The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) paid rich tributes to its founding head Zia Mohyeddin as a four-day festival in memory of the legendary thespian kicked off at the academy on Wednesday.
Director, actor and voice artiste Mohyeddin passed away in his 90s on February 13 after a brief illness. He died in harness as even in his 90s, he was associated with Napa as the professor emeritus and a few weeks ago, he had attended an event at the Arts Council of Pakistan held in honour of Indian writer Javed Siddiqui where he recited a sketch penned by the author of his grandmother.
The late artiste enjoyed a legendary status in the country for his services to various forms of arts, especially theatre, and his impeccable and highly cultured style of reading literary texts. He was a sought-after artiste at the literary festivals across the country where he would draw large crowds in sessions where he recited prose and poetry.
After his demise, Napa had announced holding Zia Mohyeddin Festival which commenced on Wednesday. The four-day festival includes talks on the life and craft of Mohyeddin and screenings of documentaries about him as well as plays and films which he directed or starred in.
On the first day of the festival, Napa screened a production of an Urdu adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear that Mohyeddin had directed a few years ago. A talk was also held about Mohyeddin’s towering personality and his contributions to various art forms in the country.
Napa Chief Executive Officer Junaid Zuberi, board members of the academy and various art practitioners participated in the talk. Eminent speakers included Javed Jabbar, Arshad Mahmud, Khalid Ahmed, Dr Ishrat Husain and Mahtab Akbar Rashdi.
