Daily Times

On the demise of Pakistani comedian Amanullah Khan, Mishi Khan took to social media and updated a status that went like this:

“I am deeply saddened by the demise of Amanullah Sahab. My first stage play in Mehfil Theatre, Lahore was with this amazing stalwart. He was a wonderful person and a very humble man. I have some amazing memories with him. May the extremely witty and fine artist rest in peace; Ameen. Gone too soon.”

We instantly caught up with the actress to know more about this lesser known side of hers. Khan gave this interview to Daily Times dressed up in Olive Green on a balmy Islamabad morning, photographed by Arshad Tareen.

When did you enter the field of theatre?

Right after “Uroosa”, I did my first theatre play from Karachi with Moin Akhtar.

How did you happen to enter Punjabi theatre?

Well, even in my Punjabi theatre play, my role was of an Urdu speaking girl with a smattering of English. I had a special appearance in the play as a result of my fame in drama serial “Uroosa”. The popularity of “Uroosa” knew no bounds back in 1995 and after having done the serial, when I came to Lahore,

‘Right after Uroosa, I did my first theatre play from Karachi with Moin Akhtar,’ the actress and host says

I was approached for this project while I was staying at Gym Khana. I was told that I will be having a special appearance as the “Uroosa” fame actress. I had a total of four scenes in it, and each one with a theatre giant. Amanullah Khan, Babbu Baraal, Sohail Ahmad and Khalid Abbas Dar were among my co-actors.

Was it a commercial Punjabi play?

Yes, it was a commercial play, but without the kind of dances we have in Punjabi plays today. A new theatrical company by the name of Mehfil Theatre had recently opened in Lahore. The play was a production of that company.

Was this your only theatre play or have you done other such projects as well?

I did other plays as well. I also worked with Rangeela Sahib, Shehzad Raza and Liaqat Soldier. The one I did with Rangeela Sahib was titled “Bakray Dil Walay”, a special play which we did for Eid-ul-Azha. I also did serious theatre work under Yasmin Ismail and Khaled Anum who had collectively opened up a theatre company. I did around 10 plays for them. We took one of those plays to Delhi as well, titled “Line’s Out of Control”. There was another one named “Bill Tou Pagal Hai”, the Bill in the title being Bill Clinton. We did this play in a conference organized by SAARC.

It came as a surprise to us that Mishi Khan, who is known for being a television performer, a film actor, a host, a mimic and a singer has also done theatre, and that too, prolifically. Currently, however, Mishi Khan has taken a break from all mediums of acting and is solely focusing on her morning show.

The writer is a freelance journalist and can be reached at m.ali_aquarius85@yahoo.com. He Tweets at @MuhammadAli_DT