Artists Are Born to Die In Penury And Humiliation In Pakistan...

Mohammad Shehzad

‘Don’t send me Happy New Year messages. This year like its predecessor won’t be
happy from any angle but loaded with posts of heavy news.’ I wrote this last month in
one of my columns. So bear the first bad tidings of 2023 – renowned TV comedian
Majid Jehangir passed away hours ago in Lahore.

For the past several years, Majid was in a miserable physical state – so abominable that
left him no option but to carry banners/placards on the streets of Lahore for alms. About
six years ago, I was driving through a busy road in Lahore. The traffic congestion
brought my driver to a standstill and I got an opportunity to talk to a fine artist.

I did not want to embarrass him by asking what pushed him into impoverishment or why
he was facing penury in old age. A man in his situation should not be questioned. He
should talk himself. So, I said to him that people were proud of him for bringing mirth
and smiles into their lives. His reaction was thought-provoking.

‘I deeply regret my endeavours of making people laugh. Instead of becoming an actor, I

should have been selling sonth ka paani (dry ginger spicy water). It would have saved
me from this humiliation that you too are witnessing today. Those who are making
people laugh today should look at me and learn from my plight. Do something else and
you will never regret. But this profession (acting) will do you no good in the
downswing! You will cry in the end and people will forget you. They might laugh at
you!’

Majid was right. But he could have been disproved by those who run this country. It is
not difficult to invest a couple of billions in a real estate project exclusively for the
welfare of needy artists. For example, a commercial plaza. Its rent will be enough to
provide bread and butter to the artists who are now forced to live in wretched
circumstances. But corruption is an incurable issue in our system. If such a scheme is
launched, the biggest beneficiary will be the bureaucracy. Artists will continue to die in
the state of helplessness like Mastana, Babbu Baral, Amanullah and Tariq Teddy.

Majid rose to eminence through the PTV classic skit show Fifty Fifty – not as soloist but
as a duo with Ismail Tara. The latter was always the leading character that Majid
supported brilliantly. It was not easy to earn recognition in a supporting role with Tara.

Majid’s health continued to deteriorate. He was partially paralyzed. Weeks before his
death, he fell from bed and injured his spine. He was on death bed. A man on death bed
never lies. He accused two well-known anchors – Waseem Badami and Iqrarul Hassan –
of stealing his money which was in millions. It was raised by them in the name of his
welfare. Before dying, Majid gave interviews to many youtubers in which he said that he
will hold Badami and Hassan accountable for his money in the hereafter. It is a dreadful
curse if understood carefully. Why to blame the state institutions for corruption when
private journalism is equally dishonest.

Now, all the politicians and bureaucrats in the realm of art will tweet in which they will
acknowledge Majid as a great artist whose services will never be forgotten. They all will
admit that his death was untimely and it has left a void in the world of comedy that will
remain wide open forever.

Such messages are ready-made products. Just names and dates are changed. The name
yesterday was Ismail Tara. And today it is Majid Jehangir. Tomorrow it will be another.
Nobody will do anything good for the artists. They will be left in the clutches of illness,
poverty and death. Majid was not an ordinary artist. He was another name of creativity.
He was also a recipient of Pride of Performance. But what for: to die in oblivion and
humiliation?