To mark the services and contribution of great artists who left us recently, a unique ceremony was arranged on Friday evening in Islamabad at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). ‘Yaad e Raftagan’ – a condolence reference to pay tribute to the legendary artists, Moeen Akhtar, Baboo Bral, Khayam Sarhadi, Mastana and Liaquat Soldier was attended by eminent artists of the country.
Moeen Akhtar
Khayam Sarhadi
To recall the memories and excellent performances of the late artists, glimpses of their works was screened on the occasion and were well-received by the audience. The short collection of Baboo Bral, Mastana and Liaquat Soldier brought smile to the face, while the works of Khayam Sarhadi and Moeen Akhtar portrayed a golden era of Urdu drama.
Speaking on the occasion, Tauqir Nasir, Director General of PNCA said that “the artists fill the colours to our life and environment and deserve great honour not only after death but also in their lifetime.” Kanwal Naseer, an eminent TV artist observed that the artists bring smiles to the faces of the people and rightly deserve due respect before they leave us.”
Liaquat Soldier
Mastana
Aftab Anwar, a theatre artist recollected his observations about the great artists Moeen Akhtar and said that “it was him who introduced the ‘civilized humour’ in Pakistan.” Recalling the loss of a great artist, Mastana, he said that “it was most unfortunate that theatre artist Mastana had to leave the theatre industry and died in isolation due to the fear of repeated police raids on theatres.”
Masood Khwaja recalled the time he spent with those great artists and urged PNCA to dedicate “at least one drama a week to each deceased artist.” The memorial ceremony concluded with distribution of certificates to ten directors of ten comedy theatre staged during the 10-day drama festival at PNCA.
Baboo Bral
