Sohail Ahmed () (born 1 May 1963), also known as Azizi (), is a Pakistani actor, comedian and director.
He appears in television serials, movies and comedy stage plays principally based in Lahore.
Sohail Ahmed is best known to the wider public for his character of Azizi in the Dunya TV comedy show Hasb-e-Haal, where he has been active since 2009. He developed the character in collaboration with his co-anchor Aftab Iqbal when Hasb-e-Haal started on Dunya News.
Sohail Ahmed was born in Gujranwala, Punjab, on 1 May 1963.
His maternal grandfather Faqir Muhammad Faqir (1900âÂÂ1974) was a philanthropist as well a writer called Baba-e-Punjabi ("father of Punjabi") because he authored more than 40 books in Punjabi, while his father Mian Muhammad Akram was a DSP in Gujranwala. He has three brothers: Javed, a journalist and poet, and Aurangzeb and Junaid, both teachers. His brother Junaid Akram is a published author of Punjabi literature.
His son Hamza Sohail, an MBA from London, is also an actor, who made his debut in 2021 with Hum TV's Raqeeb Se.
As a stage actor, Sohail is known for his improvisation skills, preferring to use spontaneous or impromptu dialogues during comedy shows.
Most of the television serials that he has acted in have been on PTV.
In January 2009, Sohail started playing the character Azizi in the show Hasb-e-Haal on Dunya News, where he does humorous commentary on social, current affairs and other topics.
The Government of Pakistan has bestowed upon Sohail the Presidential Pride of Performance (2011) and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) (2013).