VIJAY SURI
(1942-2004)... Journalist , Writer, Director and Actor ..
"O
pad dhi gid gid ,Dhi Ankessi dhi be dhyaana dhi , Moong Di Daal of the Pakistan
and Hindustan of the dhuur phitey munh "
Many
actors told me that they had difficulty in remembering these particular lines
while they acted as Bishan Singh in the play "Toba Tek Singh "based
on Manto's short story .
'Dhuur
Phitey Munh' is Manto's style of disagreeing with Two Nation Theory. And in 2018 , BBC listed " Toba Tek Singh "
as one among top 100 stories that shaped the world. This list of 100 had
stories of Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf , Franz Kafka and many other well known
writers the world.
Late Vijay
Suri had memorized these lines and would speak them in single breath and in one
go. He was a versatile actor , director and writer who left an imprint of his
style wherever he worked and whatever he did .
He acted
in about 12 Bollywood films ( like Unchi Udaan, Heer Rahnja, Kalka, Bhed Bhaav,
Agni, Mitti Mange Khoon etc. ) and Numerous TV serials apart from writing and
directing plays/ . He was an approved Radio Artist (AIR) . He wrote short
stories and novels in Urdu . For sometime he edited Urdu Newspaper Ujala
published from Jammu .
Finally he
joined Song And Drama Division and was posted at Srinagar where he served till his retirement. In early seventies of the last century , when Doordarshan opened a Kendra at Srinagar ,
he was there to lend his full support
.He remained the most sought after Artist for so many TV serials and films produced by Srinagar DDK. He also became a
Guru to so many aspiring artists
in valley . He also played a key role in reviving Ram leela in Srinagar . His
baritone voice created a spell on stage and screen .
Born in Mirpur ( Now in Pakistan ) , his family settled at Jammu post 1947 . In 1965 , he married co-stage actor Ratna Rani Razdan . Being married to a kashmiri girl and also living in
kashmir for some decades , Vijay Suri
could speak kashmiri with ease . He was fluent in Dogri , Punjabi , Urdu and English .
( Photo source..Dr Kavita Suri )
About him , noted Theatre and Art critic
Lalit Gupta writes :
“ Vijay Suri was one
such talented individual, who fighting against all odds succeeded to leave an
indelible mark on the cultural horizon of Jammu and Kashmir from 1950 till time
of his death in 2004. A multifaceted personality, he was an accomplished stage,
television and film actor, director and writer of repute who along with writing
short stories, novels also wrote number of scripts for TV serials and
documentaries.”
(With Kader Khan in film Bhed bhaav..Photo source..Kajal Suri)
Syed
Zeeshan Fazil Ex.Senior Executive
Doordarshan writes :
“ Vijay Suri
was a versatile actor. I saw him for the first time on the sets of “ EXTRA
NAHIN ” by D N Goswami for Srinagar Doordarshan in 1973. He also used to participate in our Dogri programs
.He did a memorable role in Mir Mushtaq's Tv film WAPSI produced in 1976.He also worked in some of the plays
done by me at DDK srinagar. In 1989 we visited his house at jammu during the
shooting of a serial “ Dhund Aur Dhoop” by H K Bharti in which talented daughter Kajal Suri was doing the lead role. The crew was nicely treated by Suri family and we felt as if we were in our home .He
was a professional actor who never
compromised with any situation and always tried to deliver his best. He had a
commanding voice and an appealing personality. His untimely death was a great loss.”
Theatre
Personality Bansi Raina:
“ He was versatile....an actor...a writer
and a journalist. He married a Kashmiri girl .I remember when DDK become
operational in early seventies we did act in number of plays together. A great soul and a good
friend ...He just could not resist smoking.”
A four-day Theatre
Festival was organized by Academy of Art Culture And languages in
collaboration with Vijay Suri foundation in
2016 to commemorate late Vijay Suri and remember
his contribution to Theatre, Television
and Cinema .
He was
fond good food and loved kashmiri dishes
especially Roganjosh and Yakhni . And he
played a wonderful host to his friends .To his friends , he was always
affectionate and helpful.
Peace be
to his soul.
(Avtar
Mota)
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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