Begum Khursheed Shahid (1 January 1926 – 27 June 2021) was a Pakistani actress and singer. ^[1] She was also the mother of actor Salman Shahid. ^{[3] [4]}

Khursheed Shahid was born in 1926 in Delhi, where her father was a government official and her mother was an educated housewife. ^{[1] [5]} Khursheed along with her sisters and brother used to watch performances of Ram Leela a religious theatre. ^[1] She along with her sisters used to act in Ram Leela Theatre portraying different characters on stage at age seven. ^[5] Khursheed completed her education from Delhi. ^{[1] [5]} Khursheed father was a liberal man and he believed that education was important for girls. ^[1] Khursheed sibling included four sisters and one brother. ^[1] Khursheed's father supported her career. ^[1]

Khursheed Shahid began acting and singing at the age of nine. ^{[6] [1]} When Khursheed was in grade six a Congress leader Aruna Asaf Ali came to her school looking for someone young and her classmates told Ms. Ali about her singing and acting talents. ^[1] Ms. Ali selected Khurhseed for a musical performance. Later after the performance Ms. Ali took her to the All India Radio to renowned music composer Feroz Nizami, he listened her singing and encouraged her to sing. ^[1] He gave her a poem to sing after listening to Khursheed so he told her to visit him the next day so that he will composed it for her. ^[1] The following day when she sang the poem for Feroz, he liked it and told her that it was of Raag Darbari. ^[1] Khursheed was nine when she started singing at All India Radio, Delhi. ^[2] She also read poems wrote by Mukhtar Siddiqui at All India Radio. ^[1]

Later she moved to Parliament Street there she meet music director Roshan Lal Nagrath paternal grandfather to popular Indian actor Hrithik Roshan. ^[2] He saw Khursheed's potential for singing and he started to have rehearsing for her and gave her lessons about singing. ^[1] Kursheed befriend his wife and she would visit his family. ^[1]

After the Partition in 1947, she along with her family moved to Lahore in Pakistan. ^[2] Khursheed went to Radio Pakistan for audition and she start doing musical programmes by station director Mehmood Nizami. ^[2] He liked her classical singing and gave her lessons. ^[2] Mehmood Nizami introduced Khursheed to Bhai Lal and she learned classical singing from Bhai Lal Mohammad. ^[2] She was also inspired by Roshan Ara Begum, she started copying her style and singing that many people acknowledged that Khursheed sounded like Roshan Ara on the radio. ^[1] Khursheed met Roshan Ara Begum at Lahore Arts Council. ^[1] There Khursheed and Roshan Ara Begum became friends and she would take Khursheed to places she would visit and then she taught Khursheed to play Tanpura. ^[1]

Khursheed used do theatre before the launch of PTV in 1964 and she did a lot of quality theatre plays written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Manto and Sadequain. ^{[2] [1]} Khursheed made a name for herself in theatre. ^[1] After PTV was launched in 1964 in Pakistan the executive Aslam Azhar of PTV offered her work. She agreed on a condition that she would be the highest paid actress and he accepted her condition. ^[1] Khursheed did her first play for PTV was Ras Malai a comedy drama. ^[1] Then she regularly worked for PTV in dramas Wadi-e-Purkhar, Kaanch Ka Pul, Fehmida Ki Kahani, Ustani Rahat Ki Zabani, Kiran Kahani and Dhund. ^{[2] [1]}

Then Khursheed appeared in Khurshid Anwar's film Chingari on the insistence of Faiz Sahib. ^[1] Khursheed performance in Punjabi movie Bhola Sajan directed by Ashfaque Malik was regarded as a finest acting even Khursheed admitted herself. ^[1]

In 1995 Khursheed was honoured for her contributions towards the singing, film and television industry, she was honored by the Government of Pakistan with the Pride of Performance. ^{[1] [2]}

Khursheed worked in popular TV dramas series to her credit, including Parchaiyan, Zair, Zabar, Pesh and Uncle Urfi all these dramas series were written by playwright and scriptwriter Haseena Moin. ^[1] Later in late 2003 she retired and went to live with her son, she moved to Lahore permanently to be with her son Salman Shahid. ^{[2] [1]}

Kursheed married producer Salim Shahid at a very young age the marriage did not last long, they did not divorced. ^[7] Salim left for BBC London a few years after their marriage there he stayed till his death. ^[7] She has one son Salman Shahid who is also an actor. ^[8]

Khursheed Shahid was admitted to a hospital a few days back after she suffered a cardiac arrest. ^[8] She died on 27 June due to cardiac arrest while she was in hospital, age 98. ^{[8] [9]} She was laid to rest in a Phase 7 cemetery after her funeral prayers were held at Defense mosque in Defense Phase 2, Block T. ^[10]

• Ras Malai ^[8]
• Uncle Urfi ^[8]
• Zair, Zabar, Pesh ^[8]
• Parchaiyan ^[8]
• Masoom
• Teesra Kinara
• Samundar
• Sayeen Aur Psychiatrist
• Saahil
• Man Chalay Ka Sauda
• Inn Sey Miliye
• Chabi Aur Chabiyan
• Dhoop Dewar
• Kaanch Ka Pul
• Fehmida Ki Kahani, Ustani Rahat Ki Zubani ^[8]
• Andhera Ujala
• Sannata
• Sona Chandi
• Chabi Aur Chabiyan
• Ana
• Dhund ^[2]
• Kiran Kahani ^[2]
• Fishaar
• Wadi-e-Purkhar ^[8]
• Boota from Toba Tek Singh

• Haq dar

• Dhoop Aur Saye
• Chingari ^[2]
• Bhola Sajan ^[2]
• Khamosh Pani
• Ghalib

She was awarded the Pride of Performance by the President of Pakistan in 1995 ^{[1] [7] [2]}

• Khursheed Shahid at IMDb