WaAlaikum Assalam...26 November KO apko Hilal e Imtiaz KIYON NAHIN Diya Gaya? Iska Jawab hai KICI KE pass.........???? --------------- Qavi Khan: There was this time of the great writers to be and their likes, with their limited means, strived to do something by laying foundations for the forthcoming era they were visualising though hazily and dimly yet convincingly. Lahore the gehwara-e-adab, had Pak Tea House where hours and hours of gupshup and exchanging thoughts by insisting to recite their latest verses and afsanay, became the topic amongst big names whos great contribution traveled through and through that despite hard hits and horrendous political scenarios faced by this poor helpless country, the DRAMA prevailed, initially starting from stage that we dint have TV till 26th November,1964 when the Lahoreites fortunate to own b&w TV sets, saw the PTV logo followed by the Baseerat and thereafter the faces of the first two male and female announcers; Tariq Aziz and Kunwal (Hameed) Naseer, though before the full fledged transmission limited to few hours with Mondays off, there was the pilot project of TV transmission limited to few thousand only, both in Lahore and Karachi as test transmission by the NEC of Japan...good enough to make us enjoy the infectious cartoon Felix, the cat every evening. However, before the TV, the city dwellers were limited to sporadic and once in a while; stage plays and the films...but Pakistani films too remained a bit bereft and neglected due to the gigantic movies of our neighbourhood beating them hollow the curse which finally ended with the 1965 war that neighbourhood movies were banned in Pakistan....which was a respite for Pakistani Film Industry to make hay now that the sun shines.....and some powerful movies came on screens which the dwellers, were forced to watch for the sake of pleasure...they only pleasure they had to avail as Hobsons Choice...and soon Pakistani Movies went to the peak of their popularity with powerful stories, acting, directions and ambiance not to forget the most endearing and lived and remembered till today....their songs and music. In America, once the phrase made headlines for sometime as Video Killed The Radio Star...... which somehow, didnt follow suit back here in our little corner of the world even till after some years of the entrance of mini tube and its huge popularity. Pakistani Films continued to be popular. But...after all the above Raam Katha of Showbiz Pakistan, I am here to tell you a tale about what endurance, commitment and braving the odds, brings to the person as promised by Almighty. During the stage play days of Lahore...a year or two before the TV came, there was this young, think, curly haired, sensitive and not so fortunate man who was found to be sneaking in at the theatre or halls and sit in the corner to watch actors of those days do rehearsals. Nobody actually bothered to ask him who he was as there was no concept or even dream of terrorism in every aspect---those days. Though, once, someone did ask him where he was from and whats his business there to which he shyly said Bhai mujhay adakari Ka shauq hai aur mein Peshawar mein rehta houn....Mein sirf rehearsals dekhne aata houn....k shayad mujhay bhi kabhi koi chanass manass miljaye? Hahahahaha and people would normally say haan hosakata hai...and move on hiding their smile or laughter looking at that thin ordinary looking man. But that man...every weekend, was promptly at the auditorium or hall to watch the rehearsals or the play itself. Sometime later, he finally shifted to Lahore and acquired a job in Muslim Commercial Bank but never lost he touch with his craze for acting that he joined a band of some enthusiasts at the Arts Council (aka Alhamra) where people like Masood Akhtar, Khurshid Shahid, Sikandar Shaheen, Atiya Sharaf, were busy developing stage dramas...and this Peshawari soon got mixed with them...impressing the young and robust and few of that era that he too can do what they can. Came TV finally.....and thanks to Ayub Khan and specially Altaf Gauhar, the inventor of TV in Pakistan that mini tube finally came-----and initially lacking the place to start, the transmission began from the studios of Radio Pakistan, Lahore but the Administration and offices for management (by Aslam Azhar Sahab, Fazal Kamal, Nisar Hussain..not MNH) were housed in the Arts Council of Lahore---- (Est. by the Govt in 1949-50 by people like Anna Molka Ahmed and others to promote Art and Culture)----and the proximity of PTV Lahore officials to the Arts Council Stage plays or rehearsals etc., provided opportunities to the newbies like Ashfaq Ahmed, Bano Qudsia, Nisar Hussain..not MNH and others to see through these stage artiste and pick them up for the TV plays which required weeks of rehearsals and moves which were all done at the Arts Council and almost all the plays on TV, initially and for a good over a year, were telecast live. The film stars of then were the most obvious choice for TV plays but somehow their eyes didnt meet the mini tube concept limited to a city then and obviously not getting the talent fee comparative to what they were getting then. Moreover, the movie stars of those days were used to what our TV stars are used to..these days ( how history repeats itself ) and thats live telecast or a play recorded with four to five cameras with no cuts or singly takes through ONE camera and all dialogues being given a glance or prompted on the solo take!! WOW!!!! The film stars couldnt imagine continuous recording with four cameras.....remembering their long or short dialogues----hence a smooth sail and way automatically got paved for the young, robust and enthusiastic stage and Radio drama Artiste then....that it was Ashfaq Ahmed who hand picked that young, curly haired thin man from Peshawar then the banker, for a play and thereafter, that thin guy didnt look back......he just went in cruising fast and slow on his mission he had started in 1962-63 that soon he became the stay name on PTV and in a course of time, a polished and most articulated film actor also.....having done some most exciting and memorable role not as hero but as a 2nd fiddle and character oriented with classic conviction that he still commands a great respect and name.....sheerly by the dint of his hard and most enduring efforts braving the hardest time...to see the days he does today. Thank you Mohammad Qavi Khan....for being there and our sincerest gratitude to Ashfaq Ahmed, Bano Aunty and YOU, for those umpteenth dramas we have enjoyed watching with your glorious performances par excellence...which continue as infectious as ever. Can never forget that play by Yawar Hayat from PTV-Lahore in 1971 where I played your best friend....with Badiuzzaman and Jamil Bismil and, probably, Sajjad Kishwar......Zakhm Acha Diya Tum Ne Mohammad Qavi Khan.... Zindabad !! 50 years--MashaAllah---still in action as robust as ever... Is Hilal-e-Imtiaz in the offing? or the authorities sleepeth...?
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 15:33:16 +0000
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