Artistes in shock after Moin’s demise

LAHORE: Artistes have expressed their deep sorrow and grief over the demise of legendary actor Moin  Akhtar.
It seemed as if along with people of this country, the artistes’ fraternity was still in shock and it was hard to believe for its members that the always smiling face had left all his fans so suddenly.
Bushra Ansari said that when she saw Moin  in a TV show recently, he was looking shrunk and weak.
“Just five days ago, I called Moin  to inquire about his heath since he was looking shrunk but we could not talk and I left a message with his manager”. She said Moin was an ultimate artiste. He can’t be compared with any other artiste because he was matchless.
Saba Hameed said that she knew Moin for many years. He was sweet enough to resist as a human being and whoever met him became his instant fan.
He was the greatest actor Pakistan ever had and there could be no two opinions about it. His programme ‘Loose Talk’ would be considered a golden chapter in the history of entertainment, she added.
Samina Ahmed said: “We as a nation are blessed people that we had had people like Moin amongst us”.
Moin was simply brilliant and excelled in his work. We are not going to see more people like him. He was an asset to this country.
Though Samina Ahmed had not worked with Moin, she said that she and Moin  and some other artistes started their career almost simultaneously.
One of the pleasant memories she had about Moin was when she and other artistes in a private channel show gave Lifetime Achievement Award to Moin Akhtar. She also said that Moin ’s ‘Loose Talk’ had its own class and such a programme could only be done by Moin .
Irfan Khusat said Moin did two of his stage plays – Zoja Mohtarma and Shadi Meray Dada Ki – in Lahore at Alhamra Art Centre a decade ago. He was a down to earth, caring and kind-hearted person.
Giving example of Moin ’s kind heartedness, Khusat said that once a teleplay by an artiste could not be sold to a channel since the production was not so impressive.
When Moin came to know about this, he phoned the channel’s managers and told them that he was also part of the play. Later, Moin became a storyteller of the every episode of the play as he would give a recap of the production. He did all this to save the artiste from financial loss.
Khusat objected to calling Moin a comedian as being aired by various TV channels that ‘comedian and actor Moin  Akhtar passes away’. He said an artiste is an artiste; there was no comedy or tragedy actor. This distinction should not be there, he added.