Please, read about this great artist - one of the greatest from Pakistan. I can’t believe that PTV treated him like they did. No wonder Prime is nothing but ****.
Mohsin sahib, rest in peace. Innalilahewaalayherajiyon.
**Death of a great producer **
By Haseena Moin
We worked together for nearly 30 years. Thirty years is a lifetime, but when you suddenly lose such a friend, words fail you. PTV may get scores of good directors in the future, but never, ever will there be another Mohsin Ali. He was a great human being and a great director - a wonderful friend to share our happiness and sorrows with and who showed that he cared.
He was a very special person, full of humility and generosity of soul. He would give a part of himself to everyone - friends, relatives, his family, even strangers.
For one year he faced his illness and pain without ever complaining. He did not fight, just as he did not fight the unjust and cruel attitude of bosses and colleagues. He just gave in.
Two days before his departure, a few of us went to cheer him up. For two hours we talked nonsense, laughing, joking and he was very happy. We talked about the old days and old friends, especially Shoaib Mansoor, Zaheer Khan, Rana Shaikh and Arshad Mahmood. He missed those days. I promised that the next day Zaheer, Rana and I would come, and if possible, go some place to eat. We couldn’t make it for some reason. The next day we did go, but it was to say goodbye forever.
I remember when Atika, Sonia and I were leaving, he suddenly became very sad. He got up, held my hands, touched my forehead and said ‘I pray to God to take care of you always. God bless you.’ I was stunned. Why was he saying these words? It was very unusual and I had to hide my tears.
This was our last meeting. Two days later, make-up artist Kamaluddin called in the morning and very softly told me that Mohsin Sahib had left us. I was frightened and felt very lonely. All my friends of PTV had gone; Shoaib Mansoor, the talented, gifted director had left his job because the bosses wanted him to leave. Zaheer Khan had left. Sahira Kazmi was disheartened sitting generally in a corner doing nothing. Prime time was given to near and dear ones. So if Mohsin Ali died, it was not strange. He was a very sensitive man. How could he see this auction of PTV behind closed doors?
A friend is the best gift God gives and Mohsin Ali was a friend in the real sense of the word. Whenever I was happy, I wanted to share my happiness with him and whenever I was sad, he would somehow come to know and would either call me on the phone or come to visit me. We started working together in the '70s. Then Shirin Khan joined us. We were inseparable, always worked jointly - two directors and one writer. This was a new thing in the world of television here. We were friends. There were no jealousies, no shallow thinking. We did nearly 15 very popular serials together. Shirin learnt a lot from Mohsin Sahib. She was a friend, a colleague and a gifted drama director. She would always say that Mohsin was a good friend and teacher. Unfortunately, she left this world in her prime. The same illness, the same attitude.
Mohsin Ali was a perfectionist, never satisfied, always doubtful about his work. “I think we can make it much better,” he would say. A little change here and there. One always did what he wanted. The selection of artists was like a campaign and a serial for him was just like a battle he had to conquer inch by inch. This is what happened in Shahzori, Kiran Kahani, Uncle Urfi, Parchaiyan, Kasak, Bandish, Pal do Pal and lastly Eik naiy morr par.
The last serial was unlucky. He was very ill and could not sit down properly, nor could he stand all day, yet he did the serial. He hadn’t told anyone about his ailment. We thought it was just a backbone problem. His wife died. His mother died. Then he went to hospital for the operation. Only once during recording, when I was reading a scene to him, he stopped me and with a slight smile said “Do you know I have cancer.” I was so shocked that I did not say a word. I thought I might have heard the word wrong but Kamal told me it was correct. After that, it was constant torture to see him deteriorating before our eyes.
In 1972, I met Syed Mohsin Ali for the first time in Iftikhar Arif’s room. I had just passed out of university and did not know much about drama or about PTV. I must have looked scared as both Iftikhar and Mohsin Sahib tried their best to put me at ease.
Mohsin Sahib at that time was doing plays. He asked questions and I was so nervous that most of the answers I gave were either stupid or wrong. But the most amazing thing was that at the end, he said very sweetly that I should write plays. He had a unique insight and very strong observational powers. I can even say he could clearly see through your mind whether you were happy, worried or sad. He was like a guiding angel. He never discouraged anyone and never gave false encouragement.
He was a thorough gentleman; a multi-dimensional personality, a loving husband, caring father, obedient son and very understanding friend.
Mohsin Ali, who did nearly 30 hit plays and whose name is very popular in the world of Urdu drama, gave his life and his talent to PTV, but was very unlucky as the organization for which he did all this very cruelly and callously suspended him and removed him from his post as GM. After the death of his wife and mother, he would go to the office mosque five times a day. The bosses said he was wasting the centre’s time, that he was not taking interest in his work. So what if a person lost his wife and mother - work is work.
With immediate effect he was transferred from the post of GM to producer. He had no room. No place to sit in at the TV station for some time. But he did not complain. This was his punishment for being a very honest person. They could have waited six months as he was going to retire then. But no one can expect anything from this thankless world of show business. Even his last serial was transmitted very roughly. Everyone knew when the World Cup was going to start. They began the serial just before it began, putting the rest of the serial on hold for the World Cup. After the Cup, one more episode went on air and then stopped for some reason. After two weeks, it was resumed. Thank you very much PTV for this punishment of 30 years hard work. Why does PTV re-telecast all the previous serials of Mohsin Ali repeatedly?
I invite all those people who love Mohsin Ali’s serials and shows - like Show Sha, Studio Dhai and Studio Ponay Teen, all done with Anwar Maqsood and other shows - to go and have a look at his house. It is a very small one built by his father. Mohsin Ali had to return to this house after retirement. Even the people who are much junior to Mohsin have better houses. Then ask me what is the cause of the downfall of PTV. One of my friends was asking me how all these salaried persons could afford huge houses, big cars, servants. How could they send their children to foreign countries for studies? How can they throw such big parties? How could whole families go to Europe for summer and a very well known name in the world of PTV drama dies in a small room without an AC?
Who is responsible for this? Please forgive my bitterness because I have seen all these things and I know what is happening.