Sikandar Sanam

Sikandar Sanam was a Karachi comedian whose trademark was the Bollywood spoof. Born in the city in 1960 into a Kutchi family of performers, he was on stage as a child artist and singer, and took the name Sanam, Urdu for beloved, when he moved into acting.

Pakistani stage drama was his home ground, and early on he worked closely with Umer Shareef before going his own way. The solo career rested on parodies of Indian hits, beginning with a take on Tere Naam, and he usually wrote the script and screenplay of these spoofs himself. Titles such as Tere Naam 2, Khal Nayak 2, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar 2, Sholay 2, Ghanjini 2 and Dabangg 2 show the method: a familiar blockbuster, a sequel number and a comic rewrite. He also recorded albums of musical parody, drawing on his start as a singer.

His reach crossed the border, with appearances on the Indian television programmes The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Comedy Champions. He died in Karachi in 2012.