Aamir Raza Husain—his personality, his heart, his talent were just as magnanimous as his name and it was my privilege to witness this up close and personal. He had a temper that would shake the entire unit. But the ones who knew him understood that he was the captain of the ship, an artistic genius who was uncompromising in the way he would execute his complex vision. So, if he lost his cool from time to time, we were on board to help achieve that vision. It was after a sequence of coincidental events that I first showed up to audition for Aamir.
Though a little anxious and quite a bit intimidated by his concentrated gaze, I succeeded in delivering my lines… And that was the start of my acting journey. I called him mian, as most of us did. He was my mentor and I looked up to him professionally. But as time went by, we got closer and formed a strong friendship. He was a generous friend whom I could bank on for anything. At times I felt like he had adopted me. I will miss him, his fortitude, his perseverance for perfection, his grace. All I can say is that you’ve gone too soon. You had a lot more to do, a lot more to give. This is hard to believe, and I can’t stop my tears as I write this. RIP Mian!
A legend in his own right
Veteran actor Aamir Raza Husain—a theatre legend who had mastered the art of larger-than-life outdoor stage productions—died on June 3 in Delhi. Husain (66) was suffering from a heart-related ailment and passed away after being unable to recover post-heart surgery, his son Ghulam Ali Abbas shared with PTI. He is survived by wife-actor Viraat Talwar, and their two children Kaniz Sukaina and Ghulam Ali Abbas. Husain, a former student of the city’s St Stephen’s College, had a knack for weaving social commentary into theatrical storytelling. In his long-spanning stint as creative director of Stagedoor Theatre Company—established in 1974—he has produced more than 91 plays and performed in over 1,000.
His best works include The Fifty Day War (2000 in Delhi, and 2001 in Mumbai), which was based on the 1999 Kargil War as well as The Legend of Ram (1994), for which he drew inspiration from the Sanskrit epic of Ramayana. Apart from theatre, Husain has also starred in films—Kim (1984), based on Rudyard Kipling’s novel of the same name; Khoobsurat (2014) featuring Sonam Kapoor-Ahuja and Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. In 2001, Husain was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to theatre.
With inputs from PTI