Farooq Zamir

Farooq Zamir, who died this week at the age of 76 after a prolonged illness at a hospital in Lahore, represented the best days of PTV. These were the days when people around the country tuned in to the channel and viewed some of the most memorable plays and drama serials produced in the country. Zamir who began his career in the 1960s, after making an unusual switchover to the world of acting from business, was prominent for his portrayal of earnest characters central to the storylines in many of these ventures. His dramatic performances appeared to be effortlessly put together and he moulded into the role written for him with an ease that suggested both reality and superb use of the skills any good performer requires. He had fans across the country and continued his career later in life beyond PTV with Ashfaq Ahmed’s Suragh-e-Zindagi becoming one of his best known longer dramas. There were many others to go with it, and many continue to be watched over social media and other forums even today.

Today, in a world which centres entirely around the quickest and easiest forms of entertainment possible, there is perhaps less room for actors such as Zamir. It is also true that our talented artists receive far too little recognition. Yes, Zamir received the President’s Pride of Performance in 2001, but his skills on the screen did not materialise into rewards or even real recognition in any other form. This could be seen in the way Zamir’s death was received by even the media that paid little attention to this veteran’s work – having become used to sensationalised entertainment rather than serious art. Too many of what was best about the PTV productions put on through its prime years have never been replicated in the faster paced world of today. We need to rediscover the depth that actors like Zamir brought to TV and to their audiences, leaving them space in which to think and to consider with care the questions of society that are so significant to our daily lives.