Safirullah Siddiqui, commonly known as Lehri (2 January 1929 – 13 September 2012), was a Pakistani comedian and an actor in the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He is still considered one of the most acclaimed comedians of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. Lehri is also known as the comedy king in the

Pakistan film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

. He won 12

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

s for "Best Comedian" from 1963 to 1982.

Early life

Safirullah was born on 2 January 1929 in

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

, British India. After

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

, he along with his family migrated to

and settled in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. He performed on radio and stage before entering the film industry.

Works

Lehri acted from the late 1950s until the 1980s. He won the

11 times for various films between 1964 and 1986; his first film, ''Anokhi'', was released in 1956, and his last production was ''Dhanak'' in 1986. The vast majority of his films have been in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

productions. Lehri's forte was the quip and in his monotone, his audience became used to finding a brand of quiet, almost surreptitious humour. To critics and to his fans, his restrained style came to personify the 'decency' of times gone by. After the mid-1980s, Lehri was reduced to occasional appearances on television and newspaper columns. By the time private-sector television arrived, though, the film industry was struggling and all that it had once encompassed was looked upon both with a sense of loss and with fondness.

Awards

Lehri won 11 Nigar awards, which is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Urdu and Lollywood film industry in Pakistan. *

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

set up a monthly stipend for him of

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

2,500, which he continued to receive until his last days; however there was no increase in the amount until his death. He died on 13 September 2012 in

, aged 83, from lung, kidney diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart issues. He had been under treatment and was on ventilator due to prolonged illness in a private hospital at the time of his death. Lehri’s funeral prayers took place on the same evening at ''Masjid-e-Baitul-Mukkaram'' in

Gulshan-e-Iqbal Gulshan-e-Iqbal ( ur, ) is a large middle-class to upper middle class (Block 15,16,17,18) residential and commercial neighborhood in the Karachi East district of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was previously administered as part of the Gulshan To ...

, and he was buried at the ''Yasinabad Graveyard'',

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehri 1929 births 2012 deaths Muhajir people Nigar Award winners Pakistani male comedians Pakistani male film actors Recipients of the Pride of Performance Male actors from Karachi