After a prolonged illness, Kamal, one of the last standing patriarchs of the Pakistani film industry passed away.
Born as Syed Kamal in Meerat on 27 April, 1937, Kamal migrated to Pakistan in 1956 and ruled the 60s and 70s as a heart throb of Pakistani cinema.
Tall, light skinned and with puppy-dog eyes, Kamal’s uncanny resemblance to Raj Kapoor gave way to many opportunities.
It was the illustrious Shabab Kiranvi who spotted his talents and gave him a chance opposite Musarat Nazir in the 1957 release ‘Thandi Sarak’. The comedic caper received a lukewarm response but did set things in motion for the debutant along with a swooning female fan base.
Kamal went on to star in over a 100 films including Tauba, Aashiana, Honeymoo, Nai Laila Naya Majnoo and Siyasat and later acted in TV plays including Kashkol. He produced and directed over a dozen films including the surrealistic ‘Insaan Aur Gadha’, a one-of-a-kind film from Lollywood. The Rangeela starrer was political satire at its best and went on to earn critical acclaim while earning him the ire of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a subsequent ban.
Among his notable achievements were the Karachi Film Guild and Pakistan Film and TV academy that he founded. Apart from the National Award for best actor, he received 4 Graduate Award. He was the recipient of 4 Nigar Awards including the Life Time Achievement Award.
Talking about his work ethics and personality, Khalid Farshori, executive editor Akbar-e-Jahan, said that Kamal was an inspiration for all those around him. “Rather then being a Raj Kapoor clone, he tried and succeeded at breaking the mould and became a well known star in his own right. To date, we do not have an actor who tackled the romantic-comedy genre with ease and finesse. Check out the song, ‘Hello hello Mr Abdul Ghani!’ from the movie Behan Bhai and see his timings, they are perfect. No chance any actor can come up with a performance like that,” said Farshori.
“With Kamal’s death, yet another chapter of Pakistani cinema comes to a close. It was his punctuality that set him apart from the others. He would come on time and leave on time and this forced others around him to be punctual too,” said Aslam Illyas Rashidi, chief editor of Nigar while shedding light on the peculiarities of Kamal.
Summing up Kamal, Rashidi says that he was an initiator and did quite a few acts that many actors would shy away from. “He hosted TV shows including Har Taan Hay Deepak and the Kamal Show, a chat show that saw him interviewing celebrities.
He set up an academy and trained actors including Javeria Abbasi, Shamoon Abbasi, Saima Qureshi and Azra Siddiqui.
He is the only Pakistani actor to have written a biography, ‘Dastaan-e-Kamal’ that detailed his affairs, and it was later aired live on Radio Pakistan.
He dabbled into politics as an independent candidate, albeit unsuccessfully, but all the while he tried to do something different” Rashidi said.
Leaving behind a widow and three children, Kamal has also left behind a legion of fans who will miss the charming guy dancing alongside Husna as she went gaga chasing him all around at the Jehangir Kothari Parade and Clifton beach, singing “Hello Hello Mr Abdul Ghani!”.
