Kamal Ahmed Rizvi

Kamal Ahmed Rizvi (1 May 1930 – 17 December 2015) was a Pakistani television actor and a playwright. He was born in Bihar, British India and died in Karachi, Pakistan.^[1][2] Rizvi wrote and starred in the comedy series Alif Noon (1981-82 TV season), and won a Pride of Performance Award in 1989.^[3]

Early life and career

Kamal Ahmed Rizvi and his family had migrated to Karachi, Pakistan from Bihar, British India after 1947. During his early days in Karachi, he lived in an apartment in Arambagh area, before moving to Lahore to meet his idol, the renowned short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto with whom he spent a lot of precious time in Lahore in the early 1950s, and was influenced by him. He tried his hand at editing some popular digests such as Tehzeeb and Shama. He also tried his luck with cinema but then decided not to pursue it and instead chose to be associated with Radio Pakistan.^[3]

Kamal Ahmed Rizvi got a chance for his first acting stint when renowned Pakistani actor Zia Mohyeddin staged Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar' for BBC Urdu Service. This paved the way for him to take up numerous theatre ventures and subsequently, television. Here, he met the Hardy (actor Nanha) to his Laurel (Laurel played by Kamal Ahmed Rizvi himself in their future TV shows). This stand-up comedy duo ruled Pakistan Television for many years in the 1980s with their popular TV comedy series.^[2] Kamal was a true artist since he never penned down a script without first being truly inspired. He used to say to his friends that it would be impossible to create magic in the absence of inspiration. His work was widely acclaimed for exposing corruption in the society through comedy and satire. He was very bold and outspoken in his work just like Saadat Hasan Manto. The multifaceted Rizvi was a great writer, a good stage artist besides being a very sensitive individual and a thorough intellectual. During his early days at Pakistan Television, Kamal Rizvi had also done a series of interviews with the common people of Lahore which included a 'paan-seller' and a 'waiter' of a coffeehouse.^[3]

Death and his survivors

Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, the man behind one of the most celebrated sitcoms of the country Alif Noon died of a heart attack after a prolonged illness in Karachi on 17 Dec 2015 at the age of 85.^[1] He has only one son from his first wife, Nuzhat. This son has been living in the USA for a long time. His marriage with the second wife Aamna lasted only for a short time because she wanted to go back and settle in India and he wanted to stay in Pakistan. His third wife is Ishrat Jehan who was with him until his death on 17 Dec 2015.^[3]

References