The Most Famous

ACTORS from Pakistan

This page contains a list of the greatest Pakistani Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 33 of which were born in Pakistan. This makes Pakistan the birth place of the 26th most number of Actors behind New Zealand, and Ukraine.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Pakistani Actors of all time. This list of famous Pakistani Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Pakistani Actors.

1. Dev Anand (1923 - 2011)

With an HPI of 60.31, Dev Anand is the most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

Dev Anand (born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. Anand is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Through a career that spanned over six decades, he worked in more than 100 films. Anand is a recipient of four Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan, Indian third highest civilian honour in 2001 and with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002. In 1946, Anand debuted with a lead role in Prabhat Films's Hum Ek Hain, a film about Hindu-Muslim unity. He had his first commercial success in Ziddi (1948) and gained widespread recognition with the blockbuster crime thriller Baazi (1951), which is regarded as the forerunner of the spate of "Bombay Noir" films that followed in Bollywood in the 1950s. In later years, he starred in top grossing films, such as Jaal (1952), Taxi Driver (1954), Insaniyat (1955), Munimji (1955), C.I.D. (1956), Paying Guest (1957), Kala Pani (1958) and Kala Bazar (1960). Anand acquired a romantic image with films such as Manzil (1960), Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Hum Dono (1961), Asli-Naqli (1962) and Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963). The 1965 film Guide marked a major milestone in Anand's career. Based on the novel by R. K. Narayan, it became a box office success; and was entered for Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards. He reunited with Vijay Anand for the movie Jewel Thief (1967), based on the thriller genre, it went on to become a hit at the box office. In the 70s, he forayed into direction with espionage drama Prem Pujari. Throughout the 70s and 80s, he starred in a number of highly successful films, including Johny Mera Naam (1970), which was highest grosser of the year, Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), Banarasi Babu (1973), Heera Panna (1973), Amir Garib (1974), Warrant (1975), Des Pardes (1978), Lootmaar (1980), Swami Dada (1982) and Lashkar (1989). The 2011 film Chargesheet was Anand's final film. Anand's fast dialogue delivery and unique nodding style became the trademarks of his acting in movies. His style was often copied by other actors. Many of Dev Anand's films explored his cultural viewpoint of the world and often highlighted many socially relevant topics. Anand won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the films Kala Pani and Guide. Anand was married to actress Kalpana Kartik, with whom he had two children, including Suneil Anand.

2. Kabir Bedi (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 58.75, Kabir Bedi is the 2nd most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Kabir Bedi (born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: film, television and theatre. He is noted for his role as Emperor Shah Jahan in Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story and the villainous Sanjay Verma in the 1980s blockbuster Khoon Bhari Maang. He is best known in Italy and Europe for playing the pirate Sandokan in the popular Italian TV miniseries and for his role as the villainous Gobinda in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Bedi is based in India and lives in Mumbai.

3. Pran (1920 - 2013)

With an HPI of 56.17, Pran is the 3rd most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 84 different languages.

Pran Krishan Sikand Ahluwalia (12 February 1920 – 12 July 2013), better known by his mononym, Pran, was an Indian actor, known as one of the greatest villains ever in the history of Indian cinema and a character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s. He has been one of the most highly successful and respected veteran actors in the history of Indian cinema. He was also one of the highest-paid actors of his time. He played hero roles from 1940 to 1947, negative characters from 1942 to 1991, and played supporting and character roles from 1967 to 2007. The late 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s were the peak periods of Pran's stint as a villainous character actor, especially 1950s and 1960s. Pran was the first true personification of "evil" on the Indian screen. The intensity of his portrayal of negative/villainous characters on the screen was effective enough to desist the Indian people from naming their children "Pran" in the 1950s & 60s & subsequently thereafter (when Pran was at the peak of his villainy). In a long and prolific career, Pran appeared in over 362 films. He played the leading man in works such as Khandaan (1942), Pilpili Saheb (1954) and Halaku (1956). He is known for his roles in Madhumati (1958), Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Shaheed (1965), Upkar (1967), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969), Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Victoria No. 203 (1972), Be-Imaan (1972), Zanjeer (1973), Majboor (1974), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Don (1978), Sharaabi (1984) and Duniya (1984). Pran has received many awards and honours in his career. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1967, 1969 and 1972 and was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He was awarded the "Villain of the Millennium" by Stardust in 2000. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contributions to the arts. He was honoured in 2013 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India. In 2010, he was named on the list of CNN's Top 25 Asian actors of all time. Pran died on 12 July 2013 at the age of 93 after suffering from a prolonged illness in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.

4. Dilip Kumar (1922 - 2021)

With an HPI of 55.81, Dilip Kumar is the 4th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, after Motilal, he dominated the Indian cinema from late 1940s throughout 60s, being referred to as Abhinay Samrat (Hindi for "Emperor of Acting"). Kumar holds the record for most wins for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (eight, which was later equalled by Shah Rukh Khan) and was also the inaugural recipient of the award. He holds the most dominant box-office record for a star (male or female) in Hindi cinema with over 80% box-office successes and several long-standing gross records. In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in less than 60 films in a variety of roles. He debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata (1944), produced by Bombay Talkies. Following a series of unsuccessful ventures, he had his first box office hit in Jugnu (1947). Kumar found further success with the romantic drama Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the social drama Daag (1952), the actioner Insaniyat (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the romantic social Naya Daur (1957), the noir mystery Madhumati (1958), the social drama Paigham (1959), the action adventure Kohinoor (1960), the epic historical Mughal-E-Azam (1960), the crime drama Gunga Jumna (1961), and the comedy drama Ram Aur Shyam (1967). All three Andaz, Aan and Naya Daur briefly became the highest-grossing Indian films up to that point, a feat later achieved by Mughal-e-Azam, which sustained the record for 15 years. The 1970s saw Kumar's career take a downturn, marked by three consecutive commercial failures, namely Dastaan (1972), Sagina (1974) and Bairaag (1976). Post-1976, he went on a brief hiatus from film performances and returned with the revolutionary drama Kranti (1981), which was the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. He continued to play leading roles in films such as Vidhaata (1982), Shakti (1982), Karma (1986), and Saudagar (1991). His last on-screen appearance was in the commercially unsuccessful Qila (1998), which saw him in a dual role. Kumar later served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, from 2000 to 2006. Kumar's personal life was the subject of much media attention, however, he himself had largely avoided media limelight and endorsements. He was in a long-term relationship with actress and frequent co-star Madhubala that ended after the Naya Daur court case in 1957. He married actress Saira Banu in 1966 and resided in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, until his death in 2021. For his contributions to film, the Government of India awarded him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, the country's third and second-highest civilian awards respectively. He was also awarded India's highest accolade in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. In 1998, the Government of Pakistan conferred Kumar with Nishan-e-Imtiaz, their highest civilian decoration, making him the only Indian to have received the honour. The house that Kumar grew up in, located in Peshawar, was declared a national heritage monument in 2014 by the Pakistani government.

5. Kumail Nanjiani (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 52.88, Kumail Nanjiani is the 5th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; Sindhi: ڪميل علي نانجياني‎; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley (2014–2019) and for co-writing and starring in the romantic comedy film The Big Sick (2017). For co-writing the latter with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2018, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in The Twilight Zone executive produced by Jordan Peele in 2019. Nanjiani has also voiced Prismo on the animated series Adventure Time and starred in the TNT series Franklin & Bash and the Adult Swim series Newsreaders. He also co-hosted the Comedy Central show The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, as well as playing various roles on the comedy series Portlandia. He also starred as Kingo in the Marvel Studios superhero film Eternals (2021), which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starred as street-level con artist Haja Estree in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi and played celebrity scientist Vik in the television series The Boys Presents: Diabolical and The Boys. In 2022, he starred in the lead role of the Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales. In 2023, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category for his work in Welcome to Chippendales.

6. Sunil Dutt (1929 - 2005)

With an HPI of 52.13, Sunil Dutt is the 6th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was honoured with Padma Shri, in 1968, by the Government of India, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Dutt debuted in 1955 with the Hindi film Railway Platform. He rose to prominence with highly successful and acclaimed films, such as Ek Hi Raasta (1956) and Mother India (1957) and went on to deliver a number of hugely popular films in a career that spanned 48 years. Dutt married his Mother India co-star Nargis in 1958. Together they had three children, including the actor Sanjay Dutt. In 1984 he joined the Indian National Congress party and was elected to the Parliament of India for five terms from the constituency of Mumbai North West. He was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government (2004–2005) and also a former Sheriff of Mumbai.

7. Manoj Kumar (b. 1937)

With an HPI of 50.82, Manoj Kumar is the 7th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Goswami; 24 July 1937) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic themes, and has been given the nickname Bharat Kumar. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards, in varied categories. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1992 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2016 by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian cinema and arts.

8. Prithviraj Kapoor (1906 - 1972)

With an HPI of 49.61, Prithviraj Kapoor is the 8th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and established the Prithvi Theatres in 1944 as a travelling theatre company based in Bombay. He was the patriarch of the Kapoor family of Hindi films, four generations of which, beginning with him, have played active roles in the Hindi film industry, with the youngest generation still active in Bollywood. His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, also played a short role in his movie Awara. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

9. Vinod Khanna (1946 - 2017)

With an HPI of 49.35, Vinod Khanna is the 9th most famous Pakistani Actor. Her biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awards. Khanna was one of the highest-paid stars of his times, along with Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. He was the only superstar who could compete with Amitabh Bachchan's box office run in late 1970s to early 1980s before taking break from films. Khanna was considered the style icon & fashion icon, often referred as 'Sexy Sanyasi' in media. After joining politics, he became the MP from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017. In July 2002, Khanna became the minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. Six months later, he became the Minister of State for External Affairs. Khanna made his film debut in 1968, and initially acted in supporting and antagonistic roles; as an angry young man in the social drama Mere Apne, as the main villain in the action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh, and as the military officer turned fugitive in the crime drama Achanak, which was a film based on the events of K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra. In 1982, at the peak of his film career, Khanna temporarily took a break from the film industry to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh. After a 5-year hiatus, he returned to the Hindi film industry with two successful films – Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate. In his later film career, Khanna played several memorable roles as a father in blockbuster movies such as Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010) and Dabangg 2 (2012). Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018 by the Government of India at 65th National Film Awards.

10. Raaj Kumar (1926 - 1996)

With an HPI of 48.93, Raaj Kumar is the 10th most famous Pakistani Actor. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 – 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. In a career that spanned over four decades, he went on to star in 70 films and is regarded as one of the most successful actors of Indian cinema.

People

Pantheon has 41 people classified as Pakistani actors born between 1906 and 2002. Of these 41, 21 (51.22%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Pakistani actors include Kabir Bedi, Kumail Nanjiani, and Manoj Kumar. The most famous deceased Pakistani actors include Dev Anand, Pran, and Dilip Kumar. As of April 2024, 7 new Pakistani actors have been added to Pantheon including Manorama, Zia Mohyeddin, and Iman Vellani.