Mateen Hafeez & Bharati Dubey I TNN
Mumbai: Shafique Shaikh, the cancer stricken M a l e g a o n man who starred in
M a l e ga o n Ka Superman, had one last wish: to see his film’s release before his death. The film was released on Tuesday evening and he died on Wednesday morning after watching the final cut. Shaikh (23), father of two, was diagnosed with cancer last year and was being treated at Tata Memorial Hospital.
Nasir Khan, director of the film, said, “Shaikh’s last wish was to watch the film in a cinema hall. He was going through a tough time and we decided to organize a premiere at 6 pm on Tuesday. At 6 am on Wednesday, Shaikh died.” Shaikh was buried at Malegaon’s Bada Qabrastan (cemetery) around 2 pm on Wednesday. Thousands attended the funeral.
“On our request, film-maker Anurag Kashyap and several other Bollywood personalities had come to watch the premiere. Shaikh was brought to Central cinema in a news channel van and taken inside on a stretcher. Though he could not speak, we saw him smiling everytime the audience clapped,” said Khan.
“After the film, the audience shook hands with the actor and congratulated him. He was taken home afterwards. Late at night, he felt acute pain and was breathless in the morning,” said Akram Khan, a unit member who played villain in the film. The spoof, where ‘Superman’ fights the menace of tobacco, was scheduled for a December release. Shaikh, a resident of Gulab Park in Malegaon, used to chew around 40 packets of gutka a day.
“Our movie is against the menace of tobacco. Sadly, our lead hero fell prey to it,” said a unit member.
“Actor Deepti Bhatnagar (producer of Malegaon Ka Chintu) footed the bill for Shaikh’s treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital,” the unit member added. Producer Sunil Bohra, who plans to have a theatrical release of the film in November, told TOI, “We will take care of his wife and children. We have asked his family to open a bank account and we will send them money on a regular basis.’’
The Times of India, September 8, 2011
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