"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 the ‘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 of the world.
Late Vijay Suri had memorised 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 atist (AIR) . He wrote short stories and novels in Urdu. For sometime he edited Urdu Newspapers, Sandesh and Ujala published from Jammu.This author is informed that once D P Dhar (minister in the cabinet of Mrs Indira Gandhi ) approached him to take up the editorial responsibilities of Quami Awaz , a newspaper of the Congress party .
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 many TV serials and films produced by DDK, Srinagar . He also became a mentor to many aspiring artists in the Kashmir valley playing a key role in reviving Ram Leela in Srinagar. His baritone voice created a spell on stage and screen.
He had a special love for Urdu right from his school days. Between 1960 and 1966, he published three novels titled Aakhri Sauda, Eik Naav Kaagaz Ki and Kaanch Aur Pathar and a collection of short stories. For sometime, he also scripted the popular programme Vadi Ki Awaaz broadcast from Radio Kashmir, Srinagar .He has written innumerable plays for Radio Kashmir Jammu ,Radio Kashmir Srinagar ( now Akashwani Jammu and Akashwani Srinagar) ,All India Radio Mumbai and Vividh Bharati .He has written more than 450 TV serials, telefilms, documantaries, TV plays in Urdu ,Pahari and Dogri languages for Doordarshan Kendra Jammu , Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar and DD National Network .He was the first writer of the state whose telefilm -Mujhe Jawab Do was telecast on National Network and this telefilm was an official entry of Doordarshan for the National Film Festival -1985. He acted in more than 400 radio plays. He acted in more than 500 TV serilas, plays and telefilms. He has acted in more than 200 theatre plays travelling all over the country and performing in packed auditoriums. Among the theatre artists of J&K, he was known as Bhisham Pitaamah.
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 also fluent in Dogri, Punjabi, Urdu and English. About him, noted theatre and art critic Lalit Gupta writes this:-
“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 the 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.”
Syed Zeeshan Fazil , former 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 programmes .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 his 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 pleasing personality. His untimely death was a great loss.”
Phonsok Ladakhi, FTII alumini who worked in Indian cinema , writes this about Vijay Suri :-
“I too have experience of working with Vijay Suri Sahib in a film, Indeed he was an excellent actor, He was also a very warm, humble, friendly and a great family man. I saw him as a wonderful personality, responsible husband, loving father, and a dependable friend. He had a very honest life style. Never negative, always positive and always smiling. I have only positive memory of him as a great friend. I wish I develop his good qualities of human warmth and honesty. Yes, smoking was something I never appreciated of him. Wherever he is born now, I send my vibration of love and care. I will always respect his smiling personality.”
A four-day Theatre Festival was organized by the J&K Academy of Art Culture And languages in collaboration with Vijay Suri Foundation in 2016 to 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. He died of a sudden heart attack in 2004 .
(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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