KARACHI: Veteran TV and film actor Anwar Iqbal, who made the ‘controversial’ Balochi-language film on Baloch hero Hammal-o-Mahganj, who had defeated Portuguese invaders in the coastal belt, passed away in Karachi on Thursday after protracted illness, according to his family and friends. He was in his 70s.

Ahmed Iqbal, brother and owner of Vsh TV told Dawn that Anwar Iqbal was suffering from multiple diseases.

He was a diabetic and had stomach issues.

He recently fell down at home and his health condition deteriorated.

His Balochi-language film Hammal-o-Mahganj could not be screened for decades

He was admitted to hospital, where he breathed his last.

His wife died around one and half months ago. He is survived by four daughters.

His funeral prayer was held at Baitul Mukarram Masjid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal after Isha prayer and he was laid to rest in the Mewashah graveyard.

Ahmed Iqbal said that his brother had done his master’s from the University of Karachi and adopted career in TV dramas in the 1970s. He worked in many PTV dramas and films.

He also made the Balochi-language film, Hammal-o-Mahganj, said to be the only Balochi-language motion picture made in Pakistan to date.

Ramzan Baloch, veteran writer from Lyari told Dawn that Anwar Iqbal was born in the Baghdadi locality of Lyari and subsequently, his family shifted to Muslimabad.

His father Haji Iqbal was a politician and businessman who had started a travel agency when PIA launched service between Karachi and Makran in the 1960s.

Ramzan recalled that Hammal was a Baloch hero who had fought and defeated Portuguese forces when they occupied coastal belt of Balochistan, including Gwadar.

Anwar Iqbal made the film on the Baloch hero in 1974 at Eastern Studio and himself performed the role of Hammal.

Film dialogue and script were written by veteran journalist Nadir Shah Adil, who also played a role in the film.

Its order for release at cinemas was passed. However, workers of the then National Awami Party (NAP) launched a massive protest against the film, contending that it may destroy Baloch culture.

Ramzan Baloch said that the main objection on the film was a dance performance by an actress who wore Portuguese cultural dress.

The protesters allegedly became violent and attacked cinemas and resultantly the film could not be screened for up to 30-40 years.

However, it was first screened at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi a few years ago. It was the first and the last Balochi film to date.

Ramzan Baloch said that the controversy over the film was basically an outcome of a “conflict” between the PPP and NAP workers, otherwise the film might have opened venues for more Balochi films and created more actors and stories.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021