Prominent artist, director Rauf Khalid dies in accident

PESHAWAR: Noted artist, TV playmaker, film director and writer Rauf Khalid died in a road accident near Sheikhupura in Punjab on Thursday.
His family sources said the creative filmmaker and television writer met the tragedy when he was on way to Islamabad from Lahore via the Motorway. According to the Motorway Police, he sustained critical injuries in the accident and was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Sheikhupura where he succumbed to his injuries. He is survived by his widow, two sons and a daughter. He was the brother-in-law of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister and PPP leader Syed Zahir Ali Shah. His funeral prayer will be offered today at 3pm at the Government Higher Secondary School No 1 near Hashtnagri in Peshawar.
A recipient of the Pride of Performance Award, he was the founding president and chancellor of the National Institute of Culture Studies, Lok Virsa, in Islamabad. A former bureaucrat, Rauf Khalid was known for plays that highlighted the plight of the Kashmiri people. He also had some experience of working in films and television plays. He earned fame by writing the drama Madaar and a 52-episode comedy series Guest House. He also directed Angar Wadi, a 15-episode serial. In 1998, Rauf Khalid made Laag, a 27-episode TV serial, again written, directed and produced by him. In 2003, he released his debut film Laaj and was its writer, director, producer and actor. It didn’t do very well at the box office, but won 12 Bolan Awards, 14 Graduate Awards, 4 National Film Awards and Lux Style Award. In 2008, Rauf Khalid made his third television serial Mishaal as a writer, director and producer.
Rauf Khalid was also a painter, lyricist, orator and an educationist. His paintings were exhibited in the World Fine Art Gallery in New York and at the Omma Art Gallery in Greece.