Moin Akhter

Moin Akhtar, (24 December 1950 – 22 April 2011) was a Pakistani television, film, stage actor, humorist, comedian, impersonator, and a host, writer, singer, director and producer who rose to fame in era of Radio Pakistan along with his co-actors Anwer Maqsood and Bushra Ansari. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "Rosy" and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry of Sub Continent. His career spanned more than 45 years, from childhood in the Radio Pakistan era of modern film making until a year before his death in 2011.^[3]

Early life

Akhter was born in Karachi, Pakistan. His family had migrated to Pakistan after partition of India in 1947.^[4] He usually avoided vulgarity in his humor. Akhter was fluent in several languages, including English, Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Memoni, Pashto, Gujarati and Urdu.^[4]

Career

Akhtar started his acting career as child actor at the age of 13, he played the character of Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in theater.^[4]

Akhtar's sense of humor was highly dynamic and versatile, he made his debut for television on 6 September 1966, in a variety show held on PTV to celebrate the first defense day of Pakistan.^[4] He started off as a stand-up comedian in 1966 by impersonating Hollywood actor Anthony Quinn and one of John F Kennedy’s speeches, in that he also mimicked the voice of the former president. Since then, he had performed several roles in TV stage shows, later teamed up with Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari.^[2]

Rosy

Akhtar rose to the national spotlight and gathered critical acclaim for his performance in the drama Rosy, in which he played the role of a female TV artist. Rozy was an Urdu adaptation of Hollywood movie Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman. He called it one of his favorite onscreen characters that he played.^[1].

Talk shows

In a talk-show namely Loose Talk, which began in 1995 on ARY Digital, he appeared as a different character in each and every episode with a total of over 400 episodes interviewed by the TV host Anwar Maqsood, who was also the writer of the program. Akhter also briefly hosted the game show Kya Aap Banaingay Crorepati?, the Pakistani version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. He hosted shows involving major personalities and had performed on stage alongside the Indian legends Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Madhuri Dixit to name a few.^[2]

Television drama serials

Akhtar acted in several films, sitcom, dramas, hosted many TV talk shows. Some of them are shown below:^[4]

Host

He hosted shows in which the following dignitaries were invited :

• King Husain of Jordan was invited.
• The Prime Minister of Gambia, Dawoodi Al-Joza, was invited.
• President Zia-ul-Haq was invited.
• Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was invited.
• President General Yahya Khan was invited.
• President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was invited.
• President Pervez Musharaf was invited and he mimicked the president in his presence.
• Legendary Indian film actor Dilip Kumar was invited.

Songs and albums

Album - Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe

• "Chhorr Ke Jaane Wale"
• "Choat Jigar Pe Khai Hai"
• "Ro-Ro Ke De Raha Hai"
• "Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe"
• "Dard Hi Sirf Dil Ko Mila"
• "Dil Ro Raha Hai"
• "Hoten Hai Bewafa"

Death and legacy

He died on 22 April 2011 at about 4:30pm in Karachi after suffering from a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons.^[1] The funeral prayers of Moin Akhtar were offered in Tauheed Masjid near his residence. Thousands of people attended the funeral prayer which was led by Junaid Jamshed.^[5] The world-famous wax museum Madame Tussauds has expressed its wish to include a statue of Moin Akhtar in their London museum.^[6] If the statue is eventually made, it will be the first of its kind for any Pakistani entertainer. Renowned Indian film actor Nana Patekar said on his death that Moin Akhter was also famous in India due to his humor and will be missed there also.^[1]

Awards and nominations

• Honorary Citizenship of Dallas in 1996 for his achievements.^[7]
• Special Award for Comedy in The 1st Indus Drama Awards 2005
• Pride of Performance was awarded in 1996 by the Government of Pakistan^[1]
• Sitara-i-Imtiaz was awarded in 2011^[1]

See also

• List of Lollywood actors

References

External links

• Moin Akhter at the Internet Movie Database