Moin Akhtar's ninth death anniversary observed

Legendary comedian’s colleagues remember him on the occasion of his ninth death anniversary

LAHORE: April 22 marked the ninth death anniversary of one of the brightest stars of the Pakistani entertainment industry: late anchor and comedian Moin Akhtar.

Of course, the very name is enough to remind one of the golden era of local television. Moin became an icon at a time when there was no social media; just the stage, radio, television and his unique talents. He was undoubtedly, one of a kind and a jack of all trades, considering his expertise in directing, producing, singing and even acting.



Moin was born on December 24, 1950 and started his television career at the tender age of 13 by playing the character of Shylock in a rendition of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. He first appeared on PTV in in 1966, one a show about Pakistan’s defence day and went on to work in a variety of shows and collaborating with other industry big weights like Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari. These included Studio Dhai, Show Time, Eid Train, Such Much, Half Train, Fifty Fifty, Dollar Man and Baby, etc.

However, it was for his work in the drama serial Rozi that Moin reached the peak of his popularity. Thereafter, perhaps his most popular venture was the talk show Loose Talk which he made about 400 episodes for, in a different get up for each. The star proved his mettle as a strong anchor whilst hosting high profile international personalities such as King Hussain of Jordan, General Zia-ul-Haq, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and many others. Due to his wonderful serviced to the industry, Moin was awarded both the Pride of Performance and a Sitar-e-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan.



His death anniversary saw many of his colleagues celebrate everything he had achieved in life. “If you ask me, there will never be another Moin Akhtar here in Pakistan, he will always be the one and only,” actor Bushra Ansari told The Express Tribune. “No other artist has the capacity or talent to compete with Moin for he was marvelous in every field. He was a true hard worker and a man of his word who dedicated 80% of his life to television. He was a simple, yet beautiful man.”

Ajoka Theatre’s Madiha Gohar echoed Bushra’s sentiments. “Moin was a great actor with great variety in his work. He was a beautiful, humble man despite being so proficient and talented in so many different fields. Not everyone is lucky enough to be like that,” she said.

Director Goshi Khan also remembered the late star. “Moin was also very fluent in a variety of languages including Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi. But the most beautiful part of him was that he never used any vulgar words throughout his career,” he said. “He did a lot of stage work and there was a time when people used to come to the theatre just to enjoy his sophisticated work. To this day, Moin’s name often comes up when we are discussing sophistication in terms of acting. His work will surely be an asset to Pakistan’s artistic community.”

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