As soon as the news of the death of Umer Sharif broke, for a couple of hours, I remained traumatized. Though I was mentally prepared for any bad news given the protracted illness of the legendary Umer Sharif, the impact of the news from Germany was shockingly severe. Once I recovered from the shock, I turned to a few clips of Umer Sharif, where he mercilessly satirized the ills running in the fashion industry. Not surprisingly, the throngs of the celebrity world sitting in the audience celebrated every single taunt, joke, mimicry and fun delivered by Umer Sharif. I laughed and forgot the shock of the death of the great comedian for the rest of the day.
That’s the power of comedy and comedians!
We are blessed to be raised in the world brightened by the sources of laughter like Umer Sharif, Nannha, Moeen Akhtar, Zareef Brothers, Amanullah, Babu Babral and so on. Forgive me as I have left out several names who would turn the table on just with their appearance on the stage or silver or TV screen. Who can forget to mention Albela, Mastana, Uncle Sargam, and Shauki Khan? Again, my apologies for forgetting so many stars.
What a grand list of comedians is given above!
Go through the list above, and you’ll realize that of them, many stars left the world stage earlier.
For decades, they helped the people beat and forget depression, tensions, financial troubles and domestic and official strains. Those were the days when these comedians were the sole source of bringing smiles and laughter to individuals and crowds.
As I have ventured into writing an obituary piece on the comedy king, I realize it is quite a struggle to string words and sentences to grieve someone like Umer Sharif. Yesterday, our newspaper carried a touching piece on Umer Sharif, penned by our brilliant contributor, Saiqa Younis. The piece narrates the power and confidence of Umer Sharif, when he stood up in front of a crowd, overwhelmed by the powerful presence of evergreen super star Amitabh Bachchan. The show management begged Umer Sharif not to touch a sensitive subject as Amitabh Jee. Umer Sharif agreed to their demand, so as not to panic the show organizers. When he took the stage, Umer Sharif, however, started his performance by discussing Amitabh in such a gentle and humorous way that the Shahenshah of Bollywood could not help laughing. This spread smiles on the face of the organizers too.
Someone said: “We judge people based on their clothes, social class, and, dare I say, ethnicity. Our comedians make light of these stereotypes regularly, and we laugh at their accuracy.”
Umer Sharif got his comedy content and subjects from the stereotypes around him. Till his last breath, Umer Sharif remained the king of comedy. He survived the changes on the horizon of comedy. By the time this piece is going into the press, the arrangements are in the works to fly his body from Germany to Pakistan.
Rest in peace, Umer Sharif Sahib! We are grateful for your work to spread smiles and laughter in this cruel world!
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