ISLAMABAD: Admirers of iconic performer Jamshed Ansari observed his 17th death anniversary on Wednesday and paid rich tributes to his unforgettable service in the entertainment industry.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Ansari has to his credit over 200 TV dramas, three films and many radio and stage serials.
While his first TV play was “Ghora Ghaans Khata Hai” (written by Agha Nasir), it was his role in “Uncle Urfi” — in which he flicked a small, innocuous-looking knife and squeaked cheekily that “chakku hai merey paas” — that made him a household name.
Ansari was born on December 31, 1942, in the Saharanpur city of Uttar Pradesh in British India. In 1948, at the age of six, he, along with his family, migrated to Pakistan.
He received a Bachelors of Arts (BA) degree in 1964. Later that year, he arrived in London where he spent the next four years of his life. There, he studied television production and worked in stage shows as well as for British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Ansari returned in 1968. In Pakistan, his first stab at acting was in the Pakistan Television play Jharokay which was shot and telecast in the same year.
Ansari’s love for acting not only took him irresistibly to the stage and television, but to radio as well. He contributed to numerous radio programmes.
He earned 55 national and two international awards in his career.
He breathed his last on August 24, 2005. He left behind his wife, two daughters and a son.
