Famous playwright, actor Kamal Rizvi remembered

ISLAMABAD (APP): Famous playwright and actor Syed Kamal Ahmed Rizvi was remembered on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Wednesday.

He was born in Bihar, in 1930 and did his BA in Patna. In 1951, after the partition of the subcontinent, he migrated to Pakistan. Initially, he spent some time in Karachi and then shifted to Lahore where his penchant for artistic pursuits endeared him to the artist community.

He rubbed shoulders with many literary luminaries, including writer Sadat Hasan Manto.

Kamal Rizvi translated several English books into Urdu and wrote for magazines. In the late 1950s, he tried his hand at theatre and started writing plays, both original and adaptations. Some of his popular stage and TV plays are Badshahat Ka Khatma, Julius Caesar, Hum Sub Pagal Hain, and Bulaqi Badzaat.

In 1965, when Lahore’s television station became operational, he wrote and starred in the satirical drama series Alif Noon. The drama assumed iconic significance as it, by humourous and meaningful situations, exposed hypocrisies and double standards that existed in society.

He played the role of the cunning and scheming Allan in the play, while the affable Rafi Khawar played the part of his friend Nanha, who is opposed to Allan but always falls for his cunningness.

The government of Pakistan had given him the Pride of Performance Award in 1989.