KARACHI: Popular playwright and actor Syed Kamal Ahmed Rizvi passed away here on Thursday. He was 85. He leaves his wife and a son.

Mr Rizvi was born in Gaya, Bihar, in 1930. He did his BA from Patna. In 1951, after the partition of the subcontinent, he migrated to Pakistan. Initially, he spent some time in Karachi, and then shifted to Lahore where his penchant for artistic pursuits endeared him to the artist community.

He rubbed shoulders with many literary luminaries, including writer Sadat Hasan Manto.

Mr Rizvi translated several English books into Urdu and wrote for magazines, including a children’s magazine. In the late 1950s, he tried his hand in theatre and started writing plays, both original and adaptations. Some of his popular stage and TV plays are Badshahat Ka Khatma, Julius Caesar, Hum Sub Pagal Hain and Bulaqi Badzaat.

In 1965, when Lahore’s television station became operational, he wrote and starred in the satirical drama series Alif Noon. The drama assumed iconic significance as it, by virtue of humourous and meaningful situations, exposed hypocrisies and double standards that existed in society.

He himself played the role of the cunning and scheming Allann in the play, while the affable Rafi Khawar played the part of his friend Nanha, who is diametrically opposed to Allann but always falls for his cunningness.

Their different physical attributes (Rizvi was thin and Khawar chubby) made them look like the Laurel and Hardy of Pakistan. Selected plays of Alif Noon, which was produced a few times on national television with regular intervals, were also compiled into books.

Mr Rizvi was a reclusive person. For the past many years, he was living a quiet life in Karachi. Last week, he went to Lahore where he took part in a cultural festival.

His sudden death shocked the showbiz fraternity and a big number of his admirers.

Mr Rizvi’s funeral prayers will be held in the mosque of Askari-III near Cantt Station after Friday prayers.

The bereaved members of the family were waiting for some other relatives to arrive in Karachi from other parts of the country, which was why by the time of filing this report it had not been decided which graveyard he will be laid to rest in.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2015