Legendary film actor Habibur Rehman passed away in Lahore earlier today after suffering from a prolonged illness.
Rehman was one of the biggest stars of Pakistani cinema back in the day. Commonly called film star Habib, he was the heartthrob of his time; an actor who was on the forefront of the class of suave, urbanised youth who had begun taking up film as a profession.
However, that Habib is no more. Habib was breathing through a ventilator and was struggling between life and death at the intensive care unit of Lahore’s Ittefaq Hospital.
His physical health indeed was beyond anyone’s control but for his financial condition, he blamed the government.
Almost 24 years ago, the ministry of women development had requested the star make a film on the practice of karo-kari (honour killing) prevalent in the rural areas of the country.
He willingly obliged and poured his life’s earnings into the project, casting mega stars of the time such as Sultan Rahi, Ghulam Mohiuddin and Hina Shaheen. Bakhshi Wazir had put together music for the film that was named Baghi. The film managed to do reasonably well.
The government had promised to reimburse the expenses possibly thinking that promises are meant to be broken. The subsequent years broke not only Habib’s back but also his war chest.
Fighting for his life, film legend Habib waits for govt to fulfil promise
Almost five years ago, Habib had undergone brain surgery but he was never able to fully recover. A recent brain haemorrhage forced him to return to the hospital and his current CT scan report did not hint at any improvement. Doctors said another surgery is on the cards but his condition did not allow that to happen.
The actor started his career in 1956 with Lakht-e-Jigar and worked in around 600 films, including Aadmi, Suriya, Dil kay Tukray, Taxi Driver, Rangu Jutt, Malanga, Dil da Jani and many others. He also ventured into film-making and produced popular films such as Pardesand Haar Gaya Insan. He holds the distinction as being one of the few highly educated individuals in the film industry of his time; he has a graduate degree in English literature. Only two days before sustaining a brain haemorrhage, the 76-year-old was on the set, working in a TV serial called Lambi Judai. Although the Punjab government has extended support to his family, Baghi is one thing that still tugs at his heartstrings.
