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Pakistan's famous stage comedian dies of hepatitis
Famous stage comedian Murtaza Hasan, popularly known as Mastana, has died after a protracted illness in Bahawalpur district of Pakistan.
Famous stage comedian Murtaza Hasan, popularly known as Mastana, has died after a protracted illness in Bahawalpur district of Pakistan.
69-year-old Mastana, who was suffering from hepatitis, died at the Bahawal Victoria Hospital on Monday, his family said.
In his death, Pakistani commercial theatre has lost one of its luminaries.
Though Mastana had not appeared in plays for about a decade, the news of his death came as a shock to the artiste fraternity.
Mastana started his career in the 1970s and appeared in his first play, "Visa Passport", at Lahore's Open Air Theatre in Bagh-e-Jinnah.
Mastana's popular stage plays include "Shartiya Mithay", "Kotha", (written and directed by Mastana himself), "Ashiqo Gham Na Kero", "Bashira In Trouble" and "Shabash Begum".
His pairing with comedian Baboo Baral was an instant hit. Baral too is bedridden and being treated at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.
