ISLAMABAD: Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, the man behind one of the most celebrated sitcoms of the country ‘Alif Noon’, breathed his last due to a heart attack after a prolonged illness in Karachi on Thursday.

The 85-year-old actor was born in the Indian state of Bihar in 1930, and played the prolific roles of actor, playwright, writer, director and editor.Rizvi reached the climax of his popularity during the airing of the sitcom Alif Noon where heplayed the character of ‘Allan’.

He remained the editor of popular digests, such as Tehzeeb, Aina and Shama for years and also remained attached with BBC Urdu for some time.But Rizvi was visibly distressed during an interview in June this year as he termed society’s collective insensibility towards performing arts and literature heartbreaking.

“Our society is in dire straits. Who has time for the arts in this day and age?” questioned the actor who dedicated over six decades to the field, adding “Our artists have drowned in waters of oblivion.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Kamal Rizvi. Paying rich tribute to the late actor in his condolence message, the minister said that he would be remembered for times to come due to his versatile role and humorous character particularly in the field of drama.

The minister said Kamal Rizvi also played an important role in the production of quality plays for PTV in his early years.He prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.