Aijaz Gul
A chapter of Pakistani cinema came to an end with the passing of Sabiha Khanum in the United States on June 13, 2020.
Earlier named as Mukhtar Begum, she spent her childhood in rural Punjab. The family later moved to Lahore. She first appeared on stage. She later opted for big screen. Her first film was ‘Beli’ in 1950 with Santosh Kumar as second heroine. Director Anwar Kemal Pasha would be credited for bringing out her talent : ‘Ghulam’ (1953), ‘Gumnam’ (1954),’Qatil’ (1955) and ‘Sarfarosh’ (1956). Most of of her films carried Santosh Kumar as leading hero. Reel life turned into real life when she got married to Santosh Kumar ( Santosh Kumar’s was already married to Jamila Begum, a housewife). Sabiha and Jamila Begum remained separate but cordial. Sabiha and Santosh established themselves as leading pair on screen from fifties into the seventies . No other pair carried that kind of screen magic. Sabiha also tried as producer in successful Punjabi film ‘Naji’ (1959) where she was seen as mentally retarded. She successfully replayed her earlier role from Gumnam. Sudhir played the male lead but not against her. Sabhia had a tragic character where her man (not seen on the screen) had gone to the battle ground, never to return home again. Famous number rendered by Iqbal Bano ” Pyal mey geet haee’ cham cham key” was filmed on her and new face Seema.
Sabiha Khanum was fortunate as some of the best melodies from fifties and sixties were filmed on her. The singers who gave their beautiful voices in playback included lqbal Bano , Munawar Sultana, Zubaida Khanum, Kausar Parveen and above all, Noorjehan. Some of these unforgettable songs included: ‘Ulfat ki nai manzil ko challa’, ‘Wasta ae rab da’, ‘Sitaro tum to so jao,” ‘Gai gey duniya geet merey’,,’Latt uljhi’, ‘Dil-a -tehar ja, and ‘Na chura sako gey daman’. This must also be credited to combined talent of singers, composers and lyricists. Finally it was Sabiha and respective film directors who gave their best to turn it into immortal saga.
In the late-sixties, Shamim Ara, Nayyar Sultana, Zeba and the rest became notable faces. Sabiha and Santosh Kumar decided to take the backseat as supporting players. As the luck would have it, their popularity was not any less with this change in films like ‘Shikwa’, ‘Kaneez’, ‘Sawal’, ‘Devar Bhabi’ and ‘Anjuman’. 1975 saw director Hassan Tariq casting Sabiha as “Madame” in his film ‘Eik Gunah Aur Sahi’ with basic plot idea from Manto where Madame helps and supports fallen women, This was a challenging role for Sabiha now in her forties. Eik Gunah Aur Sahi won her many awards both here and abroad. Sabiha was now seen on screen as grandmother . She also appeared on TV and sang national songs:”Sohni dharti” and Jug jug jeeye”. Still later when children left for the United states, she joined them. Santosh Kumar always remained close to her . she was reminiscent. “We not only liked each other but had mutual respect” .
Sabiha Khanum went through hardships all her life . And when the time came to leave, she quietly passed away, leaving her precious cinema images behind .
Notable Films and Awards include Gumnam-1954, Sassi-1954, Qatil-1955, Saat Lakh-1955 (Nigar Award), Hameeda-1956, Sarfrosh-1956, Ishq-e-Laila-1957, Mukhra-1958, Naji-1959, Mosiqar-1962, Daaman1963, Shikwa-1963 (Nigar Award), Kaneez-1965, Sawal-1966, Dewar Bhabi-1967 (Nigar Award), Sangdil-1981(Nigar Award), Eik Gunah Aur Sahi-1975(Nigar Award) .
