Still from the first feature film of East Pakistan, Mukh-o-Mukhosh (1956, Nazma, Benoy Biswas) directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan.

1956 was an eventful year in the history of Pakistani Cinema because it saw the birth of Bengali cinema in Dhaka, then the capital of East Pakistan. A. Jabbar Khan produced and directed Mukh-o-Mukhosh. Being, off-and-on, a stage actor all his life, Abdul Jabbar Khan had no practical knowledge of film-making. However, with two other partners he launched the first successful film production company of the province – “Iqbal Films”. He met Q.M. Zaman, a former assistant of some camera-men of Calcutta and Bombay, who was looking for a film-maker who could utilize him. They both went to Calcutta and bought a second hand “Eymo” camera and returned to Dacca to shoot Mukh-o-Mukhosh based on Jabbar Khan’s own stage play, a thriller called “Dakat”. There were no artistic pretensions and the story was chosen on the consideration of its suitability for outdoor shooting. For sound recording they borrowed a Philips household tape-recorder. When the film was completed in 1956, Mr. Khan discovered that it was not much of a film. The sound synchronization was particularly atrocious. The entire production cost, however, came to a paltry Rs. 64,000 all inclusive. Artistes which included Zahrat Azra, Kazi Khaleque and Inam Ahmed worked free of charge.

As expected, the distributors refused to take the film – the fear was not only of bad business but also of a threat of potential damage to cinema house’s property. However, Kamalendu Bannerjee who was then the managing partner of ancient “Roopmahal” cinema decided to take the risk of releasing the film on `compassionate’ grounds. On 3 August 1956, East Bengal’s first ever full-length feature film was released and contrary to the predictions of the pundits, movie-goers literally showered it with unreserved love. It was a moving experience for all concerned. Of the 4 prints, 3 others were released in Chittagong, Narayangunj and Khulna and the reactions were the same everywhere. The first release collection went over Rs. 42,000 net. But because of the really bad quality the prints were discarded for good after the first run.

One cannot deny that Mukh-o-Mukhosh did not add much to our film art. But its appearance had been significant in many respects. It dispelled successfully the unfounded fear that film-making had no future in East-Pakistan. It also helped to bring home to the government the indispensable necessity for a studio which could contribute toward creating a worthwhile film industry and end East Bengal’s costly filmic reliance on Calcutta and Bombay – Alamgir Kabir

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1956, Genre – Suspense/Thriller, Country – Pakistan, Language – Bengali, Producer – Abdul Jabbar Khan, Director – Abdul Jabbar Khan, Music Director – Samar Das, Cast - Purnima, Saifuddin, Benoy Biswas, Jabbar, Inam Ahmed, Zahrat Azra, Nazma and Kazi Khaleque

Armaan (1966)

Armaan was released on Friday, March 18, 1966, at a time when the country was echoing with protests against the Tashkent Agreement signed by President Ayub Khan and the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

It was said that a war ‘won’ on the front had been ‘lost’ on the table. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the dissident foreign minister who was generally identified with a hard line stance against India, had just received an overwhelming ovation at the Lahore Railway Station from a multitude of his admirers.

Then, as the film opened in Naz Cinema, Karachi, and across West and East Pakistan, it captured the imagination of the entire society. Did the masses recognise, unconsciously, their deepest ideals in the fantasy about an educated and principle-centered aristocrat stepping down from his ranks for courting an orphaned girl of humble background and himself getting transformed in the process?

At least that was the gist of the hero’s journey from the festive Ko Ko Korina to the mature Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain; and from the light-hearted rendition of Akele na jana by Ahmad Rushdi to the symphonic and cataclysmic orchestra accompanying the voice of Mala, at the end. In retrospect, one may say that this was not very unlike the expectations that people were beginning to develop from Bhutto around the same time — regardless of whether or not the politician lived up to the ideals given by poets.

The film was the first Pakistani release to become a “Platinum Jubilee” (running for 75 cumulative weeks). The middle class, usually reluctant to go to the cinema, got attracted in large numbers (in some ways this shift had already started with Saheli four years earlier and Naela the last year but it reached its climax with Armaan). The hairstyle of the writer, producer and actor Waheed Murad became the default for that generation. Conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, educated and the illiterate, were equally mesmerised.

The legends spawned by Armaan spread wide and were going to prove lasting. Fellow film-maker Nazrul Islam, in his greatest film Aaina (1977) eleven year later, named the heroine Najma (played by Shabnam) after the role played by Zeba in Armaan. In a subsequent film, Nahin abhi Nahin (1980), Nazrul not only named the main character Armaan, but even persuaded the lead actor Faisal Rehman to use this as a real name (recently, Faisal has directed a television sequel to Nahin abhi Nahin where the protagonist Armaan, now grown up and teaching in a college, confronts the spirit of Allama Iqbal and seeks answers to questions about the existence and destiny of Pakistan).

If Armaan is one of the pegs around which threads of our collective consciousness are tied then it very well deserves that prestige. It was an offering from well-educated and imaginative youth who respected their culture and wanted to bring a healthy change through the unity of imagination. Waheed had an M.A. degree in English from Karachi University and his obsessions included James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Henry James (one of his dreams was to make a stream of consciousness films and he arguably achieved it three year later in one of his productions).

In developing the story of Armaan, he drew upon Cinderella, She Stoops to Conquer, The Taming of the Shrew, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but he used his sources ingenuously for creating a brevity that effectively conveyed the messages ingrained in the greatest cultural movements of recent history (attachment to Iqbal ran in Waheed’s family, since his grandfather Manzur Ilahi Murad was an acquaintance of the poet-philosopher in Sialkot).

Director Pervez Malik, who also wrote the screenplay, had a master’s degree in film-making from California. Camera work, imagery and symbolism were on a par with some of the best masterpieces of that time: one could identify allusions to La Dolce Vita and Hiroshima Mon Amour. Later, Pervez was going to win a Pride of Performance Award for his patriotic films, including a trilogy about the awakening of the masses through the power of love: Anmol (1972), Dushman (1974) and Pehchan (1975). The second of these is also significant because a year before India discovered “the angry young man” in Deewar (1975), Pervez Malik had created the icon here and articulated its social context with much more clarity and boldness than elsewhere.

Masroor Anwar, who wrote the dialogues and lyrics, had received a fresh impetus from his work in the 1965 war. A fascinating aspect of the lyrics of Armaan is that each song from this film, although so moving as an expression of ordinary love, can also be interpreted as a national song.

Consider, for instance, Akele na jana. The Ahmad Rushdi version is probably what every Pakistani may like to say to Pakistan: “Diya hosla jis nay jeenay ka hum ko….” (you are a beautiful feeling that gave us the courage to live; you are the certainty that never leaves the heart; you the hope that lasts). It should surprise no one that the same Masroor Anwar later gave such national songs like Sohni dharti and Wattan ki mitti gawah rehna.

Sohail Rana, who gave music to Armaan, came from a literary family. His father, Rana Akbarabadi, was a renowned poet and had approved of his son’s passion only on the condition that the talent should be used for perpetuating noble values. Sohail not only composed music for memorable national songs, including Apni jaan nazr karoon, Sohni dharti and Jeevay Pakistan but was also destined to set music to Hum Mustafavi Hain by Jamiluddin Aali, which was adopted as the national anthem of the Islamic Summit Conference in 1974 (it retains that status and is played wherever the summit is held).

In the 1970s and the ’80s, Sohail was best known to the youth in Pakistan through his popular television programme in which he taught music and good manners. Armaan, in a way, had started with him. One night in 1963 or 1964 he heard a melody in his dream. He woke up and wrote it down. The words that were given to it eventually were, Akele na jana…

The rest is film history, though sadly unwritten for the most part – Khurram Ali Shafique

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1966, Genre – Drama, Country – Pakistan, Language – Urdu, Producer – Waheed Murad, Director – Pervez Malik, Music Director – Sohail Rana, Cast - Zeba, Waheed Murad, Nirala, Rozina, Tarannum

Channa Sachi Muchi (2010)

The failing local film industry saw a ray of hope with the recent premiere of the Lollywood period film, Channa Sachi Muchi (CSM). Its makers claim it to be one of the most expensive film ever made in the history of Pakistan, labeling it as a revival of Pakistani cinema. CSM has been produced by Ijaz Bajwa (he has 28 TV serials to his credit in the past 27 years), and he made his debut as a director with this film.

His role as film director came as a result of him not being satisfied with the previous director, “In 2007, as the producer I was facing great losses as the director was not paying attention to the film,” said Ijaz. Keeping this in mind, he has done a good job with the film, as his work is a notch higher than the others who have been at it for a much longer time.

The cast of CSM includes Babar Ali, Moammar Rana (Momy), Saima and Hina Shaheen. Initially, Shaan had been cast in the role later played by Momy. All of the four main actors have given satisfactory performances, however, I expected acting performances on a much higher level of a film being referred to by its makers as a revival of Pakistani cinema. I also expected better dialogues, make-up and wardrobe selection as the colors worn by some of the lead actors did not go well with the background.

Babar Ali’s performance as the baddie was convincing and different from the roles he usually plays. When approached to comment on his character and his take on the film’s potential for the revival of cinema at the premiere, he said, “I have been working for 23-and-a-half years, and have never had such an experience before. I have played the hero in most films but have been appreciated much more as a villain in CSM. As for the revival of cinema, I feel if films are good then cinema will also revive as a direct result. CSM is a good film and that is why it can be associated with revival.”

The plot is typical of Pakistani/Indian films, depicting a love story between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl intermingled with the independence of the subcontinent. The film, however, has no scenes showing the violence of Partition, which was a positive. Although watching it was somewhat interesting and entertaining, I felt that nothing new was offered in terms of storyline and it was painfully predictable.

Bao (Moammar Rana) is a well-educated Muslim boy who falls in love with Pooja (Saima), a Hindu girl. The plot reaches its climax when his fiance Lajo (Hina Shaheen) and Pooja’s fiance Sooria (Babar Ali) find out about their blossoming love affair. The dance sequences are well-choreographed and the backdrops are pleasing to the eye.

This may be a result of the fact that 80 per cent of the filming has been done outdoors at original locations. Sets have been used only for indoor shoots. The film has seven songs including an item number with Mehr Hassan’s voluptuous dance performance.

The music of Channa Sachi Muchi is by Zulfaqar Ali with lyrics by Khalilur Rehman Qamar. The songs are sung by Azra Jahan, Saima Jahan, Naseebo Lal, Harash Deep and Babul Supriyo and the soundtrack has received a good response so far at music stores in Lahore. The song Yeh Ishq Nahin Hai Aasan with Mehr Hasan moving seductively on screen is especially popular among the masses. It is also downloaded off the internet on a daily basis.

There was a mixed reaction when the general public was asked about CSM bringing something new to Pakistani cinema. A majority of them appreciated it, with one man claiming that he has watched it four times already. “I just love the dances and the music,” he said. The more skeptical of the lot don’t want to bother as they feel they would rather watch a good Indian film. A few who have seen it said that it has the same old storyline, dances and dialogues, and don’t consider it a step towards the revival of film in any way other than better backdrops and a catchier soundtrack.

Ijaz Bajwa said it’s an effort by the film industry in these tough times, “At least people in Punjab are going to watch the film as it offers a good entertainment option to them. I don’t think the film doesn’t have flaws, but at least someone with courage and financial muscle has tried to revolutionise the market. This is not the typical five-song masala film, and certainly not vulgar. It has a good story, good music and post-production is good, too.”

Channa Sachi Muchi is the first Pakistani film which has digital intermediate treatment and post-production from Adlab, Mumbai. It is one tiny step forward. Now all we need is the revival of Pakistani films being associated with fresh, new and original storylines.