By Fazal Khaliq
MINGORA: Renowned comedian Fazl Rehman alias Selai died of cardiac arrest here on Thursday. He was in his late fifties.
The sudden death of the popular artist sent a wave of grief across Swat and a large number of people gathered at his residence in Kanju village soon after hearing the sad news.
Fazl Rehman suffered heart attack on Thursday morning. He was rushed to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Kanju.
The deceased comedian was popular among people for his natural style. He often used to play the role of an elderly woman, a mother-in-law, in TV dramas, stage show and films. He played different roles in about 250 productions including stage shows, TV dramas and DVD films.
Nasar Sheen, a member of Swat Artists Association, said that Selai started his career from stage back in seventies. His cutting satire and powerful role made him famous in the region, he added.
“He played the role of Selai in a drama produced by my father M Ghani Nasar in seventies and since then people started calling him Selai,” Mr Sheen told MP. He added that his sudden death was an irreparable loss to the artists community in Swat.
He said that Selai always made people laugh even in real life. “He was a man, who took away grief and brought smile on faces of people,” said Mr Sheen.
Mehr Ali Shah, an editor of tele-films, said that Selai would visit his studio frequently to chat with him. “He would come to us and brought laughter and went back taking all tensions from us. He was really a good man and caring person. His sudden demise left us in a shock,” he added.
