DURING MY childhood days, I was fascinated by the characters of Arabian Nights, which was broadcasted every night on Doordarshan. The 1001 stories in 1001 nights were told in a very romantic manner attracting lakhs of people from all walks of life throughout the nation.

The show gained popularity with each show. Urdu, the language used, fascinated the series of the tales expertly. Even though it had few indigestible tones but, still, it proved a great success on the screen that led producers and broadcasters to earn well. It was directed by Ramanand Sagar, which intertwined the stories of King, princess, magic carpet and the Jin.

Never had I imagined in my wildest dreams that that I would confront one of the characters of the serial, ‘Alif Laila’, whom I cherished the most, during my childhood days. Ashok K. Sodhi, aged 59, while sitting in his shop, chuckled and smiled before sharing his life experiences.

He resides in Jammu with his two sons, daughter and his soul partner. While looking at the photographs pasted on the wall of his shop, I realised that he worked with many well known celebrities like Ramanand Sagar, director of ‘Ramayana’, the famous serial based on the life of Lord Rama, Bollywood actor Jitender,Aamir Khan, Dara Singh and many other junior artists too.

Remembering his career, Sodhi highlighted his friendship with actor Jitender. “Jeetu is my best friend, I know him from the time, when I was young. I left my place for acting. I know many people in industry and enjoyed my work.” said Sodhi. Later, when asked about his role in Alif Laila, he explained it in an interesting manner that obliged me to concentrate on his entire story.

His character as ‘Yaakoob’ in the serial was full of life. He worked in the industry for more than 18 years. Apart from that he also acted in many serials and played the role of ‘Narad Muni’, a mythological character as well. Now being a ‘Paan’ (beetel leaf) seller, he spends most of his time sitting in his shop. As days are just passing by, one can see the reflection of ageing symptoms, he gets tired easily.

“I have no stamina now. I am getting weak day by day, as I am suffering from stomach ulcer, I am going to die very soon,” he said with an emotional tone.

No matter what, whether he/she is a junior/senior artist, we need to respect the work and sentiments of the people. Sodhi apart from being a good actor is also a good human being. But, this phenomenon is hard to realize in real life after leading a successful reel life.