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ngrewal1
from all countries with a focus on Pakistan and India. I have been living in the
US since 1966 and am a U.S. citizen with 3 grown kids and a wife.
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Zindagi Ya Toofan (1958)
Zindagi Ya Toofan (1958)- a movie about Muslim Lukhnow culture
This movie shows the Nawabs and their companions living it up and often visiting the 'Kotha Singers' (courtesans)for their evening entertainment.That entertainment included drinking alcohol while watching the young attractive girls doing Mujra dancing and singing.It had become a favorite pass-time for many young Mughal nobles.Naturally,they also used to fall for these attractive young girls and try to romance them and it often would lead to some tragic circumstances because their elders would intervene and disapprove of their association with these courtesans.All this happens in this movie-romance,disapproval of this unethical behavior by the prevailing Muslim and Mughal culture during the declining period of Mughal Empire in India-18th century period before the British East India Company took over from the Mughal Emperors.It's a 'standard formula' love story just like many other musical entertainment movies of the 1950's in India. Occasionally comedians provide the lighter moments in the film.Excellent film songs and music make this movie worth watching !!!
Mukhra (1958)
Mukhra (1958)- Punjabi musical super-hit film
This film's lead actor- lead actress couple, who were husband and wife in real life,Santosh Kumar and Sabiha Khanum did this movie when they were at the peak of their popularity in Pakistan.The movie was well-received as soon as it was released due also to the pre-release film publicity.The film was mostly shot outdoors in a village in the Punjab.Sabiha and Santosh fall in love in the village and Allauddin comes in the way and plays the villain role.Lots of dances in the movie and a Punjabi Bhangra dance by a group of young girls on a farm attracted a lot of viewers to the cinemas in 1958.Excellent film song lyrics by Waris Ludhianvi and superb music compositions by Rashid Attre made this a super-hit movie of 1958.Looking back in 2015,Sabiha & Santosh,as a couple,could not match this movie's box-office success again,even though they did make many Punjabi language films together, later in their film careers.This movie still remains one of their best efforts and became a super-hit at the box-office.
Badnam (1966)
Pakistan's Musical Hit Movie of 1966
This movie has a powerful & emotionally intense script and story because it is based on a short story named 'Jhumke' ( jewelry- ear rings for women).This short story was written by Pakistan's well-known writer of the 1940's and 1950's era,Saadat Hassan Manto.Main theme of the movie shows how a young married woman lives a poverty stricken life with her husband.The husband is a hard working man of the labor class with meager income and resources.His young housewife has a desire to wear nice gold ear rings like many other women of her age but the husband can not afford to buy them for her.So she decides to become a part-time evening courtesan-dancer at a club.Then she is able to fulfill her desire for gold ear rings with the money she earns at the club.The husband goes into a rage,when he discovers,one day,that the wife is wearing gold ear rings.Of course,his suspicions were right.Some hankie-panky was going on behind his back.I had to mention all this background to set the stage for a Mujra film song that the wife is shown later singing in the movie at the club.This movie is mostly remembered due to this painfully emotional Mujra film song.Lyrics of this song, music arrangement and the vocals of playback singer Soraya Multanikar were superb.As a result,it became a mega hit among the Pakistani public and still,in 2015, is widely popular.
Baji (1963)
Pakistan's Musical Hit Movie of 1963
Baji (1963)had superb music by the two-brothers-team of Salim Iqbal and film song lyrics by the popular film songs lyricist Ahmed Rahi.As a team,they both played a key role in making this film a musical hit.Adding to the quality of music are Noor Jehan,Nasim Begum,Farida Khanum,Ustad Nazakat Ali khan,Ustad Salamat Ali Khan as vocalists to make many hit songs for this movie.These songs are still appreciated by the Pakistani public even in 2015...nearly 50 years later.To top it off,the producer and the movie director decided to use many well-known and popular movie actors and actresses of that time as 'Guest Artistes' making guest appearances in this movie.No wonder this movie became a hit with the Pakistani public.
Mirza Jat (1967)
Mirza Jat (1967)-Punjabi Film Based on Folk Love Story
Mirza Jat (1967) was another successful attempt at making a popular hit movie based on an epic folk love story of Punjab.One of the biggest musical hits by the great music director Rashid Attre.He had,in his team,one of the best film songs writer in Punjabi language..Ahmad Rahi.They really clicked together as a team in this movie,to produce many super hit film songs in this movie.There was obvious 'good chemistry' between the lead actress Firdaus (plays Sahiban in the movie)and Ejaz,the lead actor (plays Mirza in the movie)...because a couple years later,as it turns out,after this movie was released,they ended up getting married in real life !!!Noor Jehan was magnificent as a playback singer in this movie.She sang the traditional folk-love 'Mirza Suraan' in this movie with such vigor and emotion that simply has not been matched until today.In many music critics view,the film songs from this movie have become a 'classic'. ...Nisar Ahmad Grewal Feb.6,2015
Pheray (1949)
First Musical Super Hit Of Pakistan-Pheray (1949) in Punjabi Language
Pheray (1949)was a landmark movie for the newly created country called Pakistan back in 1949.It instantly shot to fame this film's music director,Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, because the film songs became very popular among the Pakistani public.Chishti became a well sought after music director by the film producers of Pakistan and had a very successful professional career from 1949 to 1973 with lots and lots of hit songs that he composed for- a total of 157 films before he decided to retire.Film's director Nazir, also went on to make many more successful movies after Pheray (1949).This movie is a typical Romance Drama in Punjabi language with Nazir as the lead actor and Sawaran Lata as the lead actress.
Yamla Jat (1940)
Yamla Jat (1940) as a Punjabi movie and its popular music
This Punjabi language movie is ranked highly among one of the initial talking movies after the Silent Films Era ended in 1931 in Old British India.It's Black & White,of course and the film print quality is not that great.We should appreciate the efforts of the pioneers of that time,though.I mean the actors,actresses and the film production crew including the film's pioneer music director-Ghulam Haider.The popular song from this film..."kankaan diyaan fasalaan pakiyaan ne,badalan vichon khushiaan vassiyaan ne" became a hit among the public of Old British India and helped promote the music career of this legendary music director who went on to compose music for big hit films of that time like Khandan (1942)and later Shaheed (1948). Nisar Ahmad Grewal Jan.27,2015
Chiragh Jalta Raha (1962)
A Pakistani Urdu movie about romance with good music
This movie won a Nigar Award for the year 1962 for Zeba as best supporting actress of the year.She made her film debut with this movie.Also, Muhammad Ali,Talat Hussain,Kamal Irani & Deeba had been introduced to the film world by Director Fazal Ahmad Karim Fazli thru this movie.This movie had a very touching folk wedding song written by Amir Khusrau sung by Kajjan Begum and music by Nahal Abdullah.The movie was hugely successful at the box-office ( the film director's first attempt in Pakistan after migrating from India ).Miss Fatima Jinnah,Pakistan's founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah's sister, attended the premier show along with the film director.Overall the movie was well-received by Pakistani public due to its good social message.
Saheli (1960)
A super hit musical film of 1960
This movie is a romantic story between a very handsome young man and two beautiful young ladies attracted to him.Most of the film songs,from this movie,became super hits at that time.And,I believe they are still popular among the Pakistani people.A.Hameed,the film's music director, instantly shot to fame due to this film.Salim Raza and Nasim Begum, the film's singers also became popular due to the super hit film songs!Film director S.M.Yusuf had recently migrated from India to make films in Pakistan and was very pleased publicly by the results.Shamim Ara and Nayyar Sultana became well sought after actresses after this film's success.Producer-director S.M.Yusuf,then, went on to make some more successful movies later.
Yakke Wali (1957)
A Pakistani Punjabi movie about romance
Actress Musarrat Nazir is the Yakke Wali.A young Punjabi girl disguised as a boy to become a 'tonga driver' in the city of Lahore of the 1950's,to earn a living for her family. It's a typical romantic film where she falls in love with the hero in the film,Sudhir. This movie has superb music by Ghulam Ahmad Chishti when he was at the peak of his popularity among the people in Pakistan.He made some Punjabi tunes in this movie that are still considered classic and listened to by the Punjabi-speaking public on both sides of the border of Indian Punjab & Pakistan!!! Song-writer Ahmad Rahi wrote the best and highly effective film songs of his writing career in this movie.These popular film songs played a major role in making this movie a super-hit!!! Also, the film had the two most popular comedians of the time- Nazar and Zarif. This film was filmed on location in the city of Lahore and the surrounding villages. I highly recommend this movie for Punjabi speaking people.
Kartar Singh (1959)
1947 Partition Of Old British India- its devastating effects on human lives
_Kartar Singh (1959)_ (qv) , the title role in this film,is played by a veteran Pakistani actor 'Allaudin' (qv) who gives a convincing performance in the film.Initially,he is shown as a young Sikh man who is easily carried away by the then prevailing religious tension between Sikhs and Muslims aggravated by ongoing political events and its drastic effects, at that time, on human lives on the Indian side of soon- to- be- divided Punjab.Burning of villages and violence is shown in this 1959 movie.In 2013,as I am writing this movie review,I personally am influenced by what I have been told by my own elders about the actual partition events and their own first-hand experiences,I am also reminded of the facts about the real people that made this film and contributed to it as poets, lyricists, producers and directors. For example,the well known Punjabi poet from the Indian side of Punjab, 'Amrita Pritam' (qv) whose heart-wrenching poem about human suffering as a result of the partition of old Punjab,is sung in the background as the village burns !!! Amrita Pritam,as we know wrote this poem,emotionally scarred by the partition violence, when she had to leave her hometown near Gujranwala,Punjab in 1947 on the Pakistani side of Punjab and her family migrated to India.We also know that,in real life,this same Amrita Pritam had a passionate love affair with her college-mate in Lahore,Pakistan-the famous Indian movie poet, 'Sahir Ludhianvi' (qv) who happened to be a Muslim.This movie's producer-director 'Saifudin Saif' (qv) was a progressive leftist intellectual of Pakistan and made this movie with the declared intent of teaching people religious tolerance on both sides of the border of India and Pakistan.So,in the movie towards the end,violent Kartar Singh is shown to be reformed by the teachings of his own old father who protects a Muslim woman from Kartar Singh's violence!!! This movie became a super-hit in 1959 both in Pakistan and also in India not only due to its message of peaceful co-existence of people but also due to its superb Punjabi film songs and its music.In my opinion,this movie was highly effective because most of the film crew had witnessed first-hand the actual events of 1947 partition of old Punjab and India and they could directly relate to it emotionally while making the film.
Guddi Gudda (1956)
A Pakistani Punjabi movie about romance
Guddi Gudda is an excellent Punjabi romantic movie with excellent super hit songs with music by Baba Ghulam Ahmad Chishti. Songs lyrics are by well-known Punjabi poets of the time- Wali Sahib,Chishti and Nazim Panipati. Singers are Munawwar Sultana and Zubeida Khanum.This movie is partially filmed in the city of Lahore of the 1950's and shows emotion-filled and spiritual film scenes of the tomb of great Sufi buried in the city of Lahore, Data Ganj Baksh.Besides this, Badshahi Mosque and other historical monuments of Lahore are shown.Wali Sahib whose movie career started in pre-partition India is the movie director.This movie became a super hit in 1956 in Pakistan.