LAHORE: Prominent TV, film and stage actor Nighat Butt passed away in Lahore on Friday after suffering a stroke. She was 72.

For almost three decades, she remained active in showbiz. Her husband, actor Abid Butt, had passed away some four years ago. The veteran actor breathed her last at a local hospital. Her last days were miserable owing to economic constraints and medical complexities she was facing. She was suffering from multiple diseases such as blood pressure and diabetes and her mental health had also been affected. The showbiz circles earlier this year had requested the Punjab government for financial aid for the actor.

Nighat was a prominent actor of her times she acted in several TV plays such as Khwahish, Pyaas, Landa Bazaar and Waris. She also did a lot of stage plays in early and mid-1960s.

Nighat’s contemporary actor Masood Akhtar told Dawn that she was a fabulous artiste of her times.

“We acted in many stage plays in 1966 with towering stage personalities such as Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Dr Enver Sajjad and Rasheed Umar Thanvi”.

Veteran actor Qavi Khan and a contemporary of Nighat expressed grief over her demise. To him, Nighat was a fine actor who was the face of the PTV in initial years and acted in several PTV plays.

Qavi Khan said Artists Welfare Fund should be streamlined so to save the artistes to suffer from economic woes. He said the government was doing a lot through the Artists Welfare Fund but the system needed to be streamlined.

Nighat left behind three daughters and a son. Remembering his mother, her son, Nomi, said his mother was suffering with multiple medical complexities.

The deceased was laid to rest in E-Block of Model Town. Quran Khwani will be held on Sunday between Zohar to Asr prayers at D-Block Mosque of the locality.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2020