KARACHI:Pakistan’s comedian king, actor, director, producer and television personality, Umer Sharif, passed away due to severe ailment on Saturday at a German hospital. He was 66.
On Wednesday, he was being shifted to the US through an air ambulance along with his wife Zareen Ghazal when he his health condition deteriorated. However, he was admitted to a hospital in Germany’s Nurembergon during his flight to the US. Germany had allowed the emergency landing on humanitarian basis and approved a 15-day visa for Sharif and his wife. His wife confirmed his death today.
On 11 September 2021, government formed a medical board to decide whether or not to send him abroad for treatment. He was granted US visa for medical treatment on 16 September 2021. The Sindh government had approved Rs40 million for his treatment. Umer Sharif, whose real name was Mohammad Umer, was born on April 19, 1955, in an Urdu speaking family in Liaquatabad area of Karachi.
In 1974, Sharif started his career from Karachi as a stage performer at the age of 14. He joined theatre, using the stage name Umer Zarif but later renamed that to Umer Sharif. Some of his extremely popular comedy stage plays were 1989’s Bakra Qistoon Pe and Buddha Ghar Pe Ha.
Sharif became a very popular star during this period. Much of the success came from the fact that he started to record his stage shows and his videotapes were rented out in a similar manner to movies. Yes Sir Eid and No Sir Eid were among the first stage plays to come out on video.
In October 2009, Sharif started hosting his own late-night talk show, The Shareef Show, on Geo TV. He interviewed many actors, entertainers, musicians, and politicians on the show. He also appeared as a guest judge on the Indian stand-up comedy show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, alongside Navjot Singh Siddhu and Shekhar Suman.
In 2006, the Umer Sharif Welfare Trust was formed with the stated goal of creating a state of the art health center that provides services free of cost. Sharif has received National awards for Best Director and Best Actor in 1992 for Mr. 420. He has received ten Nigar Awards. Sharif is the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year. He received three Graduate Awards. Sharif is also a recipient of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. Referred to as the “King of Comedy”, Sharif is considered one of the greatest comedians of Indian subcontinent. Popular Indian comedian Johnny Lever hailed him as “The God of Asian Comedy”.