced and directed by Riaz Shahid who also wrote its screenplay. Neelo helped her husband, Riaz Shahid, produce this film and it became the box office hit film of her career.
Personal life
Neelo was born into a Catholic family. She adopted the name Abida Riaz after accepting Islam at the time of her marriage to film screenwriter and film director Riaz Shahid. Riaz Shahid suddenly died in 1972.
Illness and death
She died from blood cancer on 30 January 2021 in Lahore.