Alhamra, Lahore Arts Council and Yadein, organized a reference in commemoration of veteran actor Jamil Fakhri who died recently in Lahore.
Presided over by Syed Asif Hashmi, the program was attended by many and several speakers spoke at the occasion. They collectively prayed for the souls of Moin Akhtar, Khwaja Parvez, Babboo Baraal, Mastaana, Liaquat Soldier, Albela, and Khayam Sarhadi, who had all recently passed away and were a great loss to the entertainment industry in Pakistan.
Amina Ulfat, MPA, said on the occasion that the artist is the only one in the society who has the sensitivity to understand others and will always remove his own self before others. She said through empathy they sing, act, write and perform and this was not an easy task to accomplish. She said they were the real heroes of our society because they were the ones possessing a sensitive heart.
Tufail Akhtar, editor of film magazine Muskurahat, remembered some incidents and anecdotes of Fakhri which were both happy and sad and denoted his devotion to acting.
He remembered when Fakhri’s baby daughter had passed away and he was at the set when he was told the grave news. But he completed his act and then suddenly started crying very loudly. It was only after this that the others knew that his daughter’s body was waiting to be buried, but Jamil Fakhri did not stop his work for his personal pain and loss, remembered Tufail.
Khawar Naeem, remembered Fakhri’s sensitivity when he told of a drama serial where he was acting a father who eventually shot his son. At the end of the acting session Fakhri burst into tears. “Today this horrific incident has happened in reality to Jamil Fakhri and his family and this is what eventually destroyed him,” he said.
“I never thought I would come to Al Hamra and Jamil Fakhri would not be here,” said Asif Hashmi, who remembered that his laughter would echo in the Alhamra corridors when he used to visit and mentioned the beautiful performances that the actor gave in Athar Shah Khan’s plays “Uff” and Baywaqoof”.
Meanwhile Dr Iftikhar Shah read out a condolence column by Dr Farooq Sattar and said that the MQM had extended their full support in trying to find Jamil Fakhri’s missing son Ayaz in the US. Iqbal Haider said that Fakhri was so powerful in the 1980s play “Waris” that everyone used to stop what they were doing and watch it. “He was the King of showbiz and the lead actor of Andhera Ujala has left the country in a darkness of its own,” he said.
Chief Guest Ataul Haq Qasmi, who is also chairman of Lahore Arts Council, said that when Jamil Fakhri acted in his play Haveli, people were more mesmerized by his performance rather than anything else in the play. “He was playing the family head and had layers and layers of make up to handle but unlike many other actors, he never fussed about it. Instead he used to cooperate with everyone.
“There has never been a person more simple, loveable and open hearted than Jamil Fakhri,” he said. “I would say his death happened when his son Ayaz was confirmed dead, and this was just his burial. The man was a like a sufi, who immersed himself in his work just like a sufi immerses himself in the worship of God,” said the poet.