Syed Kamal

{{About|the actor|the British politician|Syed Kamall}}{{Short description|Pakistani film and TV actor, producer and director (1937 – 2009)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Syed Kamal
{{Nastaliq|سیّد کمال}}

| image =

| imagesize =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1937|04|27}}

| birth_place = Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, British India

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2009|10|01|1937|04|27}}

| death_place = Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

| occupation = {{Hlist|Actor|Director|Producer|Screenwriter}}

| yearsactive = 1945 – 2002

| relatives =

| awards = Special Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) from Nigar Awards in 2000

}}

Syed Kamal ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|سیّد کمال}}}}; (27 April 1937 – 1 October 2009), often just known as Kamal, was a Pakistani film and TV actor, producer and director.{{cite web |url=http://www.citwf.com/person500883.htm |title= Syed Kamal's filmography|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205113315/http://www.citwf.com/person500883.htm |archive-date=5 February 2016 |df=dmy-all|date=5 January 2015|website=Complete Index To World Film website|access-date=1 February 2025|author=Alan Goble}}

He had worked in 4 Bollywood films before migrating to Pakistan in 1956.[https://nation.com.pk/02-Oct-2009/actor-kamal-dies Actor Kamal dies] The Nation (newspaper), Published 2 October 2009, Retrieved 3 July 2021

Popular in the 1960s and the 1970s, he worked in some 120 films.{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1668483|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2022|access-date=1 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511090606/https://www.dawn.com/news/1668483|title=FLASHBACK: THE LAST LAUGH (profile of Syed Kamal)|newspaper=Dawn newspaper|author=Muhammad Suhayb}}

Early life and career

Syed Kamal was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, British India on 27 April 1937.{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/199295-syed-kamal-1937-2009|title= Syed Kamal 1937 – 2009|newspaper=The News International newspaper|date=2 October 2009|access-date=1 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213132545/https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/199295-syed-kamal-1937-2009|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2024}}

Syed Kamal was a popular film star in the 1960s and the 1970s. Kamal, whose film Tauba (1963) became a success at the box office, had a striking resemblance to the Indian filmstar Raj Kapoor, and he was not evasive about this issue. He once said, "People used to mistake me for Raj Kapoor while I was in Bombay and I enjoyed it". In fact, according to Pakistani script writer Ali Sufyan Afaqi, Kamal used to practice Raj Kapoor's scenes in front of a mirror. Kamal's first appearance in his Pakistani movie by producer Shabab Kiranvi Thandi Sarak (1957) was meant to resemble Raj Kapoor.

He has produced and directed over a dozen of films including Insaan Aur Gadha (1973).{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avjqxWkNqJ4C&q=surrealistic| title=The Herald| volume=40| issue=11–12| publisher=Pakistan Herald Publications| year=2009}}

Achievements and awards

Syed Kamal won a Special Nigar Award (Special Award) for film Behan Bhai (1968){{cite web|url=http://cineplot.com/nigar-awards-1968/ |title=1968 Special Nigar Award for Syed Kamal for film Behan Bhai (1968)|website= Cineplot.com website|date= 13 May 2010|access-date= 6 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011002215/http://cineplot.com/nigar-awards-1968/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 October 2011}}
Special Nigar Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) in 2000.
Nigar Award for 'Best Actor' for the Punjabi-language film Jat Kurrian Taun Darda in 1976.{{cite web|url=https://www.desimoviesreviews.com/index.php/2017/11/24/pakistans-oscars-nigar-awards/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2020|access-date=1 February 2025|title=Pakistan's 'Oscars'; The Nigar Awards|date=24 November 2017|website=The Hot Spot Film Reviews website

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613171619/https://www.desimoviesreviews.com/index.php/2017/11/24/pakistans-oscars-nigar-awards/}}

Among his other activities, he founded the Karachi Film Guild and Pakistan Film and TV Academy.

After retirement from films, he began acting in Pakistan Television dramas at a fairly advanced age. His most notable TV appearance is in hit TV drama Kashkol in which he played a wealthy businessman whose son (played by his real life son, Ghalib Kamal) becomes addicted to heroin.

Death and legacy

Syed Kamal died on 1 October 2009 at Karachi after a lingering illness at age 72. He had been a heart patient for many years and had fallen accidentally at his home about a month ago. He was bedridden since his fall. His survivors include his wife, his son Ghalib Kamal and three daughters.{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/923125/film-star-syed-kamal-passes-away|title=Film star Syed Kamal passes away|newspaper=Dawn newspaper|date=2 October 2009|access-date=1 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405155952/https://www.dawn.com/news/923125/film-star-syed-kamal-passes-away|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2023}}

Paying tributes to Syed Kamal, the president of Hum TV, Sultana Siddiqui said that Syed Kamal belonged to a respectable family and had encouraged many people to join the Pakistan film industry. Film script writer Pervaiz Kaleem, film director Aslam Dar, actress Babra Sharif and actor Ghulam Mohiuddin also paid their tributes to Syed Kamal.