Mohammad Qavi Khan doesn’t consider himself a legend despite acting in over 250 films, numerous plays as well as working a lot for radio and theatre in a career spanning over 60 years. “I was lucky to find a place as a child actor in 1952, and from there on started a journey that has continued till now,” he exclaims.

That’s a lot of following, even if he doesn’t realise it. Born on November 13, 1942, he was the youngest child of Mohammad Naqi Khan, a retired head constable in the police. The first thing that comes in mind after learning of his father’s profession is Andhera Ujala, where Qavi won over followers by being the dutiful and honest police officer. “My father retired from police in 1935, seven years before I was born. Therefore I had no recollection of him wearing uniform, but when I was offered the role of an ASP in Andhera Ujala, I immediately took a liking to it and it became my trademark role due to the positive vibes it emitted.”

How did the role transform his life and professional career? “Being a son of a police wallah was something that pushed me to do justice to the role. It was due to that success that I decided to contest in the 1985 elections,” says Qavi.

Talking of Andhera Ujala makes him go nostalgic as he feels the drama shouldn’t have ended. “Andhera Ujala had an excellent theme and could have helped in raising awareness amongst people as well as in eradicating the evils in our society. Even the police officials saluted me wherever I went, and thanked me for portraying a positive image of their department. The team came together for Irfan Khoosat’s feature film Direct Havaldar which was released in the mid ’80s, and I am glad to have been a part of it.”

From Diljeet Mirza’s Riwaaj (1964) to S. Suleman’s Very Good Duniya Very Bad Loag (1998), more than nearly 35 years, Qavi was a regular face in films, but he doesn’t consider it as his favourite medium. “The experience of working in films was at first ‘a dream come true’, but it later turned out to be a nightmare. I started working as an assistant in films, and was acting in the very film, thus being subject to the treatment meted out to assistants in our films. But when it was released, my work was appreciated and I became every director’s choice to play all kinds of roles.

“I have portrayed the protagonist, antagonist as well as character roles, and films provided me to experiment, but from the very first film, I realised that I was a misfit in the industry. The preconceived notion I had of it fell flat, and that’s why I didn’t sever my association with TV or for that matter with theatre and radio. Many didn’t appreciate it and termed me as an actor of the ‘idiot box’, but some like my colleagues Waheed Murad as well as director Hasan Tariq praised my decision and commitment.”

Then why was he part of films despite being considered a misfit? “I produced as many as 13 films, all with a message for the audience. But sadly, while some did well, some failed to do so and I was labelled a flop producer. In our industry, if you are the producer of a flop film, then you are a failure. I wanted to prove myself and that’s why I kept working so that I could repay those who had invested in my projects. For 26 years of my career, I was under debt and it was in December of 2010 that I finally became debt-free.”

Qavi Sahib remembers the bad times he had when he was treated as an outsider for no reason. “For the period between 1982 and 1995, I was under strain because of the way I was treated by studio owners and film colleagues. No one knew how I felt and I put an end to my film career in 1996 with Very Good Duniya, Very Bad Loag. Still, a couple of my films are unreleased and I plan to release one of them originally titled Ek Sitam Aur Sahi, because it was banned due to objectionable dresses and dances (due to the standards set in General Zia’s regime!) I am hopeful that my project would see the light of the day and I would prove to the world that I wasn’t a flop!”

From the PTV’s first-ever play Nazraana to his latest projects including Durre-Shehwaar on TV, Qavi has been busy as a bee on the silver screen. But not many know that his first job was not related to showbiz. “I worked for seven years at the Lahore Square branch of Grindlay’s Bank and was at first a very good employee. Even after I started acting on TV, my colleagues used to do bulk of my work so that I can go for my recordings. The reason why I was asked to resign was because the people who came into the bank wanted to meet me, the actor and their visits had nothing to do with their bank accounts.”

Qavi Khan is the proud father of two sons and two daughters, all of whom are settled abroad, just like his character in Daur-e-Junoon, the classic PTV long play in 1983 where he and Naveed Shehzad portray an old couple whose children have gone abroad.

Does he think his work has been rewarded by the government as well as his fans? “Oh yes, I believe that I have more state awards than any actor in the world. I am very happy for the love and attention I receive these days from the private TV channels that cast me in variety of roles and consider me as a senior. However, I am sad on the treatment meted out to me by the PTV, my mother organisation for which I have been working for the past 48 years. Never have they acknowledged my awards by the government, nor do they use me as they should. I am not even invited to their talk shows or award ceremonies despite being amongst their senior most actors. I can mentor new generation actors for free and can share my experiences if they allow me to, but I think they don’t consider me an asset.”

So what does he have in mind for the future? “I don’t think actors should be limited to acting only. They can be used to convey the message of peace and love, send them as foreign delegates because wherever we go, people come and meet us. I also feel that actors should be given seats in the Senate as they can reach where politicians can’t,” he exclaims.

What does he have in mind considering he has done mostly everything in his dignified career? ‘My dream is to make the government establish an organisation for the actors in Pakistan who die poor or are unable to take care of themselves in the old age. In November last year, I got a letter from the government of Pakistan where they acknowledged my services and informed me that the government has agreed to give funds to a platform from where we can help those who are unable to help themselves. So far, nothing concrete has been done in this regard, but I am hopeful that something will materialise.”