Name one actor from Pakistan Television (PTV) who has steered a ship, flown an airplane and operated in space.

From being a king of yore to a present-day soldier, a bureaucrat to an officer on special duty, a doctor, a lunatic, a good-looking father, a caring brother and a loving uncle, there was hardly any role that veteran actor Shakeel, who passed away June 29, had not portrayed in a career spanning over five decades.

In the 1970s, Shakeel brought the concept of the metrosexual male lead to PTV, which was gradually becoming a part of people’s living rooms.

Born as Yousuf Kamal in Bhopal, India in 1938, Shakeel grew up in Lucknow and was enrolled at one of the first convents set up by the French missionaries, La Martiniere. Migration temporarily halted his academic progress when his family moved to Pakistan in the 1950s, and he completed his education in Karachi.

Shakeel, who passed away on June 29 aged 85, was as constant as the sun, moon and sky in the lives of many television viewers, who had grown up watching the celebrated and talented actor on television

A resident of Nazimabad, he had a brush with Radio Pakistan through a school broadcast programme, and he was later introduced to theatre by one of his college teachers. He also appeared in films, before television began fully operating from Karachi in 1968.

Those were the last days for conventionally good-looking men in movies. The only thing Yousuf Kamal gained from his short film career was his name Shakeel, that remained with him till his dying days. In the presence of many Yousufs (Yousuf Khan, Iqbal Yousuf and S.M. Yousuf) and Kamals (Syed Kamal and Kamal Irani), Yousuf Kamal was destined to change, and change it did for good.

Despite being labelled a flop in films, Shakeel excelled on television. His strong resemblance with Hollywood actor Tony Curtis helped Shakeel rise to stardom. He first appeared in the Eid play Happy Eid Mubarak, which was writer Haseena Moin’s debut on television as well. The long play opened the floodgates of success for him. He used his blue eyes, serene voice and unmatchable diction in a way that would make ladies weak in the knees.

Shakeel’s pairing with Neelofer Aleem in Happy Eid Mubarak was widely appreciated, and resulted in the super-hit PTV serial Shehzori. Shakeel became a regular in Haseena Moin’s plays, and continued with his remantic hero image in Zair Zabar Paish (ZZP).

M. Zaheer Khan, one of the producers of the ZZP, is all praises for Shakeel. “I remember during the recording of the play Rozan-i-Zindaan, where Shakeel’s character was supposed to break down in the climax, Shakeel understood the scene so well that he cried and was unable to come out of character, even after recording was done.

“He was a good listener and an even better performer. We had an association of over three decades as we collaborated in Afshaan and Kohr in the ’80s and ’90s, respectively,” recalls Zaheer Khan, who was quite close to the late actor and his family.

Despite being typecast, Shakeel experimented with the title role of Uncle Urfi, passing the test with flying colours. As a middle-aged guy, he was loved by all and soon became TV’s ‘blue-eyed’ uncle. Shakeel starred in Parchhaiyaan in 1976, excelling in his role as Masood and displaying his acting prowess in the presence of talented stars such as Sahira Kazmi, Rahat Kazmi and Talat Hussain. Again penned by Haseena Moin, it was also the first serial to be aired in colour on PTV.

Shakeel was a Fatima Suraiya Bajiya favourite as well, and appeared in powerful roles in her dramas. He was there in the sci-fi show Tick Tick Company as well as Shaheen, a TV serial about the last days of Muslim rule in Spain. He was the pilot in the PTV drama revolving around the hijacking of a commercial airplane on PTV, a doting father in Uroosa and a soldier in the first Nishan-i-Haider play. 

His role of Taimur in Ankahi (1982), as the boss of an immature girl who reminds him of his bed-ridden wife, was copied in Yash Chopra’s film Chandni in 1989, where Shehnaz Shaikh’s character was played by the late Sri Devi, and Shakeel’s role was performed by the late Vinod Khanna.

Aangan Terrha (1984) followed, where Mehboob Ahmed and his one-liners became quite famous. A retired CSP officer, Mehboob Ahmed never made money from corruption, and that’s why he was shown confined to a small house. With a witty script by Anwar Maqsood, Aangan Terrha was loved by all. When the play was staged at the Karachi Arts Council in 2014, the audience already knew the dialogues by heart

Banker-turned-actor Raju Jamil was friends with Shakeel for over 50 years and recalls the time they spent together. “The golden era of Pakistani dramas has ended with Shakeel. He never behaved the way actors do today and there was not an iota of ghuroor [pride] in his personality. He was a gem of a person and a wonderful friend,” remembers Raju, who has acted with Shakeel in Uncle Urfi (1975) and as recently as 2013 in Mujhe Meray Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai.

In 1992, Shakeel starred in Chand Girhan, pitted against acting giants Shafi Muhammad and Qazi Wajid. Shafi played a wadera (local landlord) while Qazi was a media tycoon. Shakeel played the role of Babar, a bureaucrat. The writer of Chand Girhan, Asghar Nadeem Syed struck a life-long friendship with Shakeel, who portrayed the role as envisioned by him.

“Tired of just looking good on screen, Shakeel had little margin to excel in, in the typical roles written for him,” recalls Syed. “He accepted the role of Babar in Chand Girhan as a challenge, as it had some grey elements attached to it. Shakeel was a well-read and well-informed artist who preferred a good role over hefty payment.

“I remember watching his theatre play a couple of years ago at Alhamra, where he captivated the audience with his solo act,” remembers Syed who was in contact with the actor until a month before his sudden death.

Model-turned-actor Adnan Siddiqi was fortunate to make his debut in a serial where Shakeel played his father-in-law. “Shakeel sahib was a friend, a mentor and a senior from whom we always learned. We grew up watching his serials and I’m lucky to have made my debut in his presence,” reminisced the actor, who made his debut in Fatima Surraiya Bajiya’s PTV serial Uroosa in 1991 and later excelled in a couple of Hollywood and Bollywood films as well.

During the days when Shakeel was cementing his place in PTV in the early ’70s, Ghulam Moinuddin was also working his way up to stardom. Gullu, as he is lovingly called, soon moved from television to films, yet he remembers his meetings with Shakeel. Like everyone else, Gullu loved Shakeel’s mannerisms and style.

“Shakeel sahib was a star on television when I was beginning my career. He had worked in a few films and I was going to make my debut. He will always be remembered as a well-dressed man who had a huge fan following.”

Shakeel also had an interest in fashion design and had a great sense of dressing up. He had arranged many exhibitions in Pakistan and was applauded for it. One could never find a better dressed actor than him at parties and functions.

Quite selective in his work, he wanted to excel rather than dominate on screen. Though many actors didn’t had a chance to work with him, they were bowled over by his charm.

Shakeel went on to star as Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, the country’s first prime minister, in Jamil Dehalvi’s Jinnah (1998). Despite not being approved by Liaquat Ali Khan’s sons at first, Shakeel won them over with his performance.

In later years, he graduated to character roles and played father to actors Farhan Ali Agha, Saleem Shaikh, Aijazz Aslam, and actresses Vaneeza Ahmed, Neelam Munir, Ainy Jaffri and Hareem Farooq. He continued to work till the mid-2010s, and spent nearly 60 of the 85 years of his life entertaining generations.

In many ways, the life and work of Shakeel, who was once paired opposite Shabnam in the unreleased film Gharonda, remained true to the song rendered by Masood Rana and Runa Laila: “Bachpan ki waadiyon se kiss ne humain pukaara [who calls me from the realms of my youth?].” 

With Shakeel’s demise, many of his admirers were transported to their childhood, as it was Shakeel’s mesmerising performances that took them to their younger days. Sadly, there will be no one to relive those days again, as in the following line from the same song: “Awaaz de dobara [call me again].”

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 9th, 2023