KARACHI: Friends, co-artists and members of actor Shakeel’s family went down memory lane on Thursday evening to share his memories with the audience at an event held to pay tribute to him.

Shakeel, whose real name was Yousuf Kamal, died on June 29 this year.

Actor and director Ehteshamuddin was the first one to speak at the event, which was moderated by Huma Mir.

He said when he heard the news of Shakeel’s death, it rendered him speechless. Twenty days prior to his demise, the actor had phoned him to ask Ehtesham to direct his last play, for which Shakeel had already roped in Anwar Maqsood as the writer. When he [Ehtesham] replied he’d gladly direct it and it wouldn’t be his last play, Shakeel remarked that he was an artist; he knew when to deliver the last line from the script and when it’s time for the curtain to drop.

Nilofar Abbasi, who spoke from the US via phone, said the loss of artists such as Shakeel is the loss of an entire country.

Raju Jamil said he first met Shakeel in the 1960s. He interacted with him at a function where Shakeel had come meet his Jamil’s father. “I said, who is this handsome guy! I can’t explain how good looking he was.” Talking about the late artist’s sartorial sense, he said Shakeel introduced dress code to Pakistan Television.

Sajid Hasan said he had known Shakeel from his childhood. His brother-in-law was his [Sajid’s] classmate. “The kind of popularity that he achieved at a certain period of Pakistani TV is now impossible to have. He brought about a difference on television with his dress sense and good looking features… He was a virtuous (nek) man. He worked less because he used to say ‘no’ to substandard work. His message was that we should always improve our work.”

Misbah Ishaq said Shakeel was an amazing human being. “He was a gentle soul. Whenever I worked with him as an actor — and I’ve also had the privilege of directing him — he would never let you feel that he was such a huge star, a legend. After working with him, you always felt you’d learnt something. He was a great teacher. Today I’m missing [writer] Haseena Moin because she and Shakeel were the best of friends. They’d always be together.”

Renowned director and producer Qasim Jalali said he had a long association with Shakeel. When he went to Government College Nazimabad for [intermediate] admission, Shakeel had already finished college. “That’s where I saw him for the first time. After joining PTV in 1970, we kept meeting each other. I have seldom met such a nice person.”

Arts Council president Ahmed Shah recalled the time when Shakeel visited the Arts Council for vaccination and also when he did a one-man show.

Bakhtiar Ahmed, Mustafa Qureshi, Shahid Iqbal Pasha, Maheen, Iqbal Latif, Zeenat Yasmeen (from the US over the phone), Amjad Shah, Huma Nawab and Shakeel’s wife (Fari), son (Haider) and daughter (Hira) — among others — also spoke.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2023