Friends, colleagues remember Moin Akhtar
By Peerzada Salman
KARACHI: Friends and colleagues shared memories of iconic actor Moin Akhtar, who passed away on April 22, at a condolence reference held in his memory at the Arts Council Karachi on Wednesday.
Film actress Zeba in a telephonic speech from Lahore said Moin Akhtar was a like a brother to her and she and her late husband, film star Mohammad Ali, considered him a member of their family. She said Moin Akhtar was a humble individual who treated everybody with respect. She said he was a versatile actor and comedian who knew the value of decency.
Writer and close friend of Moin Akhtar`s, Anwar Maqsood, was in Islamabad. He also spoke via telephone and uttered some couplets for the late comedian, one of which was Faiz`s: Mujh ko shikwa hai merey bhai ke tum jate jatey/ Le gaey sath meri umr-i-guzishta ki kitab.
Actor Behroz Sabzwari pointed out two personality traits of the late actor. (1) Whoever met him, even on just one occasion, thought of him as a close friend (2) He was an extremely kindhearted and generous human being who helped out the needy in many ways and asked his colleagues and friends to do the same. He said it was an honour for him that he was acquainted with Moin Akhtar and he`d be never forgotten.
Film actor Mustafa Qureshi commenced his speech by suggesting that linguists needed to coin new epithets or adjectives to describe Moin Akhtar. He said Moin Akhtar was one person from the artist fraternity in whom he couldn`t find any flaw. He told the large gathering that whenever Moin Akhtar introduced him at a function, he`d use words that would add to his (Mustafa Qureshi`s) stature a great deal. He quoted a couplet by Shah Latif that Moin Akhtar often read to him and said he never knew that the couplet was also applicable to the late actor.
Actor Qavi Khan too spoke on the phone from Lahore and said a condolence reference at the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore had been held at which the artist community paid glowing tribute to Moin Akhtar. He suggested it`s time that an institute or a trust was formed in the name of the great actor so that the coming generations of artists could benefit from it.
Former hockey player Islahuddin narrated an interesting story delineating the premonitory ring to Moin Akhtar`s death. He said Anwar Maqsood told him at the namaz-i-janaza of Moin Akhtar that a few days prior to his demise, Anwar asked Moin Akhtar to do a part in a play. He told him that there were scenes in the drama which needed to be shot in early morning. To this Moin Akhtar replied that he could only partake in the project for 5 or 6 episodes, because after that Anwar Maqsood would have to find another Moin for the role. According to Anwar Maqsood, it was the first time that Moin Akhtar had turned down an offer to work in a venture penned by him.
The mood of the condolence meeting changed when comedian Umar Sharif reached the podium to speak. He looked visibly angry and rejected the usefulness of the reference saying it was all a `fraud`, asking Moin Akhtar`s son not to pay attention to whatever was being said.
He said it was the same Arts Council where Moin Akhtar lost an election. He raised the point as to why an artist was celebrated after his/her death; why couldn`t he be praised in his lifetime. He said there was a time when the heartless producers at PTV didn`t allow actors to get inside the TV premises. He asked Arts Council`s President Ahmed Shah to walk to the podium and announce that a certain part of the council was named after Moin Akhtar. Ahmed Shah did come and tried to cool things down, stating that even if Umar Sharif hadn`t come up with proposal, his and council members were thinking along those lines.
Others who spoke were Qasim Jalali, Salma Murad, Adila Wadia, Ghazala Javed, Aziz Warsi, Tahseen Javed, Furaqan Siddiqui, Anwar Iqbal, Mansoor (Moin Akhtar`s son) and Wakeel Farooqui. In the end President Arts Council Ahmed Shah addressed the gathering and announced that the council`s theatre academy would be named after Moin Akhtar. He said the council would publish his biography as well.
Iqbal Latif conducted the event. An audio clipping of a speech delivered by Moin Akhtar at the council was also run during the programme.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/5/2011
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