Not many reign over a country as the King of Comedy for years on end. Umer Sharif did exactly that, as arguably Pakistan’s best and most-celebrated (and respected) comedian of his times. His death, at the age of 66, comes as a tragedy affecting so many of those that grew up on a steady diet of his comedic offerings. He gained a lot of popularity as a stand-up comedian, through his Urdu stage shows. Funny, and delivered in a style many in the audience could easily relate to, his sketches, a majority of which remained hidden from the eyes of formal critics, also touched upon social issues.
His timeless art cannot possibly be measured with the help of the current yardstick that is used to review a comedian’s work. Sharif made the most of the creative freedom that the platform offered and wrote sketches -- two of his biggest stage shows are Bakra Kiston Pay and Budhha Ghar Par He -- that, at times, had some unfiltered jokes but would leave everyone in splits. His sketches were also critical of some tone-deaf elites and their peculiar personality traits. He would often comment on the country’s political situation and government policies. Since his shows were performed in Karachi, he also took the liberty to comment on the city’s politics – at times offering a look into the city’s diversity. Sharif was a skilful artist who was able to gauge the atmosphere of different platforms. His TV persona was significantly different than what his fans had seen in his stage shows. He would intelligently access what was off-limits and carefully build his material around it. Sharif also enjoyed celebrity status in India. In the early 2000s, when India and Pakistan made an attempt to open borders for each other, Umer Sharif’s appearance on ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ and film awards became unforgettable moments on TV.
The fact that Umer Sharif spent years making generations of people laugh made his ill health and his last days in this world even more tragic – his family going through a hard time figuring out a way to move him to a hospital abroad. Though they finally managed to make arrangements to have him moved to a hospital in the US, he passed away en route in Germany. The stage that Umer Sharif has left behind stands empty. And while it is true that there will be new entrants, few can match his ability to pick up the small nuances that we so often miss. For now, the king’s crown remains unclaimed, but the thunderous applause and the loudest laughs that Umer Sharif received during all these years will continue to echo.
