They are saying by no means meet your heroes in individual — I met Qavi Khan and might report that he was as a lot a gentleman off display screen as he was on display screen.
Writing about an actor who enthralled generations together with his work is sort of a frightening process. Often, actors you admired in your childhood turn into something however good while you meet them in individual. Muhammad Qavi Khan was a real gentleman. He not solely impressed many together with his on-screen performances, however was equally charming off-screen.
Born on November 13, 1942 within the Peshawar of undivided India, Muhammad Qavi Khan had been round for ages. He started his profession as a baby artist from Radio Pakistan Peshawar in 1952, however future introduced him to Lahore, the place he obtained an opportunity to work because the lead in PTV’s first-ever play Nazrana (1964). For the subsequent couple of years, Khan shuttled between his job at a multi-national financial institution, and TV/movies. He later give up his job for a full-time performing profession. He was a daily in theatre as properly and had been performing since 1961. I used to be lucky sufficient to observe him play Nawab Sahab in a play at Karachi’s Arts Council in 2008.
From being PTV’s first result in the lead actor’s grandfather in movies — his final movie was Tich Button in 2022 — Khan had the behavior of stepping into the pores and skin of all of the characters he portrayed. His brief however highly effective efficiency because the helpless father of Faisal Rehman in Nahin Abhi Nahin (1980) was fairly touching.
In 1972/73, he performed the position of Waheed Murad’s father in Mulaqat whereas only a 12 months earlier, he performed his character’s colleague in Naag Mani. In 1978, he returned to play his father’s position in Parakh, the place he was first seen within the position of a police officer. The age distinction between Waheed Murad and Qavi Khan was simply 4 years but it by no means felt so on display screen. Khan credited Murad’s charisma for such outstanding performances — “Waheed ko performing karta dekh ke principal apni traces bhool jata tha [I would forget my lines after watching Waheed act],” was the reply from somebody who had performed all of the male-oriented roles out there in a movement image.
He even ventured into movie manufacturing however by 1980 had extra flops than hits to his credit score. His manufacturing Dhamki was ultimately launched as Paasban. It was Normal Zia ul Haq’s reign as president and Pakistan was concerned in preventing America’s battle with the united states in Afghanistan. Even the title textual content of Paasban, showing in shiny pink, was not spared, as pink was linked with the left.
Fed up with movies, Khan returned to TV to renew his second innings. Publicity to the world benefited him and the 80s introduced extra successes than his first few years. Figuring out his days as a lead had been over, Khan experimented with completely different roles. He was one of many 4 brothers in PTV’s lengthy play Mirza and Sons (1983), the place his character Rahat needed to emulate actor Qavi Khan. The dialogues, expressions and physique language of the wanna be actor are nonetheless a deal with to observe. Andhera Ujala was born after the success of TV play Rago me Andhera (1983) urged producers to show it right into a serial.
With Rahat Kazmi’s refusal to proceed, producers turned to Qavi Khan, whose performances as DSP Tahir Ali, immortalised the character. It influenced many like me a lot that each time we needed to tackle any colleague named Jaffar, the phrases that got here out could be, “Jaffar Hussain, yeh sab kya ho raha hai?”
When Nadeem-Shabnam starrer Pehchan (1975) was aired on TV in 1987, I used to be shocked to see Khan in an altogether completely different avatar — that of a smuggler. Upon studying of the household he deserted as a child, Khan not solely fights his boss — the standard bishum bishum — but additionally units out to fulfill his mom. Nonetheless recovering from the aftershocks of the ‘criminal’ actions of Khan’s character Rashid, I broke down on the eventual meet-up. Mehdi Hassan’s tera pyar mere jeevan ke sang rahega nonetheless resonates in my ears.
At the same time as somebody who grew up throughout Sultan Rahi’s rule as a prime field workplace draw, it was Khan who advisable that I begin watching Punjabi movies. He defined that there was not a lot distinction in understanding the language and after a while, it could look like an Urdu movie. Along with his suggestion, I found Sultan Rahi-less Punjabi cinema with Khan’s Manjhi Kithe Dhawan (1974) changing into my private favorite. Throughout my subsequent assembly with him, I requested concerning the inspiration behind the climax of his movie and his reply was extra of a efficiency.
Like an skilled theatre actor, he leaned to 1 aspect, transported himself to the 12 months 1964 and uttered: “Aurat ho tu tumharay jaisi, dost ho tu tumharay jaisa aur bewaqoof ho tu meray jaisa [A woman should be like you, a friend should be like you, and a fool like me],” the climax of his very first movie Rivaaj, directed by Diljeet Mirza and written by the maverick Riaz Shahid.
