Pashto dramas’ villain Syed Shahenshah is no more

The actor was suffering from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure

PESHAWAR: Actor Syed Shahenshah, who is known for his roles as villain in his Pashto dramas, died on Wednesday morning in Peshawar. He was 68.

The actor had been suffering from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure for the last 22 years. Shahenshah, who hailed from Tehsil Tangi of Charsadda, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Dhaki Mir Abad village on Wednesday.

He became one of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's best loved actors, especially remembered for his negative roles in TV dramas, Azmarai and Sahar. Drama actors paid him rich tributes, describing him as a magnificent actor and a wonderful man.

Actor Sardar Badshah, who is also Shahanshah’s cousin, called him a ‘legendary’ actor who performed both on radio and television. He said in most of the dramas, he played role of the villain. He would perform his roles in such a way that people would almost believe them a reality.

“The roles would always be fearsome and people would start disliking him, but such roles were just opposite to his real character. In real life, he was opposite to the role he played on TV and radio. He was very gentle, soft spoken, faithful and kind,” he said.

He said Shahenshah was introduced as actor on radio drama by Umar Nasir, famous drama producer associated with Radio Pakistan. “He was a well-educated and worked as assistant director at cooperative societies. However, he resigned from his job and fully dedicated himself to drama,” he said.

Some of his famous radio dramas were Kagay Laray, Swal, Dwaim Num and Lamay.