Roohi Bano (Urdu: روحی بانو) (10 August 1951 – 25 January 2019) was a Pakistani actress who was known for her roles in television dramas Kiran Kahani, Zard Gulab, Darwaza and Dehleez. She along with Uzma Gillani, Tahira Naqvi and Khalida Riyasat dominated Pakistan's television screens from the 1970s, to the 1990s. She was known as the Queen of Melancholy because of her portrayal of mournful and pessimistic roles in dramas and films.
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Early life
Roohi Bano was born in Karachi on 10 August 1951. She was the daughter of Alla Rakha, a noted tabla player of India and half-sister of Indian music virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Career
Roohi joined television when she was doing her Masters in Psychology from the Government College, Lahore.
She is reported to have "witnessed the birth of the television industry in Pakistan...". Bano's first major breakthrough came in 1973 with her performance as the cheerful Kiran in PTV's Kiran Kahani. Her next performance was of an elite class girl in Zair Zabar Paish. She then portrayed Simi in the television adaptation of Altaf Fatima's Dastak Na Do, which broadcast from PTV's Lahore center. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared in nearly 150 TV dramas, including celebrated works like Zard Gulab, and Darwaza. In 1981, she was conferred the Pride of Performance award by the President of Pakistan. She also earned many PTV awards, notably Nigar Award, Graduate Award and Lux Lifetime Achievement Award.
Personal life
Roohi married twice but both of her marriages were unsuccessful. She had one son.
Later life and death
In 2005, her 20-year-old only son was murdered by unidentified killers near his residence in Gulberg III, Lahore. His body was dumped alongside a fence where a passerby spotted it. After her son's murder, Roohi had abandoned her acting career, led a lonely life in Lahore and she never fully recovered from this tragic event in her life. In her later life, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She also spent some years at the well known rehabilitation centre Fountain House in Lahore. Her sister had her admitted to the rehabilitation centre in 2005.
Roohi died in Istanbul on 25 January 2019. She had had kidney disease and a mental disorder. She had been on a ventilator for 10 days before she died. According to her sister, Rubina Yasmeen, her family had travelled to Istanbul, Turkey to be with her in her last days.
Filmography
Tribute and honours
In 2019 on 3 February Pakistan National Council of the Arts paid tributes to her and described her a dignified, refined and polished artist. In 2021 on August 16 the Government of Pakistan named a street and intersection after her in Lahore.