November 7 ; Death anniversary of PTV veteran Director Nusrat Thakur
His name remained synonymous with quality TV plays throughout his career with PTV Lahore centre. The veteran director, undoubtedly the torch bearer of the golden age of television dramas/ plays, succumbed to cardiac arrest in Lahore on November 6, ending an innings that was marvelous, glorious and rebellious.
Son of well-known radio and TV artiste M.J. Thakur, Nusrat was born in Lahore in 1937 and after completing his education followed in his father's footsteps by joining Radio Pakistan. He may not have managed to achieve the iconic status of his father on the airwaves, but used his experience to polish his skills as a TV director.
It wasn't smooth sailing for Nusrat when he entered the domain of television. He served in different capacities at the PTV Lahore centre, including as duty officer, before turning to direction. The biggest push Nusrat got in his career as an assistant director was to assist the legendary Yawar Hayat in the '70s, where he got to learn that realism sells better than fiction. It was this training that saw him fill in the boots of director when Ghazanfar Ali left Waris in 1979.
Not many know that Nusrat was not the first choice director for the Amjad Islam Amjad play. But the collaboration between the writer-director worked wonders for Waris, making it not only one of the most popular PTV productions ever, but also providing television future stalwarts like Abid Ali, Firdaus Jamal, Shujaat Hashmi and Mehboob Alam. The dynamic duo continued to collaborate and subsequent plays penned by Amjad Islam Amjad and directed by Nusrat Thakur, including Dehleez, Samandar and Raat, were proof of their combined genius.
Nusrat Thakur never worked with an average script. He scrutinised every aspect before giving the project the go ahead. He was against the glamourisation of women or extravagant sets, and weaved a certain degree of realism into all his plays.
He was up to the task when he was asked by PTV authorities to replace the long-running and successful Andhera Ujala in the '80s with another police drama of 13 episodes. The result was Waqt, which was also a successful serial based on the exploits of an honest cop, played marvelously by Firdaus Jamal.
Asghar Nadeem Syed's Piyas came in the late '80s, with Nusrat Thakur as the director and Abid Ali leading the star cast that also featured Sohail Asghar, Azmul Haq, Afzaal Ahmed, Tahira Wasti, Arifa Siddiqi, Nighat Butt and debutant Ajab Gul.
Although the play was more focused on the tussle of Shahji (Afzaal Ahmed) and Khan Sahab (Abid Ali), it was Sohail Asghar's character of Swara Khan that stole the show. His dialogues, especially “Sadqay theevan” and “Main aadmi hoon zara vakhre type ka” made it to the lips of everyone in those days, and it was Nusrat Thakur's dedication that made the serial outlast its predecessors and contemporaries.
Undoubtedly the most impressive of his product is the character of Chaudhry Hashmat, played with brutal finesse by the late Mehboob Alam in Waris. The character of a landlord who doesn't have failure in his dictionary, but is defeated on many grounds by the end of the serial, not only proved Nusrat's credentials as a director but also his stand against feudalism and support for the oppressed.
Duniya was his last production for PTV in the '90s, whereas he directed Ghulam Gardish after retiring as the General Manager of PTV, Lahore centre. GG may have featured a new generation of actors, including Iffat Raheem, Aaminah Haq and Adnan Siddiqui alongside Abid Ali, Rasheed Naz and Ajab Gul, but it was Nusrat Thakur's brilliant command over direction that saw it as a success.
Most of his productions have featured his favourite actors such as Abid Ali, Firdaus Jamal, Mehboob Alam, and have been penned by playwrights Asghar Nadeem Syed and Amjad Islam Amjad. The ascent of private productions and decline in PTV production standards saw Nusrat quit after serving 40 years with the state-owned television channel. He served as the GM of PTV Lahore centre during the last 10 years of his career. He leaves behind a wife, son and a daughter. Nusrat Thakur's legacy lives on through his evergreen plays.
Nusrat Thakur with Tahira Wasti and Khalid Abbas Dar
