Sikandar Sanam

Career

Sanam started performing on-stage as a child artist and singer. He preferred acting over singing and decided to enter show business. He changed his name from Mohammad Sikandar to Sikandar Sanam (Sanam meaning beloved in Urdu).

He was one of the rare comedians to have come out from the Karachi theatre scene. Despite his colloquial jokes and street smart improvisational skills like many other theatre comedians, what distinguished him from others was his Pakistani remakes of Indian films amongst which Khal Nayak 2, Shayla 2, Munna Bhai MBBS 2 and Tere Naam Part 2 were the most famous. The craze for these remakes increased so much over time that the cable operators played them on public demand, and later on, a number of mainstream entertainment channels also aired them.

Sanam gained much popularity by acting in Tere Naam 2 which was a parody of record breaking Indian movie Tere Naam. The Great Indian Laughter Challenge earned him the coveted title Comedy King. From stage, he gained fame in the art of mimicry. He directed, produced and acted in several parodies of Bollywood movies.

Stage shows

× Bin Bulaye Baraati

Pakistani films

Parody films

Indian television

Death

In September 2012, Sanam was diagnosed with liver cancer. The actor was admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, although was later discharged. He was taken to Mirpurkhas to visit a faith healer on 4 November 2012 and brought back to the city next morning. At around 3 pm, his condition deteriorated and he was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead. The comedian lost his battle to cancer on 5 November 2012. He is left behind his wife, four sons and two daughters.

Sanam's funeral was offered at the Siddiqui Masjid in Bohra Pir. Several stage artists including Umer Sharif, Rauf Lala, Muhammad Ifraheem, Saleem Afridi, Shakeel Siddiqui and Aftab Alam attended the prayer. He was buried at the Korangi graveyard.