Veteran actor Tabassum Govil passes away due to cardiac arrest at 78
Mumbai, Nov 19: Veteran actor Tabassum Govil, known for her work as a child artiste in several Hindi classics and also as host of popular Doordarshan talk show "Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan", has died after suffering a cardiac arrest, her son Hoshang Govil said on Saturday. She was 78.
Govil said his mother had been admitted to a hospital here for the past few days. On Friday, she suffered two cardiac attacks and passed away the night.
"Few days ago, she was admitted to a hospital. She had gastro problem and we went there for check-up. She suffered two cardiac attacks at 8.40 pm and 8.42 pm. She passed away peacefully on Friday night," Hoshang told PTI.
A prayer meeting in her memory will be held here Monday evening, the family informed.
Born in 1944 in Mumbai to Ayodhyanath Sachdev and Asghari Begum, Tabassum started her career as a child artiste with the 1947 movie "Nargis".
At that time, she was known in the industry as 'Baby Tabassum' and went to feature in many other movies such as "Mera Suhaag" (1947), "Manjhdhar" (1947) and "Bari Behen" (1949).
In the 1950s, Tabassum acted in movies such as "Sargam", "Sangram", "Deedar", and "Baiju Bawra".
She also had a minor role in the 1960 historical epic "Mughal-e-Azam", starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.
After a few more films, Tabassum took up the job of the host of "Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan", which was Indian television's first talk show.
She emceed the show from 1972 to 1993 during which she interviewed several big stars of the Indian film industry.
During her time as the host of "Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan", Tabassum continued to feature in films, though sporadically. She made her directorial debut with 1985 feature "Tum Par Hum Qurban".
Her last film was Rajesh Khanna and Govinda-starrer "Swarg" in 1990 in which she made a guest appearance as herself.
In the 2000s, she appeared in daily soap "Pyaar Ke Do Naam: Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam".
Keeping up with the changing world, she launched her own channel on YouTube, called "Tabassum Talkies" with son Hoshang where the veteran actor used to discuss the lives of many cinema figures and movies of the bygone era.
In 2021, Tabassum spent 10 days in hospital after contracting COVID-19. At the time, her son had dismissed rumours that the veteran actor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Tabassum is survived by her husband Vijay Govil, the elder brother of veteran TV star Arun Govil, and son Hoshang.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
