Moin Akhter

Early life Akhter was born in Karachi, Pakistan on 24 December 1950.

Akhter was fluent in several languages, including English, Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Memoni, Pashto, Gujarati apart from his native Urdu.

Before joining the performing arts, Akhter worked as a mechanic.

Career

Early career Akhter started his acting career as a child actor at the age of 13. He played the character of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in theatre.

Television Akhter acted in several films, sitcoms and dramas, and hosted many TV talk shows, including: Rozi was written by Imran Aslam and directed by Saira Kazmi.

Talk shows In the talk-show Loose Talk, which began in 2002 on ARY Digital, he appeared as a different character in each episode with a total of over 400 episodes interviewed by the TV host Anwar Maqsood, who was also the writer of the programme. Akhter also briefly hosted the game show Kya Aap Banaingay Crorepati?, the Pakistani version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He hosted shows involving major personalities and performed on stage alongside Indian legends including Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Madhuri Dixit. Actor Mustafa Qureshi has argued that, unlike most comedians, Akhter never aimed for a film career as his brand of comedy was different from that shown in the movies back then.

Music Akhter was also a singer, having released an album where he reprised the classical songs of his life long friend Ahmed Rushdi.

Album – Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe Chhorr Ke Jaane Wale Choat Jigar Pe Khai Hai Ro-Ro Ke De Raha Hai Tera Dil Bhi Yun Hi Tadpe Dard Hi Sirf Dil Ko Mila Dil Ro Raha Hai Hoten Hai Bewafa

Death and legacy Akhter died on 22 April 2011 at about 4:30 pm in Karachi after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons. Many Bollywood actors paid tribute to Akhter including Johnny Lever, Javed Akhtar, Javed Jaffrey and Shatrughan Sinha. Sinha was an old admirer of Akhter, even becoming a supplier of his audio cassettes in Mumbai.

Madame Tussauds has expressed a wish to include a waxwork of Moin Akhter in its London museum. If the statue is made, it will be the first for any Pakistani entertainer at Madame Tussauds.

Awards and nominations Pride of Performance, awarded in 1996 by the Government of Pakistan. Special Award for Comedy in The 1st Indus Drama Awards 2005. In 2000 he won Best Actor Award at PTV Awards. Sitara-i-Imtiaz, awarded in 2011 by the Government of Pakistan.