Munawar Zarif (

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 ...

, ur, منور ظریف) (25 December 1940 – 29 April 1976) was a Pakistani film actor and comedian. His fans named him ''Shahenshah-e-Zarafat'' ( ur, شہنشاہِ ﻇﺮﺍﻓﺖ), meaning ''The Emperor of Humor'' or the ''King of Humor''. (Associated Press of Pakistan
Munawar Zarif remembered
The News International (newspaper), Published 30 April 2018, Retrieved 31 January 2022 He was one of the most popular and highest paid actors of the 1970s and is considered one of the greatest 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.;;;;; ...

.39th death anniversary of Munawar Zarif today
Dunya News, Published 29 April 2015, Retrieved 31 January 2022

Early life and career

Munawar Zarif was born on 2 February 1940 in

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous List of most populous cities in Pakistan, c ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. He started his film career with a Punjabi film ''Dandian'' (1961). His breakthrough film was 1964's ''Hath Jori''. After starting as a comedian, he was promoted to playing second leads starting with the film ''Parday Mein Rehnay Do'' (1973). Subsequently, he was cast as the lead actor in films such as ''Banarsi Thug'' (1973) and ''Jeera Blade'' (1973). Possibly his most popular role was in 1974's ''

Naukar Wohti Da ''Naukar Wohti Da'' ( Punjabi: ﻧﻮﮐﺮ ﻭﻭﮨﭩﯽ ﺩﺍ) is a 1974 Pakistani, Punjabi film, starring Munawar Zarif in the lead role, opposite actress Aasia. The film tells the story of a hired husband. It was remade in Hindi as '' ...

'', which became a runaway hit. He received his first

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 ...

in "Special Award" category for his performance in ''Ishaq Deewana'' (1971). He won the Nigar Award in the "Best Comedian" category for ''

Baharo Phool Barsao ''Baharo Phool Barsao'' (), is a 1972 Pakistani Urdu-language romance film produced and directed by Indian director Mehmood Sadiq (a.k.a. M. Sadiq). He had come from India to produce and direct this film, but died halfway through its production ...

'' (1972) and ''Zeenat'' (1975). He appeared in more than 300 films in the span of just 15 years from 1961 to 1976.Profile and filmography of Munawar Zarif on livetv.pk website
Retrieved 31 January 2022 He was well-known for his

Ad-Lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

dialogue delivery.

Personal life

Munawar Zarif was younger brother of popular comedian Zarif. He was lifelong friend of fellow comedian

Ali Ejaz Ali Ejaz (21 October 1942 – 18 December 2018) was a Pakistani film and television actor known for his film roles in '' FBI Operation Pakistan'' (1971), ''Sona Chandi'' (1983), and '' Chor Machaye Shor'' (1996). He was given the Pride of Perfo ...

. His son Faisal Munawar Zarif debuted as an actor with films like ''Puttar Munawar Zarif da'' and ''Putter Jeerey Blade da'', but he couldn't find success.

Death

Zarif's family announced his death in

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 ...

, on 29 April 1976. He died in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

due to

Cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

of the liver. He was laid to rest at ''Bibi Pak Daman Cemetery'', Lahore.In memory of comedian Munawar Zarif on his 42nd death anninversary
Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 29 April 2018, Retrieved 31 January 2022

Legacy

Munawar Zarif is often regarded as one of the greatest comedians ever in Pakistani films. Fellow comedian and friend

recalled his ability to improvise lines on the spot and called him an 'extempore' comedian.

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...

programme manager Asif Khan Khaitran reminisced about the success of Munawar Zarif and said: "There was a time in his career when writers would develop script with Munawar Zarif's personality in mind." Comedian Umer Shareef called him "Mount Everest" of comedy and said that "for attaining fame in the field of comedy one must follow Munwer Zareef’s School of thought."

Filmography

1960s

1970s

Awards and honours

;

Nigar Awards 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 ...

* Nigar Awards 1971 - Special Award for ''Ishq Deevana'' * Nigar Awards 1972 - Best Comedian for ''

'' * Nigar Awards 1975 - Best Comedian for ''Zeenat''

References

External links

Munawar Zarif
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarif, Munawar 1940 births 1976 deaths Pakistani male film actors Pakistani male comedians Male actors from Lahore Punjabi people People from Gujranwala Nigar Award winners 20th-century Pakistani male actors 20th-century comedians