Moin Akhter (also: "معین اختر" Moin Akhtar), (24 December 1950 – 22 April 2011) was a Pakistani television, film and stage artist, humorist, comedian, impersonator, host, writer, singer, director and producer who rose to fame in the era of Radio Pakistan along with his co-actors Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari. He became an icon through his screen persona "Rozi" and is considered to be a one-of-a-kind parodist and the king of Urdu comedy.[3] His career spanned more than 45 years, from childhood in the Radio Pakistan era to work of great renown on television, film and stage until a year before his death in 2011.[4]
His father Muhammad Ibrahim Mehboob, who died at the age of 92, a few months following Akhter's death, was born in Muradabad, in the modern-day state of Uttar Pradesh in India, and, after the 1947 partition, settled in Karachi, where he "passed his life in his own printing press and as a contractor in the garments business."[5]
Akhter's sense of humour was highly dynamic and versatile. He made his television debut on 6 September 1966, in a variety show on Pakistan Television (PTV) to celebrate the first Defence Day of Pakistan.[6] He started as a comedian in 1966 by impersonating the Hollywood actor Anthony Quinn and mimicked one of the former USA's president John F Kennedy’s speeches. He has performed several roles in television stage shows, later teamed with Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari.[2]
Rozi
Akhter rose to the national spotlight and gathered critical acclaim for his performance in the drama Rozi (1990) in which he played the role of a female TV artist. Rozi was an Urdu adaptation of the Hollywood movie Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman. He called it one of his favourite on-screen characters that he had played.[1] Rozi was written by Imran Saleem and directed by Saira Kazmi.
Akhter died on 22 April 2011 at about 4:30 pm in Karachi after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons.[1] Funeral prayers for Akhter were offered in Tauheed Masjid near his residence. Thousands of people attended the funeral prayer which was led by Junaid Jamshed.[7] Many Bollywood actors paid tribute to Akhter including Johnny Lever, Javed Akhtar, Javed Jaffrey and Shatrughan Sinha.[8]
The world-famous wax museum Madame Tussauds has expressed a wish to include a waxwork of Moin Akhter in its London museum.[9] If the statue is eventually made, it will be the first of its kind for any Pakistani entertainer.[1]
Awards and nominations
Honorary Citizenship of Dallas in 1996 for his achievements.[10]
