Syed Kamal Ahmed Rizvi (1 May 1930 – 17 December 2015) was a Pakistani television actor and playwright. He was born in
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
and died in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
from
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
after 1947. During his early days in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
, he lived in an apartment in Arambagh area, before moving to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
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. Rizvi was generally impressed by the Progressive Writers' Movement people that he associated with in Lahore and Karachi. In Karachi, Saddar's Café George became his
Pak Tea House
Pak Tea House in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is an iconic tea house frequented by writers and poets, known for its association with progressive academics and left-leaning South Asian intelligentsia.
Traditionally frequented by country's notably a ...
(Lahore's famous hangout centre for leftist writers and intellectuals). Rizvi used to spend many hours here talking with then renowned writers like Ibrahim Jalees and Shaukat Siddiqui.
At first, 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
The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...
.
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 led him to take up numerous theatre ventures and subsequently, television. Rizvi was invited to come to TV by one of the pioneers of Pakistan television Aslam Azhar. 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
Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...
for many years in the 1980s with their popular TV comedy series.
During his early days at
Pakistan Television
Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...
, Kamal Rizvi had also done a series of interviews with the common people of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
which included a 'paan-seller' and a 'waiter' of a coffeehouse.
Death and legacy
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
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
on 17 Dec 2015 at the age of 85. Before this, Kamal had survived a serious heart attack in 1993. He is survived by his only one son from his first wife, Nuzhat. This son has been living in the US 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 was Ishrat Jehan who was with him until his death on 17 Dec 2015.
Kamal Ahmed Rizvi was known to stay away from undue publicity and always kept a modest profile despite being a successful celebrity. He was considered to be one of the trendsetters of situation comedy TV dramas in Pakistan in the early 1980s. His work was widely acclaimed for exposing corruption in the society through comedy and satire,