While on ailing artistes, it was a nice gesture on the part of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to pay a visit to the hospital in Lahore to which actress/director Shamim Ara was admitted a few weeks back. She still hasn’t recuperated. According to a news channel, the prime minister even handed a cheque to her husband. It’s sad that not many people from Shamim Ara’s own fraternity (actors, actresses, directors and singers) have visited her. It’s in difficult times that friends and friendship are tested.

Shamim Ara is an icon. She was the leading lady of the Pakistan film industry in the late ’60s and early ’70s and had a huge fan base. As a director she also didn’t do badly and made some memorable films. Let’s wish her well and hope that Lollywood bigwigs who often grouse about the bad treatment meted out to their industry show some character.