Masood Akhtar (; 5 September 1940 – 5 March 2022) was a Pakistani film and television
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
who was considered one of the versatile actors of the industry.
Early life and education
Masood Akhtar was born in
Sahiwal
Sahiwal ( Punjabi / ; ; ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in central Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population accordin ...
on 5 September 1940.
After receiving his primary education from a local school, he entered
Military College Murree.
Later, he enrolled in
MAO College Lahore. After graduation, he started working in a bank, while he continued his studies to earn his
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
degree.
Acting career
Akhtar began his acting career in the 1960s with theatre and soon became one of the popular performers on stage.
In 1968, director and producer
Shabab Kiranwi
Shabab Kairanwi (born Nazir Ahmed; 1926 5 November 1982) was a Pakistani film director, producer, and occasional screenwriter, lyricist and a novelist. He debuted in the Pakistani film industry as a producer and lyricist with ''Jalwa'' (1955) ...
introduced him to the film industry.
He worked in around 135 movies — 78
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, 51
Punjabi, three double versions and two
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
.
Akhtar is the pioneer of starting stage drama at
Alhamra Arts Council.
One of his early plays, ''Paisa Bolta Hai'' (transl. Money Speaks), which was staged at Alhamra in the 1970s, earned him much popularity.
[
]
Awards and recognition
* Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...
Award for Akhtar was announced by the Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...
on 14 August 2005 and then the award was actually conferred on 23 March 2006.[Masood Akhtar]
Tareekhepakistan.com website
Death
Masood Akhtar died of lung cancer in 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 ...
on 5 March 2022, at the age of 82. He was hospitalized for two months before his death. He was buried at ''Gulshan-e-Ravi D Block Graveyard''. Among the survivors were his widow and two daughters. His 26 years old son Ali Raza had died of a heart attack in September 2021.[Veteran actor Masood Akhtar passes away in Lahore]
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 5 March 2022, Retrieved 11 March 2022
Selected filmography
* Sangdil (1968)Watan Kay Rakhwalay
''Watan Kay Rakhwalay'' (Urdu: ) is a 1991 Cinema of Pakistan, Pakistani double version Action film, action, political film directed by Hasnain and produced by Mohammad Younis. The film stars actors Nadeem Baig (actor), Nadeem, Nadira (Pakistan ...
as Bara Mian (1991)
* Madam Rani (1995)
* Moosa Khan (2001)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Masood
1940 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Pakistani male actors
21st-century Pakistani male actors
Male actors in Urdu cinema
Pakistani male film actors
Actors from Punjab, Pakistan
People from Sahiwal
Deaths from lung cancer in Pakistan
Recipients of the Pride of Performance