KARACHI(Cliff News)The event symbolised the kind of attitude that we have towards our role models once they depart this world. It was a condolence reference held at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday evening in honour of one of the finest actresses and directors of the Pakistan film industry, Shamim Ara, who passed away in London on Aug 5. But apart from a couple of film stars, and the regular group of showbiz journalists, there were hardly anyone from the film fraternity or the public who attended the programme though it was being advertised for the past two days.The reference was held under the joint aegis of the Film and TV Journalists Association. film star Mustafa Qureshi lamented that our government, our media, and other organisations concerned with the promotion of art and culture have adopted a painfully apathetic and lukewarm stance towards artistes and just didn’t bother about them.He was speaking at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday evening at a condolence reference for the film sensation of yesteryear, Shamim Ara, who passed away in London recently. He said that despite her contribution to the art scene, no diplomat in London, no government official, no media person went to enquire after her health while she was ailing and none of them attended her funeral either.Mr, Quershi said, was in strong contrast to our stance as regards Indian show biz personalities, where, even if an Indian star “just sneezed”, he or she got so much of attention from our media.He also lamented that in our set-up, in no department have we been able to build a second line so that once a notable personality is gone, there’s none to replace him or her. “We do not lack talent but we lack official or organisational support,” he said.Speaking nostalgically, he dwelt on Shamim Ara’s acting acumen and recalled her very poised and poignant role while executing a ghazal by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, “Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob Na Maang”, in the film, ‘Qaidi’. He said that no doubt, the playback voice was that of the nightingale of yesteryear Madame Noor Jehan but, he said, Shamim Ara’s acting, her facial expressions, were really so profound that they brought it to life.Film star Mustafa Qureshi said Lakhon Mein Aik was his first film as an actor in which he did the role of Shamim Ara`s husband.Highlighting her professionalism, he quoted an incident from the film where in a scene he had to hit her, and once inadvertently touched her face, but the actress was gracious enough to ignore it and instead encouraged him to retake the scene in a better way.Film star Nadeem Baig started off his speech by referring to the line of a song (`Chalo achha hua tum bhool gaey` it`s good that you`ve forgotten me) filmed on Shamim Ara which was written on the backdrop made for the event.He said she was the kind of artists who could not be forgotten. He said he was much junior to her so he got to learn from her. He said he worked with her as a fellow artist and as an actor under her direction. He said her greatest attribute was that both onand off-screen, she was a representative of our eastern cultural values. He said he never saw her acting or dressed up in an objectionable manner. Mr Baig said while doing a character Shamim Ara never overacted. He said he learned a lot from his seniors lil(e her because in the field of acting one could never be a master of one`s craft., rather one always remained a student. He said he worked in the film Playboy, co-starring Babra Sharif, in her direction. He said it was a difficult subject to handle but Shamim Ara handled it very well. He said her diction was refined and she spoke in a gentle manner. Film star Nadeem referred to the late star as an apt representative of eastern values and modesty. He said that unlike the present day Bollywood starlets, she achieved prominence through her work and not public relations stunts.She always dressed up like a model eastern woman. “She never over-acted. We learnt so much from her,” he said.Nadeem recalled having worked alongside her in ‘Playboy’ and reminisced about what a soft-spoken and polite person she was. He said that even the mere memory of all these senior stars was our golden asset.Wasih Qureshi recalled her roles in films such as Miss Hong Kong, Miss Colombo and others and said that she shone in every department of the pursuit.Sheikh Liaquat especially mentioned her versatile role in ‘Laakhon Mein Eik’. Journalist Khalid Farshori said that we did not pay tributes to our legends the way it ought to be done, which, he said, was sad.Speaking from London via phone, Shamim Ara`s son Salman Majeed said his mother loved Pakistan and wanted to come bacl< to her country. She had been in a comatose state for the past six years therefore, he said, there wasn`t much to share with theaudience about her last days. He said he was with her all along her illness and was next to her when at 4am on Aug 5 she breathed her last.Actor Ghulam Mohiuddin spoke via phone from Lahore. He said Shamima Ara de dicated her life to the film industry. He said he worked as an actor in her film Jio AurJeeney Do and found her work to be of high quality.According to the organisers of the event, film actor Saud had also promised to come but couldn`t make it to the condolence reference saying he was stuck in traffic.A. H. Khanzada, Fazil Jamili, Khalid Farshori, Sheilch Liaquat, Wasi Qureshi and Athar JavedSufi also spoke. Pervez Mazhar hosted the programme organised by the Pakistan Film and Television Journalists Association and the Karachi Press Club.