Omar Sharif was very much influenced by the emperor Zarafat Munawar Zarif from his childhood, when he added the rhyming word ‘Sharif’ to his name, otherwise his real name was Muhammad Omar. It is also a strange coincidence that Omar Sharif never met him.
Winds were blowing on the face of theater director Samad Yar Khan. With just two hours to go before the stage play began, his main artiste AK Patel walked home as soon as he heard of his wife’s death.
Couldn’t figure out what would happen, because AK Patel’s role in the story of this stage play was very important. Tickets for the play were sold out and the selection of a new actor in such a short time meant that the spectators’ anger could skyrocket if they made the slightest mistake.
His assistant was well aware of this situation. He said nervously, ‘Sir, there is a boy who is seen sitting in the canteen of Adam G. Hall every day, robbing everyone with his witty jokes and imitations. If you don’t mind, call him.
Director Samad Yar Khan had no other choice, he said yes after some thought but a few moments later when a thin fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy stood in front of him, he fell at six and five. Went to see what comedy he would do and how people would react to it.
But the only thing was that there was no other choice, so they took the drowning man to the make-up room with the help of a straw. He read the 30- to 40-page script carefully until his make-up was done.
Before the start of the play, the director and the theater staff were also shocked, but when the boy came on stage in the guise of an astrologer, he performed so well that the hall resounded with applause. Whenever this boy made an entry in the play, he would make the hall a saffron czar with his outstanding performance. The audience applauded and applauded his natural acting and comedy timing.
When the drama ended, there were prizes for the best performance and interestingly, the prize of five thousand rupees and a motorcycle was won by the same boy who had walked around Adam G Hall and rubbed his shoes.
It was Omar Sharif who later achieved what he called the ‘Emperor of Comedy’ in the world of comedy. His eloquence and humor freed him from the bondage of borders.
Omar Sharif was born in 1955 in the Ram Swami area of Karachi. At a very young age, his father’s shadow rose from his head. Naughty nut khat and every art Maula Omar Sharif walking around the neighborhood just copying people. Sometimes they used to loot after hearing jokes, sometimes they used to make the voices of movie stars and became the star in the eyes of the entire neighborhood. Someone advised you not to waste so much talent in the streets like this, turn to a theatrical drama if they go to Adam G Hall again and again but fail, and then the door of fortune finally opens after the absence of an artist. Just gone
Omar Sharif was very much influenced by the emperor Zarafat Munawar Zarif from his childhood, when he added the rhyming word ‘Sharif’ to his name, otherwise his real name was Muhammad Omar. It is also a strange coincidence that Omar Sharif never met him. Once he reached the hotel to meet him, Munawar Zarif was enjoying a good night’s sleep when he returned disappointed. However, when he turned to Lahore, he kissed the walls of Munawar Zarif’s house and expressed his devotion to him.
At the very beginning of this artistic journey of Omar Sharif, he met Furqan Haider, who wrote the stage drama ‘Bionic Servant’ with him in which Omar Sharif also showed the essence of acting. This was Omar Sharif’s first commercial drama, in which he traditionally had great success.
After that, Furqan Haider and Umar Sharif became a couple. In Karachi, when a theater drama was staged, spectators would come to see Omar Sharif’s name. In the ’70s, people didn’t have much fun. That is why the business community of Karachi would go to different theaters to open some bridges after manipulating the calculations of the whole day, then Omar Sharif’s comedy would be enough for them to forget the fatigue of the whole day.
Omar Sharif released a series called ‘Omar Sharif Show’ through audio cassettes in the ’80s, the first part of which gained popularity among the masses, especially those who did not turn to the theater. Interesting phrases and comedy began to arrive. Five cassettes of this series of Omar Sharif came which were sold hand in hand.
This was the era of VCR and VHS, so after the success of the audio cassette series, Omar Sharif took a step forward and recorded his dramas and made it into a videocassette.
In this regard, ‘Yes Sir Eid No Sir Eid’, which came on Eid, broke all records of fame. After that, Omar Sharif became a part of every household. Videocassettes of one stage play after another came and further strengthened their sense of humor.
Due to the same popularity and fame of Omar Sharif, the deserted theaters of Karachi began to settle again. Omar Sharif became popular not only in Pakistan but also where Urdu was spoken and understood. In particular, many well-known Indian artists continued to imitate scenes from their plays and their performances.
Undoubtedly, Omar Sharif is the artist who spread the number of his fans all over the world without working on TV. Omar Sharif said that at the beginning of his career he tried hard to get a small role on PTV. There were a couple of occasions but then he was apologized for saying that his comedy did not conform to the traditions of TV and but at one point it happened that Omar Sharif became the need of every TV channel.
During this period, Omar Sharif not only worked in Pakistan television dramas and live shows but also hosted various programs.
The same success of Omar Sharif also drew him towards films. In 1986, he acted in the films Haasan and Khandan, but then in 1992, when his own directed ‘Mr 420’ was released in cinemas, the film made a splash with its humorous sentences, interesting story, and music. Omar Sharif received four awards, including Best Actor for ‘Mr. 420’. He is the only artist to have won four awards in a single year.
After this unprecedented reception, Omar Sharif gave the best of the best like ‘Mr. Charlie’, ‘Miss Fitna’, ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’, ‘Jhoote Raees’, ‘Bahrupia’, ‘Chand Babu’, ‘Khote Sake’ and ‘Chhapa Rustam’. He gave the gift of movies to his loved ones.
Omar Sharif’s many stages play made a splash, but ‘Bakra Kastoon Peh’ was the most popular among them, which had five seasons. According to Omar Sharif, he wrote the first part of the play in just two days.
What happened was that the pre-written drama was rejected by the censor board due to its political content. However, Omar Sharif quickly wrote this alternative drama. As far as his name is concerned, his idea came to him from a newspaper advertisement, which offered to get a goat for the middle class in installments.
After restoring the colors of the stage in Karachi, Omar Sharif also turned to 1993 in Lahore. There was a strong tradition of theater in Lahore, but Omar Sharif also planted flags there.
Omar Sharif, the recipient of the Medal of Distinction, has done various shows around the world to raise funds for Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Hospital. Inspired by this hospital, he built a hospital in his mother’s memory.
Omar Sharif’s artistic journey spanned five decades. His dramas were so popular that famous movie and TV stars would happily be part of them. In these dramas, where there is entertainment and humor, there is also a beautiful message of love for the homeland and service to humanity.
Omar Sharif was busy writing five books in those days, themes of which were fiction, poetry, spirituality, fiction, and his stage plays.
Recently, on the death of his young daughter, Omar Sharif passed away. When the secret of his success was revealed to Omar Sharif with a smile, he used to say that trust and faith in Allah, then great dialogues in comedy.
According to him, a good comedian is one whose good timing is unique and unpretentious. In fact, Omar Sharif was a public artist, whose dialogues and style of speech became common and special
