Comedy, thy name is ‘Mastana’

Comedian Murtaza Hassan entered theatre and became famous by the name of Mastana.

KARACHI: April 12 marks the death anniversary of famous comedian Murtaza Hassan otherwise known as Mastana, whose undisputed talent of delivering dialogues still spreads smiles across peoples face.

Born in Gujranwala, Hassan entered theatre and became famous by the name of Mastana.

He started his acting career during his adolescence and continued to create magic on television and threatre for four decades.

Hassan had a knack of maintaining flawless, natural delivery regardless of the language – be it Urdu or Punjabi.

His roles next to television writer-director Amanullah shot him to greater fame. Amanullah was also in awe of Mastana’s greatness and considered him to be one of theatres finest artists.

Hassan did not just make his mark in the field of comedy, but also immortalised the serious characters he played.

His role of “Uncle Kyun” in Jhanjalpura speaks for his unprecedented acting skills.

The twilight of his career was marred with an unpleasant incident, after which he had left showbiz.

Later, he suffered from hepatitis, which became the cause of his death in Bahawalpur’s Victoria hospital.