Syed Kamal (Urdu: سیّد کمال; (27 April 1937 – 1 October 2009), often just known as Kamal, was a Pakistani film and TV actor, producer, director and screenwriter.[1][2][3]
Popular in the 1960s and the 1970s, he worked in some 120 films.[2]
In 1998 he released his autobiography, Dastan-e-Kamal.[4][5]
Syed Kamal was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, British India on 27 April 1937.[2][6][7] Following his secondary education at the Faiz-e-Aam school in Meerut, he earned a Bachelor's degree from Agra university.[4]
He moved to Pakistan alongside his family in 1956 despite having an offer to act in Mehboob Khan's classic Mother India, which released in 1957.[4] He had worked in four Hindi movies before migrating.[6]
Syed Kamal was a popular film star in the 1960s and the 1970s. Kamal, whose film Tauba (1963)[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]
He has written, produced and directed over a dozen of films, including Insaan Aur Gadha (1973).[8]
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 (1993) in which he played a wealthy businessman whose son (played by his real life son, Ghalib Kamal) becomes addicted to heroin.
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.[1]
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.[1]
Among his other activities, he founded the Karachi Film Guild and Pakistan Film and TV Academy.[7]
| Year | Title | Actor | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Thandi Sarak[2][1] | Yes | No | No | No | Urdu |
| 1959 | Sawera[1] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Apna Paraya[1] | Yes | No | No | No | ||
| 1961 | Zamana Kya Kahega[2] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1962 | Banjaran | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1963 | Tauba[1] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1964 | Ashiana[2][1] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1965 | Aisa Bhi Hota Hai[2][1] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1966 | Joker (Kamal's semi-autobiographical film)[2] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1968 | Behan Bhai[1] | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Shehnai[2][1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1969 | Nai Laila Naya Majnu | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1970 | Road To Swat | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Honeymoon | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1971 | Roop Behroop | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 1973 | Farz | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Insan Aur Gadha[1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1976 | Jat Kurian Tau Darda[1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Punjabi |
| 1977 | Aj Diyan Kurrian | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1978 | Kal De Munday | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1984 | Jat Kamala Gaya Dubai | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1986 | Siyasat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Urdu |
