Moin Akhtar - Thank you for the laughter
Sometimes you don’t realize the magnitude of one’s influence on you until their passing. I feel the passing of a legend such as Moin Akhtar has had the same effect on many across Pakistan and Pakistanis around the world.
I was perhaps no more than seven or eight when I first heard of Moin Akhtar from my father. As a comedian he was renowned for his wit and exceptional timing but more than that, my father would remark that making jokes for the family is not an easy job. With other comedians you feel sometimes that the threshold of decency may be crossed in order to deliver the punch line but with Moin Akhtar you always knew that he was going to take the entire family along for a hilarious time.
The irony of the whole situation is how much we need laughter in our country and for someone to continue to make us laugh and think at the same time. Moin Akhtar had that quality in him, he was able make you laugh, pause for a moment, think on what he had said and make you laugh some more.
Loose Talk written by Anwar Maqsood and intelligently performed by Moin Akhtar was a remarkable insight into comedy at its finest. The man of a thousand disguises was also a man of humbleness and pure patriotism. You can’t act a character if you don’t believe in what that character stands for. By way of all the different get ups and all the different looks throughout the show, Moin Akhtar did justice to every farce, skit, subtle play of words, pun and inference he made towards the situation put down on paper by Anwar Maqsood. The show was able to bring out the anger, frustration, jubilation, sorrow, disappointment and excitement of the entire nation through the comical wit of a man who knew how to be more than just one person.
When you see a comedian in real life, you expect them to be only funny; expecting something other than a joke or two is beyond belief. But with Moin Akhtar, you knew for a fact that this man was one of more than just a funny bone that defined his existence. He had a voice and you couldn’t stop him for making his voice be heard.
I had a chance to hear an interview of his a few months before his death and it was heartwarming to see that a man of his caliber was more worried about the youth of this nation then his own personal achievements and future aspirations. He had more soul in his voice than all the politicians and bureaucratic scum put together. He was worried for the future of the nation and it struck a chord in my heart, made me respect him even more. His wish was to see that one day the youth of the nation would be completely different from the rulers of our times. He made no joke about it and was as clear as day on the point that a nation is as strong as the youth is breeds.
There is no doubt in my mind that on the 22nd of April 2011, generations of Pakistanis felt the same way for one single man that perhaps they haven’t felt for a long time.
Moin Akhtar, for you I will always be praying. Thank you for all those times of joy, those moments of laughter when I could forget the pain and suffering we see around us, the number of times you’ve talked about the current world we live in, in a funny way and yet made your point on how we must change, how we must grow together as a nation, how the youth should be stronger than what it is right now. I respect you and thank you for believing in us and I pray that as a nation we learn from your messages and can be better than what we are.
Once again, thank you for the laughter.
I was perhaps no more than seven or eight when I first heard of Moin Akhtar from my father. As a comedian he was renowned for his wit and exceptional timing but more than that, my father would remark that making jokes for the family is not an easy job. With other comedians you feel sometimes that the threshold of decency may be crossed in order to deliver the punch line but with Moin Akhtar you always knew that he was going to take the entire family along for a hilarious time.
The irony of the whole situation is how much we need laughter in our country and for someone to continue to make us laugh and think at the same time. Moin Akhtar had that quality in him, he was able make you laugh, pause for a moment, think on what he had said and make you laugh some more.
Loose Talk written by Anwar Maqsood and intelligently performed by Moin Akhtar was a remarkable insight into comedy at its finest. The man of a thousand disguises was also a man of humbleness and pure patriotism. You can’t act a character if you don’t believe in what that character stands for. By way of all the different get ups and all the different looks throughout the show, Moin Akhtar did justice to every farce, skit, subtle play of words, pun and inference he made towards the situation put down on paper by Anwar Maqsood. The show was able to bring out the anger, frustration, jubilation, sorrow, disappointment and excitement of the entire nation through the comical wit of a man who knew how to be more than just one person.
When you see a comedian in real life, you expect them to be only funny; expecting something other than a joke or two is beyond belief. But with Moin Akhtar, you knew for a fact that this man was one of more than just a funny bone that defined his existence. He had a voice and you couldn’t stop him for making his voice be heard.
I had a chance to hear an interview of his a few months before his death and it was heartwarming to see that a man of his caliber was more worried about the youth of this nation then his own personal achievements and future aspirations. He had more soul in his voice than all the politicians and bureaucratic scum put together. He was worried for the future of the nation and it struck a chord in my heart, made me respect him even more. His wish was to see that one day the youth of the nation would be completely different from the rulers of our times. He made no joke about it and was as clear as day on the point that a nation is as strong as the youth is breeds.
There is no doubt in my mind that on the 22nd of April 2011, generations of Pakistanis felt the same way for one single man that perhaps they haven’t felt for a long time.
Moin Akhtar, for you I will always be praying. Thank you for all those times of joy, those moments of laughter when I could forget the pain and suffering we see around us, the number of times you’ve talked about the current world we live in, in a funny way and yet made your point on how we must change, how we must grow together as a nation, how the youth should be stronger than what it is right now. I respect you and thank you for believing in us and I pray that as a nation we learn from your messages and can be better than what we are.
Once again, thank you for the laughter.
Hi Jellyman. While not to take away from your point that the loss of Moin Akhtar is a loss to the nation so sorely in need of more people like him, for me Moin Akhtar's death has struck at a much deeper, much more personal level.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up abroad, the only link I'd have with Pakistani culture was my father, and his insistence against all outcries, every now and then, to hog the living room television to watch PTV. Between the television set and his reminiscing, we grew up hearing about the icons of Pakistani culture and Arts, from tv shows like 50/50 and Sona Chandi, to personalities, like Moin Akhtar and Naseebo Lal, books and authors like Aik Mohabbat Sau Afsanay, even down to the more widely quoted verses from Mirza Ghalib and Iqbal.
So when I heard about Moin Akhtar's death, it was like another little piece of the world my father left behind went off after him. And then the reality begins to catch up, that not many years from now...the world my children will grow up in will have nothing in common with the world my father used to tell us about. Because I'm not sure I see many icons today to leave behind for my kids that can have as enduring an impact as Moin Akhtar's.
Eraj,
ReplyDeleteI can relate similarly with you. Living abroad right now, the first person I called to convey my grief was my father, who obviously was torn by the news. For him the willingness to watch anymore shows on Pakistani television has completely ended.
Moin Akhtar may have been one of the few who had fans from every generation. He was able to reduce the generation gap and bring together families for moments of enjoyment which we needed every single day while growing up. For that and so much more, he will truly be missed.
i'll be honest here, and this is the first time I am admitting this in public. I think PTv has had a major input in shaping up my personality, I wanted to be an anchor not the type that we see these days but the likes of Naeem Bukhari, Moin Akhtar, people who are educated, articulated, have an opinion and knew the art of weaving a conversation. Noone knew the art better than Moin, Jellyman mentioned that he was a great comedian but with that he was also a great anchor, and an actor......
ReplyDeleteMOIN IS A LEGEND, HIS WORK WILL CONTINUE TO ASPIRE MANY LIKE MYSELF FOREVER!!!!
can really relate to the above comments re: growing up abroad and watching comedians from back home. And to your point adeel re: the family friendly humor. I miss how things used to be - when you didnt have to spend Rs. 5 - 10K on joras to fit in, when it wasnt how much money you made but how respectable and educated you were and how 'sharif' families could live safely and humbly without being ashamed. Pakistan has changed...and with the passing of greats like Moin Akhtar, Nusrat Fateh and the murder of minorities I feel like we lose a bit of our soul and identity every single day.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Lisa, he wasn't just a comedian, but a much more well rounded entertainer!
ReplyDeleteWith regards to his family friendly humour, well those times are well and truly behind us so no use reminiscing about them....
Being a fellow expat, I desperately cling on to anything and everything Pakistani, I still love when my group and I regale in the good old days and stories that lead back to ding dong bubbles, gaye wali toffee and basically the innocent times, but the fact remains that those are just memories now, and the hard reality is the violence and prevalent looting by the politicians that currently plagues our beloved country....
I agree Eraj, we don't have icons to leave behind for our children today, no clean ones atleast or ones with similar character and dignity like Moin Akhtar, but that predicament itself lends to the thought/possibilty of we ourselves taking up that responsibility..... ever think about that!
Nice tribute Jellyman! Keep blogging dude :)
ReplyDeleteAssalam u Alaikum,
ReplyDeletei dont know you Mr.Jellyman but all i wanted to say here that i have just read this blog of yours which actually bought back all my memories and tears all over again.Thank you for all those kind words for my father from me and from behalf of my family.means a lot.....i have read all the comments too and trust me i just cant find words to convey my regards to each and every one of you guys.thank u Eraj,Faiza,Sa'id Chaudhary,Shaku,Lisa Ray and Jellyman..beautiful words..love u guys and thank u once again.