Athar Shah Khan (; 1 January 1943 â 10 May 2020) was a Pakistani comedian, poet and writer. He performed in many of the plays and films he scripted for Radio Pakistan, Pakistan Television, and Lollywood. He is more popularly known by his own-created character Jaidi (). He is the recipient of the Pride of Performance Award by the Government of Pakistan (2001).
Born on 1 January 1943 in the Indian city of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, Athar Shah Khan arrived in Lahore in 1947 with his family. He gained his primary education in Lahore and secondary education in Peshawar. He completed his graduate degree from Urdu Science College, now Federal Urdu University in Karachi. Later, he gained a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. In 1957, he moved back to Karachi.
Khan started his career as a writer for Radio Pakistan and wrote around 700 plays. His radio play Rang Hi Rang, Jedi Ke Sang (1973) aired for more than 19 years. He gained popularity by acting out his own-created character Jaidi in a PTV series "Intezar Farmaye" which was aired in 1975. His first film as a writer was Bazi which was released in 1970. The film presented Muhammad Ali and Nadeem together for the first time. He also scripted the platinum jubilee Punjabi film Manji Kithay Dahwan (1974).
Khan was especially famous for his funny poetry. He participated in a large number of Urdu comedy Mushaira. He was famous for his typical styled funny poetry. He used "Jaidi" as his Takhaluus êîÃÂõ (a pseudonym used by the poets of the subcontinent, especially Urdu poets along with their original name and sometimes without the original name).
Khan acted in, wrote, directed and produced many television serials on Pakistan Television, including:
Khan was married and had four sons.
Athar Shah Khan Jaidi died in Karachi on 10 May 2020, at age 76 from a heart attack and he was also diabetic. His funeral prayer was offered at Masjid-i-Aqsa in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and he is buried in the Sakhi Hasan Graveyard, Karachi.