Six years after his passing, Babu Baral’s family awaits support and consolation

Actor's family hosting a ceremony tomorrow, to celebrate the actor’s life and achievements with their loved ones

LAHORE: It may have been six years since Ayub Akhtar – popularly known as Babu Baral – passed away but the legendary stage artist lives on in the hearts of his friends, family and fans. In order to commemorate his death anniversary, Babu’s family is hosting a small ceremony at their home on Sunday, wherein they hope to celebrate the actor’s life and achievements with their loved ones.

Babu was originally a resident of Ghakar Mandi in Gujranwala who ventured into theatre back in 1982. After working in his hometown for some time, Babu moved to Lahore and soon took over the city’s theatre circuit, thanks to his talent and hardwork.

Over the next 20 years, the artist worked in over a thousand plays, with Shartiya Mithay and Bhukay Haatha Bataira being some of his biggest hits. In fact, it wasn’t just Lahore that Babu had taken over; he went on to perform around the world and had become an asset for Pakistani theater during the peak of his career.



Unfortunately, Babu fell ill around 2010 and after his death on April 16, 2011, his family was struck with poverty. His wife Sobia and daughter Tabeer are currently residing in a rented house in Lahore’s Iqbal Town area. Their dire circumstances have forced Tabeer to drop out of school and join theatre to try and make ends meet.

“To this day, I receive calls from Babu’s fans around the world. They tell me that they miss him and his work. But it’s so sad that our government doesn’t seem to care about any of this. It never pays any sort of tribute to Pakistani artists, no matter how popular they might have been,” Sobia told The Express Tribune. “This year, my family and I have organised a ceremony in honour of my late husband. We will pray for him. Babu went through a lot of hardships in his life; he was a good man. He didn’t earn a lot but considered his fans his biggest asset. The real question now is how our government is rewarding his services to the country…”

Tabeer also sang praises for her father. “He was a legend and I take his legacy with me no matter where I go,” she said. “My father was an all-rounder; I don’t think there was anyone else at that time who could act, sing, write, direct, produce and even imitate others as well as he could. There were many other actors, sure, but he dominated them,” Tabeer added.



Her sentiments are echoed by much of Lahore’s theatre industry, with big-wigs like actor and director Goshi Khan reminiscing about Babu. “He was a legend! There was a time when people travelled great distances to watch him perform,” he said. “In fact, even today, he is considered an ustaad by many artists who try and copy his work. But the truth is, no one can be like him.”

Actor Ashraf Rahi agreed. “I worked with Babu for about two decades and learnt a lot. He took commercial theatre to its peak and made Lahore’s theatres echo with laughter,” he stated. “. It’s really tragic that we cannot arrange a bigger function in his memory.”

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