KARACHI, Aug 24: Leading performer Jamshed Ansari, whose light-hearted role of Hasnat Bhai catapulted him to stardom, died on Wednesday morning after a long battle with brain tumour. He was 60.

Mr Ansari, who was born in Saharanpur, India, has left his wife, two daughters and a son.

His Namaz-i-Janaza was offered at the Baitul Mukarram mosque in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and he was buried in the Khurshidpura graveyard in Hub.

In a career spanning over 40 years, Mr Ansari has to his credit over 200 TV dramas, three films and many radio and stage plays.

While his first TV play was “Ghora ghans khata hai” (written by Agha Nasir), it was his role in “Uncle Urfi”, in which he flicked a small, innocuous-looking knife and squeaked cheekily that “chakku hay merey pas”, that made him a household name.

His last play for PTV was “Mah-i-Neem Shab” produced by Haider Imam Rizvi. PTV is telecasting his one of the last plays, “Chand Babu”, these days.