Ayaz Naik

Ayaz was born in Lahore, Punjab and he studied CSS to be a government officer from University of Lahore.^[3]

Ayaz made his debut as a child actor in drama Ajnabi in 1970 and later appeared in Qurbatain Aur Faslay as Ghufran but his acting career actually began in film. Ayaz started his acting career in 1980, aged 14, when he did his first lead role in the film Nahin Abhi Nahin directed by Nazar-ul-Islam, starring with famous actress Shabnam and Faisal Rehman.^[4][5] The film did well at the box office and as a golden jubilee hit further boasted Ayaz's career.^[6][7]

In the 1980s Ayaz appeared in films Yeh Zamana Aur Hai, as well as Ek Doojay Kay Liye, starring alongside Babra Sharif in both, and Naam Mera Badnam in which he starred with Shabnam, Muhammad Ali, Kaveeta and Sangeeta.^[8]

In 1984 Ayaz starred in film Ishq Nachaway Gali Gali with Durdana Rehman. The film was a hit and he won a Nigar Award for Best Actor for his role.^[9]

Then Ayaz made his debut in a lead role in drama Dastak written by Haseena Moin and directed by Shahzad Khalil on PTV with Shazia Akhtar.^[2]

Ayaz married the model and actress Shazia Akhtar, who is also his cousin, with whom he has starred in drama Dastak.^[3] They married in the 1990s but divorced after a few years.^[3] Ayaz's father, Naeem Naik, was a civil servant in Islamabad but later he also did acting and he acted in drama Qurbatein Aur Fasley; his mother Zareena was also an actress.^[3][10] He is the cousin of Pakistani-British singer Yasir Akhtar and also of television director and producer Mehreen Jabbar.^[11] Ayaz's paternal uncle Ejaz Naik was a senior bureaucrat in the foreign ministry.^[12][10]