Munnu Bhai

Munnu Bhai is a columinst,^[1] poet and writer of Pakistan.^[2] His career as a drama writer was primarily devoted to Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV). As a playwright, Munnu Bhai's most famous drama to date is Sona Chandi. He has also written plays like Ashiana^[3] and Dashat^[4] and contributed in an environmental docudrama Before Its Too Late.^[5] Tamanna, a UK-Pakistani production shot entirely in Pakistan with the soundtrack featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is also written by Munnu Bhai. His name is mostly associated with column writing but Muneer Ahmed Qureshi or ‘Munnu Bhai’, as he is better known as, has put on paper a few of the most remembered and revered drama serials in Pakistani television history. He has been one of the most outstanding and consistent writers in Pakistan. Born in the British Indian subcontinent in Wazirabad, Punjab, he finished his schooling from the Government College Attock. Initially he worked as a translator for an Urdu newspaper but eventually developed into a playwright and dramatist with exceptional capacity and skills. He devoted most of his pen and ink to PTV. ‘Sona Chandi’ is his most famous drama serial up to date and has won him much praise for his talented writing. A story about a village couple who moves to the city to earn money and attain a better standard of life, it is still etched into the minds of its viewers for its well-built and well executed plot as well as its humorous story line. He also ventured into long plays, producing immensely entertaining plays such as ‘Gumshuda’ and ‘Khubsurat’ which were well received by the audience and drew favorable comments from the critics. He also inked down another renowned drama serial ‘Ashiyaana’ which was characterized by its buoyant and optimistic plot as well as for highlighting family values. His drama serial ‘Dasht’ was another one of his brilliant works and portrayed the life style, cultural traditions as well as the backwardness of the Balochi tribes based in Gwadar. POET AND COLUMNIST Munnu Bhai is an immensely multi-talented man. As well as being a playwright and dramatist, his Punjabi poetry is considered as one of the best works in recent Punjabi literature and poetry. A regular columnist for the Daily Jang, Munnu Bhai is considered to be among the elite of Pakistan’s best and brightest columnists. He is loyal to the Pakistan’s People Party and his columns speaks volumes for the poor and suffering of the country. He is also of the chaperon of the Sundas Foundation.

Munnu Bhai

References