Guzri yadain beeti batain - Shamim Ara

Ilyas Rasheedi

The letters-writer are in contact with artists. Ninety-nine percent of these artists, or artisans, used to frequent the office of letter-writers day and night, making promises by swearing that if they succeeded in the film world, their entire family would be grateful to Elias Sahib for the rest of their lives. When these people made such claims, I would mockingly tell them that you are saying this today, but if you ever become successful heroes or heroines, then we will have to visit your mansion and send our visiting card, and if you're in the mood, you might deign to meet us, otherwise, you'll send your servants.

Upon my response, the artist laughed heartily and said, "This is impossible. You'll be free to come to us even at midnight." No one will have the audacity to stop you. But I was sure that all of this was their nonsense. If this actress reaches the peak of success, her behavior will be just like any other big artist towards ordinary people. Therefore, my instinct proved to be completely correct, which makes me happy that the impressions I had formed about those artists and artisans turned out to be accurate, word for word.

Now I come to the actual topic. After the establishment of Pakistan, the film studios in Lahore had been engulfed in sectarian conflicts. There was not a single film studio in Karachi. In 1954, Haroon Family established a film studio in Karachi named Eastern Film Studio. In 1955, Najam Naqvi (who had passed away some time before) migrated from Bombay to Karachi. Taking advantage of his arrival, the owners of Eastern Film Studio offered Najam Naqvi to make a film, which he immediately accepted. In 1956, a film titled "Kanwari Bewah" was started, starring Shamim Ara (who brought Shamim Ara into the film world and where she came from requires a separate article, which I currently do not wish to delve into).

To be continue..