Tribute paid to Roohi Bano at PNCA

Islamabad :

"Mujhey naam deney walo tumhey jan ki salami

mujhey meri zindigi mey gumnam ker key mara"

Pakistan National Council of the Arts held a reference and paid rich tributes to TV artist Roohi Bano (1951-2019)

She passed away in Turkey this week. Fans of Roohi Bano and speakers watched her TV performance and brief interviews on screen.

Roohi Bano was born in 1951. She did her Masters in psychology from Government College, Lahore. Few TV actresses did MA and probably none in psychology. She definitely had solid grounds for being different from the rest. Be it ‘Kanch ka Pul’, ‘Kiran Kahani’, ‘Kachey Pakey Rang’ or several other PTV jewels, she was always different and always at her best. True, she was totally devastated and lost her focus after tragic demise of her only son Ali. However, she was around to our being totally oblivious and indifferent to her presence for many years.

Lip service was paid every now and then by some, including TV networks. Was that enough to compensate the turmoil she was going through. We would leave that for some other time.

We lost Roohi Bano two decades back. Nobody but nobody cared for her during these two decades. The speakers at PNCA reference/tribute rightfully remarked that we wait for people to pass away to pay our rich tributes and glorified obituaries. This rarely comes in their lifetime. Roohi Bano, Khalda Riasat and Uzma Gilani have been our three most dignified, refined and polished artists from PTV. Now we have lost two of them.

Speakers paid rich tributes to her. Roohi Bano recited Ghalib and interpreted his poetry pretty well. It was recalled that Dilip Kumar after watching her TV performance, expressed his interest in working with Roohi Bano. This never happened.

The final speaker at the reference/tribute was Jamal Shah, director general, PNCA. He began by saying that one can think, feel and learn from the characters Roohi played over the years. Artists, actors, poets and writers have intimate relations with the soil. This brings them closer to creativity as well as being critical. They are inter-linked to their surroundings. They contribute to life and make it beautiful and a better place to live without traces of enmity, danger and hatred. This goes on till they pass away and become part of history. Jamal shah admitted the fact with some regret that he did not have to privilege to share acting space with Roohi. Had he had that opportunity, things would have been difficult for him in acting. Roohi Bano was unhappy because she lived in a selfish world. She gave all the talent she had but did not get anything in return. Ironically, PNCA should be helping and encouraging artists in need but it does not have the budgetary means and financial resources. Almost the entire budget goes for staff salaries and utility bills. Jamal Shah disclosed that he had made efforts to convince respective quarters that art and culture is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Investment in art and culture can bring back dividends and can take us ahead, away from violence and terrorism. Jamal Shah further disclosed that cultural policy announced last year would be implemented by the present government.

The tribute concluded with prayers for Roohi Bano.

— aijazzgul@gmail.com