Death Anniversary: ‘Parda Na Uthao’ Star Rangeela Remembered

News Desk

Islamabad: The 18th death anniversary of comedian, singer, and film actor Mohammad Saeed Khan, aka Rangeela, was observed on Wednesday to pay tributes for his lifetime services in the entertainment industry.

Born on January 1, 1937, in Parachimar, his family migrated to Peshawar when he was still a child. Later, Saeed moved to Lahore at a young age and earned his livelihood by painting billboards for the Pakistani film industry.

By a stroke of luck, when he was 20, Saeed Khan was asked to substitute for an absent comedian on the set. His career formally started at the age of 21 with the Punjabi feature film ‘Jatti’ (1958), and from that moment on, he chose to adopt comedy as his acting style and soon became one of the most sought-after comedians in Lollywood. His funny faces, awkward gestures, and hilarious dialogues were liked by the public to such an extent that they started copying his style in public.

Mohammad Saeed founded Rangeela Productions and manifested his multi-faceted talents by directing ‘Diya aur Toofan’ which was released in 1969.

Late comedian further introduced himself as a singer with blockbusters like ‘Ga mairay manwa gata jaray, Jana hai hamka dour’. Rangeela dexterously played three characters in ‘Parda Na Uthao’with the political satire ‘Insaan aur Gadha’, he established himself as a writer with profundity in his works.

‘Qubra Ashiq’ was his interpretation of Victor Hugo’s ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’.

The actor appeared in more than 300 films over the course of his career and is revered in Pakistan as the king of comedy. Singer Khan spent about four decades working in the entertainment industry and was regarded as one of Asia’s best comedians.

Moreover, for his services to the film industry, Rangeela received several awards, including the President’s Pride of Performance in 2005 for excellence in the field of cinema.

Rangeela was married three times and had 14 children: six sons and eight daughters.

The renowned actor died on May 24, 2005, at the age of 68, leaving hundreds of thousands of fans in mourning after a lustrous career spanning over four decades in the Pakistani film industry.