Shaheer Ahmed
After a protracted illness, veteran actor and playwright Shoaib Hashmi passed away on Monday.
PTV broke the news on its official Twitter account. Hashmi was a professor of economics and the husband of Salima Hashmi, an educator and artist. He received a master’s degree in economics from Government College in Lahore, a master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics, and he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, according to PTV.
According to a 2012 Dawn feature on him, he is remembered for his TV productions Akkar Bakkar, Sach Gup, Taal Matol, and Balila as well as the columns he wrote for The News and Gulf News.
Hashmi also translated a few books and authored a lot of plays. His translation of A Song for This Day: 52 Poems by His Father-in-Law Faiz Ahmed Faiz is among his most renowned works. The book was illustrated by his wife.
Due to the dearth of Urdu playwrights and drama magazines, he also translated many English plays for regional theatres.
Hashmi’s talent and dedication were acknowledged through accolades such as the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz and the esteemed President’s Award for Pride of Performance.
One of the most outstanding elements of his character was his humble, warm, and unpretentious demeanour. But what really made him famous was his diverse personality, which he communicated through a variety of media. Despite being highly regarded as a superb teacher and mentor, Hashmi will probably be most known for his innovative and humorous television programmes from the 1980s and his clever editorials.
