Roohi Bano


Roohi Bano was a Pakistani actress.

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 step-sister of Indian music virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Roohi Bano got married twice in her life.

Career

Roohi joined television when she was doing her Masters in Psychology from the Government College, Lahore.
According to news reports, "Roohi Bano witnessed the birth of the television industry in Pakistan..." Roohi acted memorably in Kiran Kahani, Zard Gulab, Darwaza and many other famous TV dramas in the decade of 1970s and 1980s. She was conferred the Pride of Performance award by the President of Pakistan in 1981. She also earned many PTV awards, notably Nigar Award, Graduate Award and Lux Lifetime Achievement Award.

Awards and recognition

In 2005, her 20 years old only son was killed by unidentified killers. He was murdered near his residence in Gulberg III, Lahore. His body was dumped alongside a fence where a passerby spotted it, when he heard the ring tone of his cell phone. After this incident, Roohi Bano had abandoned her career and led a lonely life in Lahore and never fully recovered from this shocking and tragic event in her life. She had been suffering from schizophrenia for some years now due to her turbulent life and brutal murder of her only son. She also spent some years at the rehabilitation centre Fountain House in Lahore. Her own sister had her admitted to the rehabilitation centre in 2005.
She died in Istanbul on 25 January 2019. She had been suffering from kidney disease and a mental disorder. She was 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.