Tariq Yunus
Born(1946-10-16)16 October 1946
Karachi, India
Died26 August 1994(1994-08-26) (aged 47)
Bombay, India
Years active1969–1994
SpouseSultana Abdullah (m. 1989; div. 19??)

Tariq Yunus (16 October 1946[lower-alpha 1] – 26 August 1994) was an Indian actor known for his role as chef Alaudin in television sitcom Tandoori Nights.

Biography

As a young man (his brother being the politician Kunwar Khalid Yunus[1]), Yunus gained his first acting part in a children's play for local radio and began to work regularly for this media. He joined a theatrical group run by the Arts Council while at college studying Geology.[2]

Two months before he was due to take his Geology Degree exams in 1962, Yunus headed to Britain in the hope of making his fortune. Arriving with only £10 in his pocket, he had to get a job helping a milkman.[3] Living on his wits, he became a professional card player.[4]

Without any proper training, Yunus began to work as an extra which lead to having parts in The Wednesday Play, Crown Court, Sykes, Father Brown, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Angels, the Doctor Who classic The Robots of Death, The Professionals, Strangers, Terry and June, The Dick Emery Show, Hammer House of Horror, Shoestring, Minder, The Bill, Around the World in 80 Days, Inspector Morse and House of Cards. Along the way, he achieved bigger and more regular roles such as playing a con-man in A Passage to India (for Play for Today), Jashir Singh Mahail in Birmingham-based drama series Gangsters, Dr. Khan in We'll Think of Something and Harry Patel in News at Twelve.

Film roles included East of Elephant Rock, Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse, The Golden Lady, Ashanti, Who Dares Wins, A Talent for Murder, The Fourth Protocol, Partition, The Deceivers and Scandal.[5]

The 1988 Screen Two play Lucky Sunil was inspired by Tariq's tales when he first came to London, with the actor co-starring in the production.[3][6][7]

Later in life, Yunus concentrated more on writing and developing his own projects, which lead him back to his native India but still continued to act.[4] For many years, he was a founder member of Equity's Afro-Asian Committee, promoting the careers of actors from other ethnic minorities.[8]

Death

While directing a play at Bombay's Prithvi Theatre in 1994, Yunus died from a heart attack whilst suffering with typhoid in the house of his friend Jalal Agha, the son of Bollywood actor Agha.[9] (However, his obituary claims he died in hospital.) He is buried in Karachi.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1970Figures in a LandscapeSoldier #5
1978East of Elephant RockInti
1978Rosie Dixon – Night NurseBlack Doctor
1979AshantiFaid
1979The Golden LadyVishanya
1982Who Dares WinsTerrorist #1
1984A Talent for MurderRashiTV movie
1987The Fourth ProtocolImmigration Officer
1987Partition
1988The DeceiversFeringea
1989ScandalAyub Khan
1993BedardiMehta
1994Bollywood(final film role)

Notes

  1. ↑ This date of birth is most commonly given yet some sources like his obituary in The Guardian list it as 23 March 1940.

References

  1. ↑ @KunwarKhalidYun at Twitter
  2. ↑ Decameron '73 programme, The Round House - 1973
  3. 1 2 "Sunil lands in trouble", Derby Evening Telegraph, 16 April 1988 (pg.15)
  4. 1 2 "Working the Passage from India" (his obituary), The Guardian, 15 September 1994 (pg. 38)
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Will He Be a Law Maker or Breaker?", Perthshire Advertiser, 15 April 1988 (pg.25)
  7. ↑ "A passage to England", Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 16 April 1988 (pg.15)
  8. ↑ "Equity gives film a stormy passage", The Guardian, 18 August 1983 (pg.22)
  9. ↑ Hasan, Khalid (2001). Remembrances. Vanguard. p. 59. ISBN 9694023521.
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