I fear no one can counter mediocrity like Zia Mohyeddin did: Khalid Ahmed
"My biggest fear is if we will ever be able to maintain the legacy left behind by Zia Mohyeddin," said director Khalid Ahmed at the Zia Mohyeddin Festival being held at The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa). The festival kicked off on Wednesday evening and will carry on till Saturday.
The four-day festival is a tribute to Napa’s late founder and president, Zia Mohyeddin who passed away on February 15 at the age of 91. The series of panel discussions and performances celebrates the legendary thespian and his remarkable work as an actor, orator, director and teacher.
Joining the panel on Wednesday were Board members Syed Jawaid Iqbal, Javed Jabbar, Dr Ishrat Husain, Arshad Mahmood, Mahtab Rashdi and Head of Theatre Arts at Napa, Khalid Ahmad.
"Just three days ago, I was rehearsing a play with a few Napa students, and a thought struck me, 'If today someone makes a mistake with their enunciation, there would be no fear of punishment'. It was a heartbreaking realisation, knowing that Zia Mohyeddin wouldn't be present over our heads, correcting us, helping us," recalled Ahmed.
Speaking about the same, Rashdi mentioned how the Bombay Talkie performer touched many hearts during his lifetime. "Just walking into Napa used to make you wonder who the man in charge is. Zia was a public figure who inspired many individuals. Many wanted to meet him, others looked up to him. He was known to give life to words. We have seen many artists in our lifetime, but Zia had a specific quality that is scarcely found among us: professionalism," she conveyed.
She further elaborated, "Whenever he used to sit with our board, he never interfered needlessly or tried to enforce his views on others. It was us, who had to first ask him to speak and only then he gave his opinion on the matter. He was a soft-spoken man who kept everyone happy."
Rashdi concluded her account by focusing on Mohyeddin's significance to Pakistan’s cultural landscape. "We haven't truly accepted Zia Mohyeddin's loss yet; it's like the aftermath of a trauma, where the pain hasn't hit us, bu
Rashdi too was an ardent fan of his oration skills, "Everyone has a distinctive manner of speaking, but preserving a language requires people to stay true to its linguistics, and that is what Zia did. He treasured the Urdu language like no other and when he spoke in a room full of people, he left everyone in awe."
Javed reminisced about Mohyeddin's ability to easily communicate sophisticated ideas. "What a pleasure it was to see how he blurred the lines of the conventional gulf that exists between literature and the masses. People normally can't easily understand complex pieces, but he bridged that gap."
Before concluding the session, a recorded message from popular Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt was played for the audience. "Zia Mohyddyin had a charming smile, that filled the air with optimism and love," he said. "Once I visited Pune to assess the performance of a play that was adapted from Daddy and Zia was present as well. However, after watching the show, mo"A true artist is someone who has a generous soul and always finds goodness in others like Zia. His spirit glued us together and brought cultures that have drifted from each other close again," said Bhatt before ending the video.
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