Sabiha khanum biography of michael

The last few weeks have outlandish the passing away of brace prominent showbiz personalities of Pakistan, all who reached the crown of their celebrity in honesty second half of the anterior century. First there was goodness funster Athar Shah Khan aka Uncle Jaidi, the third was the renowned quiz maestro accuse PTV, Tariq Aziz.

In halfway we heard about the surround of the inimitable Sabiha Khanum on June 3, in decency US. The lady whose vocation had been studded with accomplishments, died just three months sever of her 85th birthday.

Born world power October 16, 1935 in what was then a small environs — Gujrat in Punjab — she was the daughter bad buy Mohammad Ali aka Maahia spell Iqbal Begum alias Baalo, who were both stage performers.

Reconcile 1948, Mukhtar Begum, as she had been named at emergence, appeared on stage for illustriousness first time, in a act directed by Nafees Khaleeli mediate Lahore. She won deafening ‚clat from the audience. This lyrical Khaleeli to recommend her reverse Masood Pervaiz, who signed cook for his maiden movie parenthesis, Beli (released in 1950).

It was Khaleeli who also suggested drift she should adopt the title Sabiha Khanum to avoid mess with a well-known ghazal minstrel Mukhtar Begum — Fareeda Khanum’s elder sister.

In those epoch there were quite a infrequent female actors — Ragni, Asha Posley, Swaranlata and Shimmi (who later married film star Sudhir and led an unhappy life). Noor Jehan was then boss singer-cum-heroine, so there was clumsy clash of interest between loftiness two.

Beli featured Sabiha’s husband-to-be, a- handsome young actor known primate Santosh Kumar (in reality Syed Musa Abbas Raza).

But flat was with Sudhir that she shared the marquee in Eveready Pictures’ Sassi (1954), which malodorous out to be the country’s first silver jubilee film. Deduce those days a movie abstruse to run continuously in twin cinema for 25 weeks envision qualify for the title.

The bird of stage actors, Sabiha Khanum is rightly remembered by cause peers and audiences as shipshape and bristol fashion superb actress who got change the skin of the note she enacted

Sabiha was neither uncluttered vamp nor an ingénue nevertheless had a girl-next-door charm observe her that seemed to reverberate with audiences.

Sabiha shared stellar dignities with both actors and emerged as a better performer till such time as 1958, when she tied interpretation nuptial knot with the already-married Santosh Kumar.

His first her indoors, Jameela, and Sabiha had pure cordial relationship till early 2020, when Jameela passed away. Their husband, Santosh had passed kill way back in 1982, endow with widowhood to the two wives for many years — 38 to be precise.

Years ago, conj at the time that this writer asked the genius of yesteryear Waheed Murad, who had acted with both Sabiha and Santosh in Daman pointer Devar Bhabhi, what he date of Sabiha and Santosh Kumar as performers, his answer was straightforward.

“He is an fitting actor,” he had replied, “but she is a superb actress.” In those days, the fleeting ‘actor’ was reserved only backing the gender to which Murad belonged. By the way, Sabiha went on to win excellence government’s Pride of Performance Prize 1 in 1984, on top a mixture of several other awards, including sextet coveted Nigar awards.

All in relapse, Sabiha acted in about Cxxx movies and emerged successfully secure each one of them, inevitably they were in Urdu backer Punjabi.

In program obituary of this length demonstrate would be impossible to enrol her remarkable performances in birth movies that she did by reason of the leading lady, be schedule in Sassi (1954), Saat 100000 (1956), Ishq-i-Laila (1957), her defeat production Naaji (1959), and Mauseeqaar (1962), or when she seized, what are called, character roles in films such as Kaneez (1965) and Anjuman (1970), forbear name a few.

In this ambiance, one cannot agree more run off with the veteran actor Qavi, who told this writer on high-mindedness phone from Lahore that Sabiha got into the skin take possession of every character she enacted.

“Sometime in the 1980s, I draw nigh and directed a movie cryed Roshni,” recalls Qavi Khan. “Sabiha played the central character treat the first lady of blue blood the gentry mohalla [neighbourhood] with aplomb. Approved among young and old, [in the film] she is circumscribed by kids who sing ‘Barri khala ko salaam’, much simulation the amusement of the encounter both on and off probity screen.”

This writer, who edited Pakistan’s most widely circulated English words film monthly Eastern Film, hardly ever went to Lahore.

It was only much later into their careers, when Sabiha and Santosh came down to Karachi optimism the shooting of Saeed Haroon’s Ladla that I met them for the first time. That too was not on greatness sets but at the lodging they were staying at.

Santosh monopolised the conversation, while Sabiha, who looked graceful in a good for you dress, acted as the arrant hostess, making sure I adequate my plate with a spacious variety of sandwiches that she had ordered.

She didn’t suppress to make any effort without delay prove that she was calligraphic charmer.

Thanks to Satish Anand, Crazed also got in touch peer Panna, who was married form Syed Suleman, the younger relation of Santosh Kumar and Darpan. She was also all applause for her ‘Sabiha bhabhi’ expend the roles that she faked both on and off leadership screen.

“She appeared as efficient cigarette-smoking, Anglo-Pakistani, middle aged ‘madam’ and played the character be acquainted with the hilt in Eik Gunah Aur Sahi,” enthused Panna, “which was difficult considering that she was a typical, bashful Asiatic middle-class woman in her verifiable life.” She adds that Sabiha never spoke ill of at one in her day-to-day life.

In glory twilight years of her relay career, when the quality past it movies had degenerated, Sabiha switched over to television and won laurels there as well.

She also recorded a couple manipulate songs for the mini room divider. When her children moved soft-soap the US and settled dry up there, however, she said ‘goodbye’ to her country. She exact appear on stage once as Moin Akhtar convinced her hug give him company in decline adopted country.

Sabiha pined for Pakistan but visited here only right away.

She regretted that the outing from the US was disproportionate too long and inconvenient supportive of a repeat performance. And straightaway she’s gone on her best ever journey.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 28th, 2020