Johnny Walker- King of Comedy #5

No I am not.

That Ashfaq Ahmad is a well-known Pakistani writer and I am nowhere near him.I am a retired British Civil Servant, a freelance journalist,a freelance interpreter helping Asylum seekers and a part-time writer.

A little while ago, on ARY TV I watched a play written by Ashfaq Ahmad.I have forgotten the title but I must admit, after a long time I had seen a good play.

The story revolved round an ambitious boy coming from a rich family.He wanted to be a pilot and he was crazy about aeroplanes from his childhood,had pictures of aeroplanes,uniformed air force officers,pilots etc all over his bedroom and he always dreamed of flying.He was in love with a girl but she too was at times, fed-up with his mad ambition.He goes for selection in Pakistan Airforce and is successful in all the tests and interviews.Finally he goes to the airforce doctor who gives him the shocking news that he cannot fly as he has a very bad eyesight and the chances are that he would eventually go blind.Completely shattered,the boy breaks the news to his parents who spend lot of money on his treatment but his condition does not improve.He then quietly leaves home without telling anyone.His beloved waited for him for long but when he did not turn-up,marries somebody else.Years later this girl goes to some shrine with her husband where there are lots of people selling flowers,perfumes,garlands etc. She fancies some bangles spread out on a piece of cloth on the floor being sold by a poor man.She sits down and selects some bangles while her husband goes to buy something else.As soon as she speaks to the man,he recogonises her with her voice as he was blind.While talking to her,the girl also thinks that she had heard that voice before but she was not sure who he was.She buys some bangles and goes away.That man too moves away from there.Needless to say he was the same boy who wanted to be a pilot.

Pakistani television plays are definitely better than those on Indian TV.

Johnny Walker- King of Comedy `1` and `2`

Thanks. My apologies for omitting Anand as indeed I have not included in my list many other films in which Johnny Walker excelled.

`3`.Thank you for your comments.
Actually I had written a much longer article but perhaps due to shortage of space,it could not be accomodated in Chowk.

The Rubai that JW recited on stage in London was incomplete in my published article.It should have been like this:

`DULHAN KA CHEHRA,MOHALLAY BHIR MEIN HAR EK KA DILPASAND NIKLA
MERA MUQADDAR HIMALAY SE BHI CHAAR CHEH FIT BULAND NIKLA
UTHAYA GHOONGHAT TO KIA DEKHA,EK BAZAR BAND NIKLA`

Johnny Walker,among other things,was known to be a helpful and a generous person like Mohammad Rafi.

Johnny Walker was very fond of Shikaar.

Long ago, Johnny Walker`s brother known as Tony Walker,produced a film called `Wanted` which flopped.I did not hear about Tony Walker again.

Old fans must remember this song from,I think, film `Aar Paar`

`ARE TOBA TOBA TOBA
TOBA KAI-KO KARTA,PYAR SE DARTA
TOBA RE SANAM, TOBA TOBA....

ARE WA WA WA WA WA WA TOBA TOBA
MEIN NA PYAR KAROONGI
NAINA CHAAR KAROONGI
TOSE SANAM, MERI TOBBA....`

This song was picturised on Johnny Walker and old actress Shakila`s sister NOOR.
Johnny Walker married NOOR and she never appeared in films again.

Having lived in England for decades,I have noticed that English people pronounce the letter `L` in a distinct style.Johnny Walker adpted that in Urdu, perhaps unconsciously,which sounded very funny.An example from `Taxi Driver`

`Agar Demo`L`o Saab cha`L`a jaega to Si`L`vi ka kia hoga?`

Kalapini Komkali & Shewta Jhaveri Is Ms.Shewta Jhaveri related to playback singer of yester years,Madhubala Jhaveri?

Razia Bondrey Bhatti: A Woman of Courage #18

You must have heard

`GOOD DIE YOUNG`

Razia Bondrey Bhatti: A Woman of Courage #temporal

Thank you very much for your useful instructions.I find them very helpful.

Razia Bondrey Bhatti: A Woman of Courage #12
Thank you for your comments.

Perhaps a bit out of place here, but I would like to give you an example of how you are judged when you apply for a job in Pakistan.Having gained some qualifications in Advertising from England,when in 70s,I went for an interview at a leading advertising agency in Karachi, the MD asked me `Whom do you know in high places?` I could not understand what did he mean by that.He explained `I mean the people who could give us business`.I said `does that mean you will keep me (Account Executive) as long as the Account I bring stays with you but as soon as you lose the Account,you will sack me`.He could not give me a satisfactory answer.It is true if you are employing a salesman but the job of a good Account Executive is to `service` the Accounts an agency has not to chase them.Surprisingly, late Mr. Sadiq-ul-Khairi of Khairi Advertising was the ONLY person I met who understood that there is a subject called Advertising in which you can get qualifications too!

What can you say where people do not even know the difference between Advertiser and Advertising let alone employing a professional.

As a freelance journalist,sometime the temptations make my `Imaan` a bit `DawaN-Dol` but I always try to be honest.

Razia Bondrey Bhatti: A Woman of Courage An interesting article by Laila Kazmi on Razia Bhatti.

We do need bold journalists like Bhatti.I must,however,say that sometime thare are restrictions placed on us which force us not to speak our minds.Pressure from the government,threats from politicains,fear of losing advertising revenue etc.

Also, at times, we have to respect the feelings of the people.For example,long ago,when I went to interview Imran Khan,who is one of the most straight forward persons I have seen, told me beforehand not to ask questions on a particular subject that was very popular at the time.I was very disappointed as I wanted to start the interview on that very subject.I have had other such experiences too where I could not be as bold as I should have been.

Ibne Insha once said `you want to interview me that means you want to praise me`.How true!!

Habib Wali Mohammad #23

My apologies for some spelling mistakes.

Also,it is `...Ashyan JAL Gaya` NOT `..Ashyan LUT gaya`

Habib Wali Mohammad #Habib Wali Mohammad by Anis Shakur- 13 09 03

My apologies for some spelling mistakes in my earlier note.

Also,the correct wordings are `..Ashyan Jal Gaya` NOT `...Ashyan `lut` Gaya` .

Habib Wali Mohammad Anis Shakur on Habib Wali Mohammad -13,September,2003

An interesting article.

I met Habib Wali Mohammad in Karachi long ago when I went to take his autograph on one of his 78-discs to give as a wedding present to my sister.He jokingly said to me `it will cost you`.(I had another disc autographed by Khursheed -one of the most popular singing stars of yester-years whose songs from the film `Tansen` are evergreen.She was living in PECH at the time.)

HWM`s voice and his style of singing was different to other Pakistani singers.I liked his Ghazals more than Mahdi Hasan`s.

I do not know how far was it true that he had an unfortunate affair with a Hindu girl which left a deep impression on him!

Sohail Rana,whom I followed from the days when he used to play Accordian in musical fuctions in Karachi.When Rana went to films,I thought that he would revolutionaise the film music which he did to a certain extent.He used HWM`s to good effect.I, however, felt his popular compositions were copied from those of Indian composers.Someone told me that when they cornered Rana in Lahore,he could not defend himself.

Just to give you two examples,I can tell you for sure that the tune of HWM`s `Ashyan lut gaya...` was a copy of Anil Biswas composition from `Fareb` (1953) written by Majrooh and sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata `Aa Mohabbat Ki Basti,Basaengey Hum`.Habib Wali Mohammad`s `Marne Ki Duaen Kyun Mangun...`was a copy of a song by Lata, poet - Shakeel,Music- Naushad, in the film `Shabab`- the tiltle being `Jo Mein Janti Bisrat Hain Sayyan...`


Wishing you well Habib Saheb.

Runa Laila Ref:Anis Shaku`s article on Runa Laila

I did not like Runa Laila until I attended her live concerts at London`s Wembley Arena and Royal Albert Hall (where I recorded the whole show as well).I was also at a press conference given by Runa Laila,Pran,Aruna Irani,Rangeela and many others.

Runa Laila sang some beautiful songs in Bengali,Urdu,Punjabi etc but her last item of the show which thrilled the large audience was her `Damadam Mast Qalandar`.It was a real treat to hear Runa Laila in her melodious,rich voice.It made a change when Runa said Salam in typical Pakistani style as opposed to the Indians who said Namastey.

In that show,Shabbir Kumar paid tribute to Mohammad Rafi and said `whatever I have achieved is due to Rafi Saheb`s influence on me` and then he sang `Na Tujh Sa Koi Aur Zamane Mein Aya, Mohammad Rafi tu bohot yaad aya`.There was pin-drop silence as he sang in very much Rafi-like voice.

Rumour has it that Runa Laila was shunted out of Pakistan by Noorjehan as much as she was forced to leave Mumbai by those whose were scared of her.

Rashid Latif’s Abeyance From One Day Cricket Rashid Latif is not a cheat.In fact, he exposed those who did-like Salim Malik,Konje,Azharuddin etc.Latif put his own career at stake but preferred to tell the truth that match-fixing was taking place.One could have never imagine that a staunch and practicing Muslim like Azharuddin (on whose first visit to England, the English press wrote`.. ..he has come here via Mecca` Azharuddin,himself said to me in an interview `not to ask any questions about religion as it is a personal matter`)was also involved in it.

Smith and Hall got what they deserved.Even if Latif made an error of judgement,what were the umpires doing there?When fielders appeal,are they always right? If not,then why are they not punished? In the heat of the things,we some do things which we normally do not do.Likewise,in that split second,Latif claimed a wrong catch.It was totally unfair to give him such a strong punishment for his `crime`.I am pleased that PCB recogonised Latif as the best wicket-keeper in the country and they retained him as a player against South Africa though rejected him as a captain.Good luck Rashid Latif.

I offer my apology to Latif whom I could not meet after an ODI in England earlier this year because he did not mention the phone number of his hotel in a letter that he sent me.

On the subject of sportsmanship and cricket as a genltemen`s game,I would like to say that
English people cannot take defeat -especially at the hands of non-whites and they always try to find excuses.`Ball-tempering` was invented by English media when their batsmen could not face the reverse swing of Waqar and Wasim at their best.When Pakistan won the famous Oval Test in 1954,it was too much for England to swallow.The reason given for defeat was `...some of our best players were either missinhg` or `they played half heartedly` When Shoaib`s speed was disturbing them,the white nations labelled him as a `chucker`.In 50`s,Freddie Truman was at his worst `on-the-field` behaviour in West Indies when things were not going smoothly for him` etc etc....KAHAN TAK SUNO GEY,KHAN TAK SUNAOUN...

Sohail Rana: Musings on music I sent some comments on this articles 2 days ago.Please let me know if they are going to be published or not?
Thanks.

Ashfaq Ahmad

The Diva as Devi `Diva as Devi` by Farzana Versey in Chowk of 28 September,2003made me puzzled.I could not figure out whose side Farzana is on?Some time she praises Lata and some time she criticizes her.Beyond doubt there has never been nor will there be any singer like Lata again.
I am,like millions,one of her ardent fan and to a certain point,I tend to agree with farzana that Lata did,perhaps,discourage other singers like Suman Kalyanpur,Sulakshana,Vani etc to get further in their careers.I have met Lata and found her very modest.I interviewed Sulakshana Pandit who was naturally disappointed at not achieving what she deserved yet she was not critical of Lata.I could, however,sense that she was carefully avoiding a direct reference to Lata.

I said to Lata that I only admire three people in the Indian Film Industry-yourself,Naushad and Dilip Kumar.Of -course I have great regard to top class indian actresses like Meena Kumari,Nutan,Nargis etc but I regard Lata as my most favourite artiste.