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From Pakistan, with humour
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A tête-à-tête with the comedy king Umer Sharif on his penchant for drama and film
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I take my inspiration from the common man
FUNNY MAN Umer Sharif says Hyderabdis have a good sense of humour PHOTO: MOHD. YOUSUF
Think Umer Sharif and the rib-tickling buddha ghar pe hai from the Pakistani drama Bakra Qiston Mein comes to mind. If Tanhaiyan and Dhoop Kinarey and other mush soaps got folks on this side of the border moist eyed during the pre-Indian soap era, Umer Sharif's dramas and slapstick humour generated peals of laughter in the living room.
But the man with a funny bone who has the ability to make a dig on women says, "Why do you have fewer women dying is because the angel of death is not able to recognise the person without the makeup", men, politics and society, has the ability to send social messages with an equal poise using the theatre-friendly culture of Pakistan to the fullest.
"Theatre is very strong there. Even in a small city you will find 10-15 plays running at a given point. You have three genres - serious, semi and comedy, and a huge audience you can reach out to. Before I came here I was staging a social play for a charity cause. It is a thought provoking play on drug abuse," says Umer Sharif.
Sharif, who was in town last week, had a packed audience in Lalita Kala Thoranam go berserk with his witty remarks, ditties and more. "You have the same culture, same system in both the countries. And people have a good sense of humour in Hyderabad."
"I take my inspiration from the common man. You get the real issues from them and I create satires out of them," he adds. Ask him about humour on the Indian tube, "I met Shekhar Suman in Dubai where we shared the stage for Zee Cine Awards," he recollects.
Apart from creating satires, the other media that keeps him busy is cinema.
His current production Tum Mere Ho is a collaboration with India, starring Arati Chabria, Ashmit Patel and also Shehzad, yesteryear villain Ajit's son, and also finds some of the leading film technicians from this part of the world on board.
"It is a film directed and written and produced by me. I also act in the film. It is a romantic comedy. Eighty per cent of the film is shot in US and the rest will be in India. We are zeroing on locations in Ramoji Film City. Is cheez se hum Indo-Pak dosti ko badhawa de rahe hein (we plan to bring about Indo-Pak friendship with projects like these)," he says.
Sharif is also elated with the forthcoming release of the Indian magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam in Pakistan.
"This is a big event for us. This is the first door open for cultural exchange that will be followed by more Indian films," he says.
SYEDA FARIDA
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