Moin Akhter (

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 ...

: معین اختر), (24 December 1950 – 22 April 2011) was a Pakistani television, film and stage artist, humorist, comedian,

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

, writer, singer, director and producer who rose to fame in the era of

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 ...

along with his co-actors

Anwar Maqsood Anwar Maqsood Hameedi (born 7 September 1939; ), popularly known as Anwar Maqsood, is a Pakistani scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. He is well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the late 1970 ...

and

Bushra Ansari Bushra Ansari () is a Pakistani actress, comedian, singer, and playwright in Punjabi and Urdu cinema, who started her career as a child performer in the 1960s. Ansari won numerous awards during her career, including the Presidential Pride of Per ...

. He became an icon through his screen persona "Rozi" and is considered to be a one-of-a-kind parodist and the king of Urdu comedy. His career spanned more than 45 years, from childhood in the Radio Pakistan era to work of great renown on television, film and stage until a year before his death in 2011.

Early life

Akhter was born 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 ...

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# ...

. His father Muhammad Ibrahim Mehboob, who died at the age of 92, a few months following Akhter's death, was born in Muradabad, in the modern-day state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and, after the 1947 partition, settled in Karachi, where he "passed his life in his own printing press and as a contractor in the garments business." Akhter was fluent in several languages, including English, Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Memoni,

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 ...

, Gujarati and

Career

Early career

Akhter started his acting career as child actor at the age of 13. He played the character of Shylock in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

’s ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' in theatre. Akhter's sense of humour was highly dynamic and versatile. He made his television debut on 6 September 1966, in a variety show on

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 ...

(PTV) to celebrate the first Defence Day of Pakistan. He started as a comedian in 1966 by impersonating the Hollywood actor

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...

and mimicked one of the former USA's president John F Kennedy’s speeches. He has performed several roles in television stage shows, later teamed with

and

''Rozi''

Akhter rose to the national spotlight and gathered critical acclaim for his performance in the drama '' Rozi'' (1990) in which he played the role of a female TV artist. Rozi was an Urdu adaptation of the Hollywood movie ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy film directed by Sydney Pollack from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal and a story by Gelbart and Don McGuire. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, D ...

'' starring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

. He called it one of his favourite on-screen characters that he had played. Rozi was written by Imran Saleem and directed by Saira Kazmi.

Master Peace Best Performance

*Bakra Qistoan Pay Part 01. (1988) Drama *Buddha Ghar Pe Hai. (1989) Drama *Rozi (1990) Drama *Eid Train (2000) Drama *Loose Talk (2005) Talk show *Half Plate (1992) Drama *Mr K2 (1995 Film) *All Stage Dramas & Films Available in DVD.

Talk shows

In the talk-show '' Loose Talk'', which began in 2002 on ''

ARY Digital ''ARY Digital HD'' () is a Pakistani television network available in Pakistan. ARY Digital was founded by a Dubai-based holding company Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob and Salman Iqbal (ARY). The network is focused towards on Pak ...

'', he appeared as a different character in each episode with a total of over 400 episodes interviewed by the TV host

, who was also the writer of the programme. Akhter also briefly hosted the game show '' Kya Aap Banaingay Crorepati?'', the Pakistani version of '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. He hosted shows involving major personalities and performed on stage alongside Indian legends including

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

and

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

Television drama serials

Akhter acted in several films, sitcoms and dramas, and hosted many TV talk shows, including:

Host

He hosted shows with invited dignitaries including King Husain of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, Prime Minister of

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Dawoodi Al-Joza, Presidents Zia-ul-Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, General Yahya Khan and

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

(Akhter mimicked the president in his presence), Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the legendary Indian film actor

Songs and albums

;Album – Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe * "Chhorr Ke Jaane Wale" * "Choat Jigar Pe Khai Hai" * "Ro-Ro Ke De Raha Hai" * "Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe" * "Dard Hi Sirf Dil Ko Mila" * "Dil Ro Raha Hai" * "Hoten Hai Bewafa"

Death and legacy

Akhter died on 22 April 2011 at about 4:30 pm in Karachi after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons. Funeral prayers for Akhter were offered in Tauheed Masjid near his residence. Thousands of people attended the funeral prayer which was led by Junaid Jamshed. Many Bollywood actors paid tribute to Akhter including Johnny Lever,

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

, Javed Jaffrey and

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 15 July 1946) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliament ...

. The world-famous wax museum Madame Tussauds has expressed a wish to include a waxwork of Moin Akhter in its London museum. If the statue is made, it will be the first for any Pakistani entertainer at Madame Tussauds.

Awards and nominations

* Honorary Citizenship of Dallas in 1996 for his achievements. * Special Award for Comedy in The 1st Indus Drama Awards 2005 *

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 ...

, awarded in 1996 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 ...

* In 2000 he won Best Actor Award at PTV Awards * Sitara-i-Imtiaz, awarded in 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhter, Moin 1950 births 2011 deaths Pakistani Muslims Muhajir people Pakistani male comedians Pakistani male film actors PTV Award winners Pakistani playback singers 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Pakistani male stage actors Pakistani male television actors Pakistani game show hosts Pakistani impressionists (entertainers) Male actors from Karachi Muslim male comedians Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Male actors in Urdu cinema Hum Award winners Recipients of the Pride of Performance Entertainers from Karachi