Veteran actress Durdana Butt passes away at 83

KARACHI: Veteran actress Durdana Butt passed away after a protracted illness on Thursday. She was 83. Last week, she had been put on the ventilator after contracting Covid-19. Butt was battling cancer, but her condition worsened after she got infected with Covid-19. Born on May 9, 1938, in Lahore, she spent her childhood in London because her father was an education attache in Pakistan High Commission in the United Kingdom.

She graduated from the Kinnaird College, then moved to the University of Toledo, where she did her PhD in Ohio Educational Administration. She did a diploma in French from Paris and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Spain.

According to BBC Urdu, Butt married one of her relatives Saeed Ahmed Khan in 1967 who died after one and a half years of the marriage. Butt started her acting journey in the early '70s and got involved in commercials and modeling, which she did briefly on the PTV.

She also worked in theater where a director offered her a role in a comedy, which was the beginning of her long career. She had a flair for natural acting and expressions. In 1978, she co-starred with Moin Akhtar in the comedy show Fifty Fifty, which ended in 1984. She was well-received by the audience and became very popular with the audience. She co-starred with Moin Akhtar again in the 1982 comedy-drama "Naukar Ke Aage Chakar".

In 1980s, she played another comic role of Sultana Sahiba in the drama Angan Teerha alongside Shakil and Bushra Ansari, for which she received accolades. In 1985, she worked in “Tanhaiyaan” with Marina Khan, Shahnaz Sheikh and Badr Khalil.

In the play, she played the role of Bibi, who is a mother figure to the main protagonists (Marina Khan, Shahnaz Sheikh) who lose their parents in an accident. Butt is best known for her humorous roles in Ruswai, Intezaar, and Tanhaiyaan, among other dramas. Apart from working in dramas, she also starred in movies like Balu Mahi, Parey Hut Love, Ishq Positive, and Dil Diyan Gallan.

Besides her acting career, she remained associated with Beacon House School in Karachi for a very long time being a qualified educational administrator. The funeral prayer of the late television actress was held at the Sultan Masjid, Defence in Karachi.